The soft market in the US cyber insurance market will persist but may be tempered by emerging geopolitical tensions, expects Amwins, which also said that recent high-profile incidents have only had a “somewhat muted” impact.

Less than half (45 percent) of leaders at large and mid-sized UK businesses believe their cyber insurance cover is effective in reducing losses in the event of cyber incident, a new study by Resilience has found.

Annual cyber insurance premiums are likely to increase by 15 to 20 percent per year to around $23bn by the end of 2026, according to S&P Global Ratings 2025 cyber insurance market outlook.

Cyber remains the fastest-growing class of business at Lloyd’s, with loss development no longer classing the line as short tail, according to senior Corporation executives.

Michael Berger, head of Insure AI at Munich Re, has emphasised that while aggregation risks are present in artificial intelligence (AI) insurance lines, these risks are calculable and manageable, while speaking to The Insurer.

Cyber insurtech Sayata has let go an undetermined number of staff, including head of partnerships Manny Johl and director of sales Tim Regilio, as a sale process for the distribution platform remains ongoing.

San Diego-based endpoint detection and response company Cybereason has bolstered its incident response team with four hires – Michael Quinn, Roy Cazares, Denman Powers and Michael Flicek – all joining from Kroll.

Nationwide has named James Walsh head of E-Risk Services, its wholesale distribution subsidiary for private company specialty lines underwriting.

Former Coalition executive Madison Mooney has joined Tokio Marine HCC – cyber & professional lines group (CPLG) as director of business development.

Beazley Security has appointed two vice presidents to support its growth and geographic expansion; Stephanie Webb will oversee sales in the UK and Europe, while Jason Deering will focus on expanding client engagements across the Americas.

Aon has appointed former Cyber Re Limited and Platform Labs CEO Robert O’Connell as global cyber strategy and growth leader for its reinsurance solutions business.

San Diego-based endpoint detection and response company Cybereason has appointed former Kroll executive Leonardo Saraceni as head of marketing for its consulting arm.

Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK) has expanded its footprint in Singapore with the appointment of Georgina Furness-Smith as cyber underwriter for the Asia Pacific region.

Austin, Texas-based anti-ransomware company Halcyon has secured $100mn in a Series C funding round led by Evolution Equity Partners, pushing its total funding to $190mn and valuing the company at $1bn.

The CrowdStrike outage in July will prompt insurers to review cyber policy wordings and coverage for systemic or supply chain incidents at upcoming renewals, according DAC Beachcroft.

Cyber insurance pricing may flatten next year as frustration with the soft market grows and reinsurers take a harder line, while tech E&O claims are also “quietly doing a little more damage” than people realise, according to speakers at Zywave’s recent Cyber Risk Insights conference.

A report from QBE North America and Zywave indicates that cyber insurance has yet to be factored into the overall cost of organisational cybersecurity.

The Australian Parliament has passed a suite of reforms aimed at bolstering the nation’s cyber defence and resilience, as well as advancing initiatives under its Cyber Security Strategy.

Supply chain risks and exposures in the cyber line of business demand greater attention going forward, according to industry leaders, with the CrowdStrike outage in July acting as a “warning shot” for insurers and the wider real economy alike.

The volume of supply chain attacks grew by five times between 2021 and 2023, with businesses exceeding $50mn in revenue bearing much of the brunt, according to findings from the Cyber Roundup Report 2024 from Cowbell.

Nationwide has named James Walsh head of E-Risk Services, its wholesale distribution subsidiary for private company specialty lines underwriting.

Concert Group has promoted Scott Stosek to the newly created position of director of finance, while the executive has also been handed the role of CFO at the fronting carrier’s in-house risk retention platform Harmony Re.

Atlanta-based insurtech Sola has completed a seed funding round led by FINTOP Capital, bringing its total funding to $3.7mn.

Distinguished Programs has secured additional capital support for its fine art and collectibles offering with the product now able to offer up to $125mn of coverage for single risks in the US.

Jupiter Risk Services has brought to market a new high value homeowners insurance program, which is offered on a surplus lines basis and backed by AM Best A- rated capacity, with the offering representing parent Risk Theory’s inaugural personal lines play.

Fortegra has been handed approval by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to establish Fortegra Insurance Company UK, its new subsidiary in the United Kingdom.

Ryan Specialty's international financial lines MGU has expanded its executive leadership team following the recent acquisition of Innovisk Capital Partners.

