Canadian broker gets private-equity investment
Canadian brokerage Oracle Insurance Risk Management Services Inc. said Thursday it secured a strategic investment from Boston-based private-equity firm Abry Partners LLC.
Zurich to buy Canadian cyber insurtech
Zurich Insurance Group has agreed to acquire Boxx Insurance Inc., the Toronto-based cyber insurtech announced Thursday.
Qantas says 6 million customer accounts accessed in cyber hack
A cyber hacker broke into a database containing the personal information of millions of customers, Qantas said, a setback for an airline rebuilding trust after a reputational crisis.
Marsh files poaching suit against Alliant, former surety execs
Marsh USA LLC sued Alliant insurance Services Inc. and two former commercial surety executives for allegedly conspiring to raid its commercial surety team and recruit clients.
Snake on a plane down under
A domestic flight in Australia was delayed a couple hours Tuesday because a snake was discovered in the plane’s cargo hold as people were boarding, the Associated Press reported.
ILS drives softer pricing at renewals
A surge in alternative capital, especially from insurance-linked securities and catastrophe bonds, drove underwriting flexibility and softer pricing at the July 1 reinsurance renewals, according to Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Ltd., Artemis reported. Cat bond issuances in the first half of 2025 reached over $17.5 billion, nearly matching the annual record of $17.7 billion from […]
Enstar goes private in $1.5B deal
San Francisco-based private equity firm Sixth Street has completed its $5.1 billion acquisition of Bermuda legacy specialist Enstar Group, paving the way for the latter to go private, The Royal Gazette reported. Enstar will continue to operate independently under CEO Dominic Silvester and has notified Nasdaq of plans to delist all depositary shares, with public […]
IAG’s nat cat costs below budget
Insurance Australia Group Ltd. reported estimated natural peril costs of approximately $1 billion for fiscal year 2025, coming in $200 million below its budget, Reinsurance News reported. This favorability led the insurer to raise its full-year insurance profit guidance between $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion – up from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion – and […]
Howden snaps up Japanese retail broker Holos
U.K.-based Howden Group Holdings Ltd. has acquired a 68% stake in Japan-based retail insurance broker Holos Holdings Company Ltd., Reinsurance News reported. The deal aims to enhance Howden’s offerings in the Japanese market for a wide range of clients – from individuals to small and medium-sized enterprises and corporations.
Insurers shell out $306 million for ice storm claims
The March 2025 ice storm that struck Ontario and Quebec, Canada caused insured losses totaling 416 million Canadian dollars ($306 million), according to Canada-based Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., Canadian Underwriter reported. The storm brought up to 35 hours of freezing rain in some areas, causing extensive damage and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers […]
Germany, Sweden joins shadow fleet insurance crackdown
Germany and Sweden have begun questioning tankers in the Baltic Sea about their insurance coverage as part of a broader regional effort to monitor and pressure shadow fleet vessels linked to the Russian oil trade, The Maritime Executive reported. The initiative, focused on areas like Fehmarn, a German island adjacent to a key shipping lane, […]
Global insured losses reach $70B in first half: Guy Carpenter
Global insured losses reached nearly $70 billion in the first half of 2025, with $40 billion stemming from the Los Angeles wildfires, according to U.S.-based Guy Carpenter & Company LLC, Insurance Asia reported. Despite these substantial losses, reinsurance market conditions remained favorable, with strong reinsurer balance sheets supported by ample property capacity and moderating pricing.
Extreme weather losses pass $1.8B in H1
Extreme weather events in Australia during the first half of 2025 have resulted in insured losses exceeding 1.8 billion Australian dollars ($1.2 billion), according to the Insurance Council of Australia, Artemis reported. The bulk of losses came from Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which generated over 125,000 claims totaling AUD1.3 billion, while the North Queensland floods added […]
Hackers steal 6 million passenger files from Qantas
Australia-based Qantas Airways Ltd. reported that a cybercriminal accessed a third-party customer service platform on Monday, June 30, stealing personal data such as names, e-mails, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers for up to 6 million passengers, ABC News reported. The airline confirmed that no credit card, passport or login credentials were compromised […]
Mapfe Re partners on global flood data platform
sSpain-based MAPFRE Re Compania de Reaseguros SA has partnered with Finland-based ICEYE Ltd., a specialist in satellite-based disaster management solutions, to license its flood insights data globally and integrate near real-time flood data into the reinsurer’s existing catastrophe event response framework, Reinsurance News reported. This collaboration will enable MAPFRE to rapidly estimate losses and gain […]