Climate/Resilience/Sustainability
A one-in-200-year US disaster could create a $700 billion protection gap, Moody's finds
Catastrophe losses are growing faster than the insurance industry's capacity to absorb them, and closing the protection gap will require capital markets to play a much larger role, according to a new interactive data analysis published by Moody's.
The core finding is stark: 57.8% of global catastrophe losses since 2015 have gone uninsured, meaning more than half of the economic damage from natural disasters over the past decade has fallen on governments, businesses and households rather than the insurance system.
That gap is not simply a pricing or distribution problem. It reflects a structural mismatch between the scale of potential losses and the capital available to cover them.
The math that makes insurers' limits visible
A one-in-200-year catastrophe scenario in the US alone could produce $1.1 trillion in total losses and a $700 billion protection gap. To put that in context, total global reinsurance capital stands at approximately $785 billion. A single extreme event of that magnitude would not wipe out the reinsurance industry, but it would consume nearly all of it, leaving little behind for subsequent events or routine business.
The Great Miami Hurricane at 100 | Swiss Re
A century after the Great Miami Hurricane struck a rapidly growing city, Florida’s hurricane exposure has been transformed by 100 years of population and property growth. We estimate that a Category 5 hurricane striking Miami or Tampa Bay could generate insured losses of USD 300 billion or more, which would represent one of the largest single-event insured losses contemplated by the industry.
Yet severe hurricane loss potential extends beyond these locations: landfalls in other parts of Florida or multiple-landfall scenarios could also generate losses well above USD 100 billion. The region relies on the global reinsurance market and alternative capacity to absorb losses from such tail-risk events.
A century ago, the Great Miami Hurricane struck a young city at the beginning of an extraordinary population and property boom, becoming the most destructive US hurricane disaster of its time. Today, a major hurricane hitting Miami would occur in a vastly transformed exposure environment, with far greater concentrations of people, property, and insured values.
Using Swiss Re’s in-house North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone risk model and industry exposure data, we estimate that a Category 5 hurricane making landfall in the Miami or Tampa Bay area could generate insured losses of USD 300 billion or more. Such an event would represent one of the largest plausible loss scenarios facing the insurance industry today.
AI in Insurance
Ex-Microsoft security chief warns employee apathy could derail insurance’s AI push
Insurance firms racing to automate workflows face another risk alongside accuracy, bias and cybersecurity: employees simply disengaging from the transformation.
That warning opened Dive In Festival 2026 on Tuesday, as Sarah Armstrong-Smith (pictured), executive director at Secure Horizons and former chief security advisor at Microsoft, argued that the speed of artificial intelligence adoption is forcing companies to confront the human consequences of technological change much faster than in previous industrial shifts.
“We had the first industrial revolution, followed very quickly by the second industrial revolution. But that was multiple decades for us to get used to a different way of working,” said Armstrong-Smith. “The real difference is speed. The speed of change is at a rate we have never experienced before.”
Telematics, Driving & Insurance
The AI Journal: AI data analysis could make roads safer
Ryan McMahon, Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) senior vice president of strategy and corporate development, explains how AI can accelerate road safety in an article recently published in The AI Journal
Traffic deaths in the U.S. have fallen for 15 consecutive quarters and in 2024, dropped to 39,345 for the first time below 40,000 since 2020, McMahon writes.
Preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates 2025 traffic deaths will fall to 36,640, a 6.7% decrease.
“That is thousands of people alive today who, on the 2022 trendline, would not be,” McMahon says.
The decrease follows stronger laws, better feedback, and the ability to measure changes in driving behavior, he writes.
“AI’s role is in what comes next: helping safety professionals connect risks conventional analysis cannot, intervene earlier, and accelerate a decline still far too slow,” the article states.
Phone use while driving dropped before the deaths did, according to the article. It adds that CMT found 37% of 54 million trips involved drivers distracted by their phones in 2019. This number continued to increase until it started reversing in 2023 and eventually dropped by 8.6% in 2024. CMT estimates the 8.6% decrease included avoiding 105,000 crashes and 480 deaths.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions and IMS Work to Deliver the Future of Driving Intelligence, Going Beyond Traditional UBI with LexisNexis Drive Metrics and the IMS EdgeSDK
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a leading provider of data and analytics for the insurance and automotive industries, and IMS, a global connected insurance technology company, today announced the integration of the LexisNexis® Drive Metrics scoring model into the IMS EdgeSDK™ to benefit U.S. auto insurance carriers and consumers through an all-new smartphone-based telematics solution that gives drivers the ability to share driving data with their insurers.
This integration enables more insurers to launch or improve existing usage-based insurance (UBI) programs, taking advantage of potentially significant cost savings, 50% or more1, by eliminating cloud processing and storage fees associated with traditional telematics programs and reinforcing user transparency and data privacy.
Research
Report: 85% of Insurance Executives Believe AI Will Strengthen Customer Trust, Only 40% of Policyholders Agree
As P&C insurers accelerate investment in AI-enabled customer communication, a disconnect is emerging between industry confidence and customer sentiment, according to new research from Hi Marley, the intelligent communication platform for P&C Insurance.