Roosevelt Road Re has added Andy Crichton to its ranks with the new hire tasked with strategic underwriting and expansion of the Bermuda-based firm’s property reinsurance portfolio.

Arden Insurance Services has secured a significant growth capital investment from private equity firm FTV Capital, Program Manager can reveal.

Real estate MGA Ventis has appointed Fiona Young as senior underwriter.

Ryan Transactional Risk, part of Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers, has unveiled a raft of changes to its senior leadership team, including the appointments of current managing directors George Pearce and Rich Stansfield as global co-CEOs.

Aventum Group-owned specialty (re)insurance MGA Rokstone has acquired a second box at Lloyd’s just six months after announcing its first box.

Ryan Specialty has launched a $500mn notes offering, which the wholesale giant will use in part to fund future acquisition opportunities.

Specialty MGA Rokstone has expanded its contingency product with the launch of disgrace cover.

Amwins-owned MGU Business Risk Partners (BRP) has brought in Barak Canzano as a senior miscellaneous professional liability (PL) underwriter with the recruit joining from Herbert H Landy Insurance Agency.

Hybrid fronting insurer Bridgehaven Specialty UK will serve as capacity provider alongside Accredited on a new co-insurance arrangement with UK personal lines MGA Policy Expert.

Platinum Specialty Underwriters is close to a deal to acquire the Greg Flood-led management liability start-up MGA Atri Insurance Services, in a transaction expected to value the business around 19x-20x Ebitda, Program Manager can reveal.

Bishop Street Underwriting has hired strategy and capital markets executive Jeff Arricale from The Woodlands Financial Group as its CFO as the MGA platform continues its rapid build out, Program Manager can reveal.

Starfish Specialty Insurance has begun quoting for the 1 December launch of an employment practices liability offering for professional employer organisations (PEOs) and staffing firms led by former Markel senior director Michael Martocci, continuing its recent run of program start-ups, Program Manager can reveal.

With growth in the global delegated underwriting authority enterprise (DUAE) segment showing no sign of slowing and the sector continuing to invest in talent and technology, AM Best has maintained its positive outlook on the market.

Wholesale giant Amwins expects the US property market to continue to soften despite Hurricanes Helene and Milton, while rates remain softer on the East Coast as well as for insureds with large total insurable value (TIV) overall.

The excess and surplus lines market “is well positioned to continue its upward trajectory”, according to a new report from Amwins, which notes innovation, technology and data-driven underwriting will drive further growth.

Despite heightened competition in property and minimal impact from late hurricane season activity, the overall growth outlook for the E&S market remains strong, largely driven by healthy submission flow, especially in casualty.

Allied World’s decision to maintain a dual distribution model rather than launching a dedicated wholesale unit has not been an impediment to growth, with the carrier’s E&S book expanding significantly in recent years to account for more than half of its US premium.

Risk Placement Services (RPS) launched an excess casualty sidecar earlier this year which offers a $5mn line on State National paper supported by a quartet of at least A- rated reinsurers, E&S Insurer can reveal.

There is no expectation of a widespread shift in business away from the E&S market, with the sector’s freedom of rate and form allowing it to address challenging issues on the admitted side, according to Westfield Specialty’s founding president Jack Kuhn.

AI is making small business insurance more efficient by refining data handling processes, according to Amwins CEO Scott Purviance.

Nationwide has named James Walsh head of E-Risk Services, its wholesale distribution subsidiary for private company specialty lines underwriting.

US primary casualty rate increases will hit double digits in 2025 as they catch up to excess rate adjustments, while London is “poised to become a more visible player” in US casualty, Amwins has said.

Wholesale broker Burns & Wilcox has said the “gradual and consistent shift” in business from the admitted to the E&S market is a trend that is here to stay, as it also highlighted growing US liability concerns going into 2025.

Surplus lines premium volume generated by the stamping offices of the three largest states for E&S business in the US once again booked double-digit year-on-year growth in October, new data shows.

The US umbrella and excess casualty market is seeing continued stress and change amid a greater focus from underwriters on managing capacity in the face of escalating verdicts and settlements along with tougher reinsurance renewal conditions, according to Risk Placement Services (RPS).

Moves by carriers to establish dedicated wholesale operations and a commitment to dual distribution has led to continued growth in submission counts, despite stabilising market conditions, according to Amwins brokerage co-presidents Jeff McNatt and Sam Baig.

