Insurance Level News and Press

AM Best Rating Acitivity and News

Amerisafe Appoints Head of Finance Strategy as CFO
Amerisafe Inc. has named Guillermo A. Ramos the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective May 7. Ramos is currently the head of finance strategy and formerly ...
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Source: BestWire

W.R. Berkley Appoints CUO as President of Berkley Oil & Gas
W.R. Berkley Corp. appointed Christopher T. Reichardt as president of Berkley Oil & Gas. He succeeds Linda A. Eppolito, who has been named chair of the business. The appointments are effective ...
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Source: BestWire

Court Grants PHL Policyholders Limited Intervention, Rejects ‘Premium Holiday’ Request
A Connecticut judge granted limited intervention rights to a group of PHL Variable Insurance Co. policyholders to pursue actions against entities that allegedly “looted” the distressed life insurer ...
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Source: BestWire

Zurich Issues $150 Million Catastrophe Bond for US Named Storms, Earthquakes
Zurich Insurance Group said it returned to the catastrophe bond market with a $150 million bond covering U.S. named storms and earthquakes. The insurer closed on Turicum Re 2026-1, which adds ...
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Source: BestWire

Montana Court Clears Way for Regulator’s BCBS Data-Breach Investigation
The Montana First Judicial District Court denied an attempt by Health Care Services Corp. to stop a regulatory investigation into a data breach the company allegedly failed to timely ...
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Source: BestWire

Alabama Insurance Commissioner Considering ‘Best Time’ to Lift Captive Creation Moratorium
Alabama Insurance Commissioner Mark Fowler is considering the “best time” to end a moratorium on the creation of new captive insurance companies and risk retention groups following the enactment of ...
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Source: BestWire

Louisiana Bill Would Charge Trucking Captives 'Market Access' Fee to Defray Rising Costs
A bill pending in Louisiana would require captive commercial trucking insurers in the state to pay a so-called market access fee designed to defray rising costs for smaller and independent ...
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Source: BestWire

AM Best Named a 2026 Top Workplace in the United States
AM Best has been named a 2026 Top Workplace by USA TODAY. The award is based on employee feedback collected via a confidential survey measuring workplace experience and engagement. USA TODAY Top ...
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Source: BestWire

Australian Regulator Extends Probe Into IAG Acquisition of RACI
Australia's competition commission is opening a second phase of its investigation into Insurance Australia Group Ltd.'s proposed acquisition of RAC Insurance, citing the regulator's concern the deal ...
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Source: BestWire

Weekly Podcast Highlights - April 16
Among this week's insurance podcast highlights, MSIG USA Chief Underwriting Officer Brian Botkin highlights how his function has driven growth at the insurer and EY's insurance consulting lead ...
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Source: BestWire

Playback Now Available for AM Best-Hosted Webinar on Smarter Insurance Risk Segmentation Through Data
Video playback is now available for a complimentary webinar titled “Breaking the ‘Set-It-and-Forget-It’ Mindset: Smarter Insurance Risk Segmentation Through Data,” hosted by AM Best and sponsored by ...
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Source: BestWire

Beazley to Launch $1 Billion Marine War Risk Consortium for Hormuz Strait Shipping
Beazley plc said it plans to launch a marine war consortium that would provide up to $1 billion of Lloyd's capacity for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The consortium, comprising $500 ...
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Source: BestWire

AM Best: Market Segment Outlook – London Market Insurance
AM Best expects the profitability of London Market companies to moderate over 2026 but remain positive, subject to normal catastrophe experience, according to new research discussed by Kanika ...
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Source: BestWire

AM Best to Exhibit at Buffalo I-Day 2026
AM Best will be exhibiting at Buffalo I-Day 2026 in Buffalo, New York, on April 23. AM Best representatives, including Senior Account Managers Kellie Bodmer and Patrick McCahill and Product Manager ...
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Source: BestWire

AM Best to Deliver Multiple Presentations and Exhibit at RIMS’ 2026 RISKWORLD Conference
AM Best will speak and exhibit at RISKWORLD—the RIMS 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition—with sessions that will focus on the state of the global reinsurance market and the impact of social ...
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Source: BestWire

Aon Expands President's Role to Include Chief Commercial Officer, Risk Capital
Aon plc has appointed Jeff Alpaugh as chief commercial officer, risk capital, adding to his role as president. Alpaugh will lead Aon’s global commercial strategy across risk capital, helping ...
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Source: BestWire

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Insurance Information Institute News (IIHS & HLDI)