The study, which surveyed 550 senior P&C insurance decision-makers and 2,000 policyholders across the U.S. and Canada, found that 85 percent of insurance executives expect AI to strengthen customer trust. Policyholders see it differently: just 40 percent agree, while nearly as many believe AI will actually weaken the trust they place in their carrier.
Sixty-five percent of insurers expect to increase dedicated AI investment across a broad range of functions. Only about half of policyholders are mostly or completely confident their insurer will use AI responsibly. And two-thirds of policyholders said their biggest concern isn't AI itself, but the fear of not being able to reach a human when it matter
Announcements
InspectionGo Rebrands Its Consumer Platform as Haven, Helping Homeowners From Move-In and Beyond
InspectionGo announced that its consumer platform, formerly known as HomeBinder, is now Haven, reflecting its evolution from a digital home information and maintenance tool into a personalized platform that supports homeowners from move-in through the life of their home.
Since acquiring HomeBinder in 2023, InspectionGo has expanded the platform to connect homebuyers with personalized information, essential services and ongoing support based on the needs of their home and where they are in the homeownership journey. Haven now serves more than 20,000 new homebuyers each month, with enrollment more than doubling year over year, and has earned 4.9 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot based on nearly 3,600 reviews.
"Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions people make, but the work and responsibility that follow can be overwhelming," said John Russell, CEO of InspectionGo. "Haven changes that by using knowledge about each unique home to make homeownership simpler and less stressful. We chose the name Haven because that's what we want to create for every homeowner: a place to turn for help, confidence and peace of mind."
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
NICB Announces Strategic Partnership with Honk to Combat Predatory Towing and Vehicle-Related Fraud
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the insurance industry’s association dedicated to predicting, preventing, and prosecuting insurance crime and fraud,*** announced today a new strategic partnership*** with Honk Technologies that will combine both organizations’ data and intelligence capabilities to combat fraud and abusive practices related to vehicle towing, impound, storage and salvage.
Through this partnership, NICB and Honk will establish channels for sharing information and emerging fraud intelligence across NICB’s consortium of fraud-fighting partners as new issues and questionable activity emerges across the towing and vehicle services marketplace.
“Fraud and questionable practices both on and off the road can create significant costs for consumers and insurers alike,” said Tim Slater, Chief Operating Officer of NICB. “By working closely with Honk and combining information from our respective networks, we can identify concerning activity sooner, provide the key information that helps solve cases and strengthen our protections against fraud and abuse in the vehicle services ecosystem.”
Blackstone-backed insurance underwriter The Fidelis Partnership files for US IPO | Reuters
Founded by industry veteran Richard Brindle, TFP was established as a standalone business in 2023, following a transaction that bifurcated Fidelis Insurance . TFP originates and underwrites global specialty insurance across over 150 business lines in more than 140 countries. It has a fee-based business model and is paid placement and profit commissions by its partners.
The Hamilton, Bermuda-based company reported net income of $127.5 million and revenue of $407.5 million for the six months ended June 30, compared with $74.5 million net income and $365.9 million revenue a year earlier.
TFP last year launched a new syndicate at Lloyd's of London in partnership with Blackstone (BX.N), the world's largest alternative asset manager. The firm and some of its backers plan to sell shares in the IPO. Besides Blackstone, TFP's shareholders include Alfa Insurance, Capital Z Partners and Travelers Companies (TRV.N),
Claims
Hippo's AI-Powered Claims Model Delivers Strong Customer Satisfaction Results as its Homeowners Business Grows
As Hippo Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HIPO) expands its homeowners business nationally, it is scaling its claims operations through a combination of AI and automation supported by human expertise. This approach is helping Hippo maintain customer satisfaction above 80%, exceeding internal benchmarks.
The ability to deliver consistent service at greater scale is especially important following severe weather, when claim volumes can surge and homeowners need timely, informed guidance on their coverage, how to protect their property, and what to do next. The latest evolution of Hippo's claims model supports the company's broader strategy of disciplined growth. In the second quarter of 2026, Hippo reported its fifth consecutive profitable quarter, 61% year-over-year growth in gross written premium, an improved combined ratio, and increased its full-year guidance.
Building claims capacity while strengthening customer service
Hippo introduced Clara, its 24/7 conversational AI claims agent, in April 2026 to expand the claims team's capacity. By gathering claim details and surfacing relevant policy information earlier in the process, Clara has proven to give adjusters more time to focus on complex claims and substantive conversations with customers.
State Farm Says It’s Adding 3,000 More Jobs in Claims Next Year
State Farm says it plans to increase the size of its claims workforce by 10%, or about 3,000 employees, starting in 2027.
The Bloomington, Illinois-based carrier reports roughly 30,000 claims employees across the country. State Farm handles nearly 11 million claims each year, or an average of more than 30,000 per day, according to the company.
The company says the planned additions reflect the continued growth of State Farm and the evolving complexity of the claims environment, including new vehicles and technology, changing repair methods, and increasingly significant severe weather events. CONTINUES
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