Wholesale and underwriting giant Amwins has been working on securing additional capacity for its brokers in a rehardening excess casualty market with the creation of a sidecar facility,

To remain relevant in a shifting distribution landscape and capitalise on the flow of business to the E&S space, wholesalers will need to deliver additional value by offering advice, expertise and proprietary product, according to Risk Placement Services (RPS) CEO Kevin Doyle.

Late last month we highlighted some of the themes that were expected to drive discussions as another record attendance descended on San Diego for the WSIA Annual Marketplace 2024.

Kinsale Capital’s share price closed down 5.3 percent on Friday despite a comfortable Q3 earnings beat, with the E&S specialist’ management highlighting increased competition as the reason for a slowdown in its premium growth.

Renewal price increases continued to slow through the third quarter in E&S property prior to the recent active period for hurricane activity, according to the latest data from CRC’s REDY index.

The latest quarterly data from CRC’s REDY index shows that private D&O softening accelerated in Q3, but employment practices liability flattened and E&O and cyber rates both picked up in the period.

The major shift towards softening property market conditions will only be reversed by the return of “fear in the room” from an event which has a major financial impact or changes the perception of risk, although a series of smaller events could slow the pace, according to a panel of brokers and insurers.

Zurich Resilience Solutions, the commercial risk advisory unit of Zurich Insurance Group, has formed an alliance with GoImpact Capital Partners aimed at enabling businesses in Asia Pacific to address the challenges of climate change.

Insurers are not giving sufficient consideration to nature-related risks across their entire underwriting portfolios, according to a new guide by the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance initiative.

The increasing prominence of wind and solar power is exposing energy companies to more weather-related risks, which they are looking to transfer.

The World Bank has disclosed that it is working with four eastern Caribbean states to boost climate resilience through three risk transfer mechanisms: a catastrophe swap, cat bonds and additional parametric insurance.

Australian insurers have welcomed an inquiry by the Senate Select Committee into the impact of climate risk on the affordability and availability of insurance.

A disorderly net-zero transition could impact European insurers’ investment returns by up to 13 percent in the short term, a new report by Ortec Finance has said, while failure to transition altogether would slash real estate and equity portfolio returns by more than half.

Carriers are increasingly embracing risks and exposures associated with battery energy storage systems (BESS), including the development of a revenue protection product, as underwriting loss data for other renewable technologies matures.

Zurich’s Alison Martin has called for greater trust from regulators in the ability of insurers to understand the risks on their own balance sheets, while also warning that greater policy intervention is needed to ensure that the industry does not become “the climate change police”.

Davies Group – including its captive management business, MGA/broker incubation platform and Lloyd’s third-party managing agent Asta – will be focused on rolling out a new culture strategy and beginning to tackle supply chain emissions in 2025 under its new office of responsible business.

Axa XL has provided $30mn in credit insurance cover as part of a new sovereign debt conversion project in The Bahamas, which is forecast to generate $124mn in marine conservation funds over the next 15 years.

With COP29 having concluded at the weekend, Sustainable Insurer reflects on the discussions that took place over the past two weeks in Baku and the burgeoning role of (re)insurance in the global dialogue on climate.

As the Convex Seascape Survey published its second annual update, head of sustainability Rachel Delhaise spoke to Sustainable Insurer to explain how greater understanding of the value of blue carbon will enable more capital flows.

Sustainable Insurer spoke to Howden’s Daniel Fairweather about the important role insurers can play in helping realise the value of nature-based assets.

The role P&C insurance companies play in supporting economic and social development can help underpin sustainability strategies, according to Tokio Marine’s Mika Nabeshima.

Digital platforms and agency-based distribution models will be key to overcoming insurance inclusion gaps, a new concept proposed by the Geneva Association referring to socio-economic groups that are excluded from or underserved by insurance markets in advanced economies.

The Microinsurance Network plans to replicate its regional coordination across Latin America in Africa, as the NGO pursues further regionalisation under the stewardship of new executive director Matthew Genazzini to boost insurance take-up among low-income communities.

Organisations working towards net-zero emissions need to manage new physical and business risks that are not always easy to anticipate, according to discussions at the Ferma Forum in Madrid last month.

CFC has confirmed the expansion of its carbon insurance suite with the introduction of a new carbon lender non-payment insurance cover.

A coalition of members from non-profits, start-ups and research providers have launched Insurance for Good, a new US-based non-profit designed to coordinate efforts to harness insurance for the common social and environmental good.

Claims management specialist Crawford & Company has launched a renewable energy practice led by a team from Renewable Energy Loss Adjusters (RELA), including former CEO Alan Tucker.