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Insurance Journal News

India Approves $1.4 Billion Maritime Insurance Pool
India has approved a 129.8-billion-rupee ($1.4 billion) guarantee for a maritime insurance pool, a minister said on Saturday, as wars and sanctions prompt insurers to withdraw cover, threatening trade flows. The pool will run for 10 years and can be …
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2026

State Farm Agrees to $15M Settlement for Underpaid Vehicle Claims in Arkansas
A federal judge last month approved a preliminary class settlement resolving claims that State Farm underpaid Arkansas policyholders for total loss vehicle claims by applying an erroneous valuation method. Under the settlement agreement, State Farm will pay $15.6 million to …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Update: Shipping Firms Seek Clarifications Before Transiting Now-Opened Hormuz
Shipping companies have cautiously welcomed Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is open but said they would require clarifications, including about the risk of mines, before vessels move through the entry point to the Gulf. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Marsh Aims to Be ‘AI Winner’ by Focusing on Gains in Growth, Productivity, Efficiency
Marsh aims to be an “AI winner” through growth, productivity and efficiency gains, according to John Doyle, president and CEO of the broker and risk adviser. “[W]e see AI as a powerful accelerator and enabler in delivering value to our …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Pennsylvania Firefighters Back on Job After 6-Day Insurance Lapse
The two volunteer fire departments serving the western Pennsylvania borough of Vandergrift have resumed responding to 911 calls. Mayor Lenny Collini said the firefighters returned to their stations on Thursday after a six day interruption due to a lapse in …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

NYC Mayor Eyes City-Run Insurance Program for Affordable Housing
New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani is seeking to lower the cost of property and liability insurance for affordable and rent-stabilized housing through a new city-run insurance program. Mamdani plans to hire independent actuarial experts to design and launch …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

People Moves: PIA Arkansas’ Shearon to Retire as Executive Director
The Professional Insurance Agents of Arkansas (PIA Arkansas) announced that Executive Director Staci Shearon will retire effective May 29, 2026, concluding nearly 20 years of leadership and service to the association and the independent insurance community. Shearon informed the PIA …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Michigan Updates Air Quality Risk System Ahead of Wildfire Season
After Canadian wildfires brought extremely poor air quality to Detroit in the summers of 2023 and 2025, Michigan is updating how it communicates air quality risks to residents this year. The state is streamlining a system that has evolved with …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

South Texas Cities Racing to Drill Wells Amid Historic Drought Crisis
As a historic drought in South Texas deepens, parched cities along the coastal bend are following Corpus Christi’s playbook and racing to drill their way out of a crisis. But as more and more cities turn to groundwater instead of …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Midwest States Reel from Severe Storms
Floodwaters from record rainfall in Wisconsin inundated streets Wednesday, trapping drivers and forcing officials to close sections of a highway, as other Midwestern states worked to rebuild after storms. Cars were stranded in high floodwater on a highway in Milwaukee …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Carnival Cruise Passenger Served 14 Shots Awarded $300,000 After Fall Down Stairs
Carnival Cruise Line should pay $300,000 to a former passenger after a federal jury in South Florida found that the company was negligent in serving the woman more than a dozen shots of tequila before she fell down some stairs …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Higginbotham Adds Alabama ‘Powerhouse’ Harmon Dennis Bradshaw Agency
Higginbotham, the Texas-based insurance brokerage ranked as the 12th-largest broker in the country last year, has added Harmon Dennis Bradshaw Inc., an independent agency in Alabama and Georgia, to its growing list of partner agencies. Harmon Dennis, known as HDB, …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Travelers Profit Rises on Stronger Underwriting, Lower Catastrophe Losses
Property and casualty insurance giant Travelers reported a jump in first-quarter profit, buoyed by robust underwriting gains and lower catastrophe losses than a year earlier when results were severely hit by the Los Angeles wildfires. Shares of the company, whose …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Companies Scramble for Tariff Refunds as US Prepares to Launch Claim Process
Jay Foreman said he’s “locked and loaded” for the U.S. government’s launch on Monday of a new system to refund up to $166 billion in illegally collected tariffs, but he and many other importers are realistic that much could still …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Beazley Plans $1B Marine War Consortium for Transiting Strait of Hormuz
Beazley, the specialty Lloyd’s insurer, has announced its intention to launch a marine war consortium, offering up to $1 billion of Lloyd’s capacity, which comprises $500 million for hull war and $500 million for cargo war. The consortium, which will …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

US-Iran Deal Will Take Months, Gulf and Europe Officials Say
Some Gulf Arab and European leaders believe that a US-Iran peace deal will take about six months to be agreed and that the warring sides should extend their ceasefire to cover that timeframe, according to officials from the regions familiar …
Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

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