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Reinsurance
By Sam · 5 min read · Aug 28
AmCoastal's $25.5M Cat Bond Buys First-Event Retention Down to $23.5M
American Coastal placed a $25.5 million Armor Re II 2026-2 cat bond on August 1, cutting its first-event Florida named storm retention from $49 million to $23.5 million for about $8.4 million, a 33% rate on line.
By Sam · 5 min read · Aug 28
P&C Insurance
Public D&O Primary Rate Turns After Sixteen Quarters While Aon's Blended Index Falls 1.9%
Aon's Q2 2026 public D&O index fell 1.9% on cost per million while like-for-like primary renewals rose 0.6%, the first primary increase in sixteen quarters. The gap is limit buying and excess drag, not base rate.
P&C InsuranceGEICO's Combined Ratio Hit 91.2% in Q2 2026. A Third of the Move Was Expense.
GEICO's combined ratio rose 7.7 points to 91.2% in Q2 2026, but only 4.8 of those points came from losses. The rest came from a 27.3% jump in commissions and advertising, spent into a falling auto rate level.
P&C InsuranceTD Bank Patents a Claims Fraud Model That Scores the Claimant's Network
TD Bank won US Patent 12,711,554 on August 18, 2026 for a claims fraud model that walks five layers out through shared phones, emails and VINs, then denies follow-on transactions from parties tied to the flagged claim.
ReinsuranceMunich Re and Swiss Re Post Sub-80% Ratios Atop AM Best's 50 Largest Reinsurers
Munich Re reclaimed the top of AM Best's 50 largest reinsurers on a 12.9% euro move, not on growth: its revenue fell 3.7% pre-forex while a 73.5% combined ratio hands cedents leverage into January 2027.
P&C InsuranceCargo Theft Losses Double to $304.6M as Incident Counts Fall 26%
Cargo theft losses doubled to $304.6 million in Q2 2026 while incidents fell 26% to 677 and the average reported load hit $564,009 (Verisk CargoNet). The severity shift lands above the primary cargo attachment.
P&C InsuranceQuanata Patents an ML Engine That Values What You Own
Quanata's US Patent 12,700,041, granted August 4, 2026, predicts what a policyholder owns from historical claims records and prices each item, then retrains on the corrections customers make to the list.
P&C InsuranceTexas's Price-Optimization Ban Sends Homeowners Rating Plans Back to Cost-Based Relativities
Texas homeowners premiums average $3,506 after a 79% six-year climb, and Abbott's directive orders TDI to ban price optimization, pulling elasticity and retention variables out of every regulated rating plan.
P&C InsuranceVerisk Patents a Forgery Detector for Claims Documents
Insurance Services Office won US Patent 12,694,109 on July 28, 2026, for a pipeline that runs twenty structural checks on a claims PDF, scores it for tampering, and highlights the region that was altered.
On the Wire
- Mazda partners with AAA and HAAS Alert on roadside safetyCoverager · Yesterday
- Avis Budget holds onto arbitration right despite months of litigationInsurance Business · Yesterday
- Court, not arbitrator, must decide American Freedom's coverage denialInsurance Business · Yesterday
- Nursing assistant loses workers' comp appeal over injury filing deadlineInsurance Business · Yesterday
- Mental injury claim fails over ‘routine’ meeting, court rulesBusiness Insurance · Yesterday
- Amica Expands ZestyAI RelationshipInsurance Innovation Reporter · Yesterday
- New Illinois Law Requires Insurance for High-Speed E-BikesInsurance Journal · Yesterday
- Claims adjusters sour on AIBusiness Insurance · Yesterday
- Ross Fire Grows Into One of Largest Wildfires on Record in North TexasInsurance Journal · Yesterday
- Inszone Acquires Michigan’s Aviza Insurance AgencyInsurance Journal · Yesterday
- California court says landlord protected from contractor injury suitBusiness Insurance · Yesterday
- Tropical Storm Dolly Forms in the Atlantic, Not Named After Dolly PartonInsurance Journal · Yesterday
- Guardianship costs tied to workers comp claim reimbursable: CourtBusiness Insurance · Yesterday
- Nepal flood exposes insurers to major hydropower claimsBusiness Insurance · Yesterday
- Tokio Marine HCC International agrees deal for Direct CommercialLife Insurance International · Yesterday
Earnings Pulse Latest P&C carrier filings · Q2 2026
All filings →
Q2 2026
16 carriers have reported. Median combined ratio 90.8, with 11 of 16 improving vs. PY and all 16 underwriting below 100.
Travelers
83.6CR
6.7pt vs PY
Q2 2026
Chubb
83.9CR
6.5pt vs PY
Q2 2026
AIG
89.0CR
0.3pt vs PY
Q2 2026
Allstate
86.6CR
4.5pt vs PY
Q2 2026
Hartford
94.2CR
2.6pt vs PY
Q2 2026 · Business Insurance
Progressive
87.3CR
1.1pt vs PY
Q2 2026
Cincinnati
98.2CR
5.6pt vs PY
Q2 2026
W. R. Berkley
90.0CR
1.6pt vs PY
Q2 2026
Combined ratios as reported in each carrier's most recent 10-Q. Segment-level and derived figures are labeled on the card. Lower is better; ▼ marks improvement vs. the prior-year period. Latest filing August 7, 2026.
Cat Watch Active perils & recent federal declarations
NHC & FEMA →Monitoring
Lowell
Declared
Hurricane Lala
Aug 25
Declared
1
Designated area
Declared
Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Aug 25
Declared
21
Designated areas
Declared
Ross Fire
Aug 25
Declared
1
Designated area
Declared
Hawk Fire
Aug 22
Declared
1
Designated area
CAS Radar Casualty Actuarial Society research & announcements
CAS.org →Aug 17
Research
CAS Showcases Research and Thought Leadership at the 61st Actuarial Research Conference
CAS
Aug 11
Update
Explore Motivation, Feedback, and Innovation at the Next CAS Leadership Insights Exchange
CAS
Aug 7
Research
CAS Bias and Insurance Research Author Receives American Academy of Actuaries Research Award
CAS
Aug 4
Update
New Candidate Support Resources: Exams 8 & 9 Practice Items and Solutions
CAS
Jul 31
Research
CAS Research Introduces New Framework for Measuring Social Inflation
CAS Research
Jul 29
Announcement
Results of 2026 CAS Election
CAS Research