New Approaches to Commercial Risk

AM Best Research: AM Best To Examine First-Quarter 2026 Results in First Look Reports in June: AM Best also plans to issue a report on the industry’s cost of capital in May, as well as outlooks for the London and U.K. non-life markets in April.

AM Best TV & Audio: Amwins Executive: Escalating Health Costs Are Reshaping, Testing Employer-Sponsored Benefits: Professionals also discuss the maturation of ILS as an alternative capacity source and explore capital pools’ interest in longer-tail casualty lines.

AM Best’s Webinars & Briefings: Panelists Discuss Strategies for Devising Effective Product Liability Claims Defenses: Professionals also examine challenges in the health care sector and explore how insurers can use data to achieve smarter insurance risk segmentation.

Academic Research: Montclair State’s Owusu: Machine Learning Shines New Light on Risk Culture in Insurance: Montclair State University Assistant Professor Abena Owusu discussed her co-authored study on how insurers can use machine learning to improve risk culture and oversight.

App Store: AM Best Launches Certificate of Creditworthiness in Mobile App, Other Online Offerings: The new certificate verifies and summarizes an insurer’s Best’s Credit Rating for a range of insurance market participants.

Artificial Intelligence: AI Platforms: Fragmentation, ‘Silent Cyber’ Among Commercial Risk Challenges: AI platforms say post-pandemic complexity of inflation and the changing nature of risks could pose challenges.

Asia-Pacific Insurers: Perils Hikes Loss Estimate to $2.1 Billion for November Severe Storms Event in Australia: The storms came just months before January bushfires in Australia caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, according to Perils.

Best's Rankings: Largest US Commercial Multiperil Insurers – 2026 Edition: Ranked by 2024 direct premiums written.

Best's State Rate Filings: Hawaii Homeowners Multiperil Approved Rate Filings by Overall Effect With Increases of 17.4% or Greater: Based on an effective date beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025.

Best’s Country Risk Report: India Allows 100% Foreign Investment in Insurers: India has a CRT-4 country risk rating from AM Best, with moderate levels of economic risk and high levels of political and financial system risk, according to a Best’s Country Risk Report.

Best’s Rankings: Largest Asia-Pacific Insurers – 2026 Edition: Ranked by 2024 gross premium written.

Best’s Rankings: Travelers Group Tops US Commercial Multiperil Insurers List: State Farm Group tops a ranking of most-visited commercial multiperil insurer websites.

Best’s State Rate Filings: Hawaii Homeowners Insurers Hike Rates After Catastrophic Wildfires: Homeowners carriers in Hawaii are facing wildfire, hurricane and volcanic activity risks while dealing with economic inflation and higher reinsurance costs.

Bookstore: Author: Leading Through Uncertainty Becomes a Defining Skill for Insurers: Maptycs co-founder Ernest Legrand discusses how risk leaders navigate uncertainty to drive resilience and long-term strategic value.

Corporate Changes: Zurich, Beazley Agree on $10.9 Billion Deal Creating London-Based Specialty Giant: The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year and will be subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals.

Cyberrisk: Rising Cyber Interconnectedness Pushes Insurers To Boost Detection: Joe Toomey, vice president, underwriting security, Coalition, discusses how insurers help clients strengthen resilience and manage evolving risk.

Cyberthreats: AI Introduces New Cyberrisks: Maria Long, chief underwriting officer, Resilience, discusses how artificial intelligence is transforming cyberthreats.

Data Centers: Data Center Boom Opens Opportunities for Insurers: AI is driving a sharp increase in the construction of data centers. Insurers are expanding capacity and offering a range of coverages.

Data Centers: Coverages: Insuring AI Data Centers Requires Layered Mosaic of Coverages: One issue is the potential for gaps between construction and property coverage.

Data Centers: Losses: Data Center Losses Can Be Costly: Cyberattacks, geopolitical instability, water damage and fires are among the top concerns for data center operators.

Economic Calendar: IMF Offers Semiannual World Economic Outlook at April’s Joint Spring Meeting With World Bank: Inflation, debt metrics, GDP growth, and uncertainty about trade practices to be in focus during the meeting April 13-18 in Washington, D.C.

Events Calendar: Riskworld, Target Markets Among Spring Events: Philadelphia and Dallas are set to host major insurance industry conferences whose attendees look to gain industry insights and build networks.

Executive Changes: Lloyd’s Names Successor to Departing Chief Financial Officer: USAA hires chief information officer, Axis Capital Holdings taps group COO and Liberty Mutual appoints global risk solutions president.

From the Editor’s Desk: Insurance Industry Ramps Up for AI Data Centers: Best’s Review reports on how the insurance industry is responding to a massive build-out of AI data centers. This issue also includes rankings of the largest Asia-Pacific insurers and the largest U.S. commercial multiperil insurers.

Industry Research: Reports Explore the Implications of Cyber, Health, Political Risks for Insurers: Aon, the Geneva Association and Marsh offered recommendations to address various risks in their recent reports.

Issues & Answers: Directors and Officers: Issues & Answers: Microcap D&O: David Bock, Associate Vice President, Head of Midwest and West Public D&O for Nationwide’s commercial liability team, discusses how micro- and small-cap public companies differ from larger public companies in risk profile, claims activity and governance structure.

Issues & Answers: Health and Wellness: Issues & Answers: The Great Outdoors Market: Hollie Campe-Astridge, Assistant Vice President in the Sports & Recreation Department at Philadelphia Insurance Companies, said health and wellness trends are continuing to support demand for outdoor experiences. “People want to get outdoors, and we’re continuing to see growth because of that,” she said. Following are excerpts from her interview.

Life Insurance: Foresters Financial CEO Sees Adviser-Led Sales as ‘Bread and Butter’: The direct-to-consumer channel has been great for some carriers but the experience following the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of old-fashioned professionals, according to Matt Berman, president and chief executive officer of Foresters Financial.

Mining Insurance: Mining Insurance Brokers: Capacity High Despite Catastrophe Losses: Recent high-profile insured loss events include one for $503 million in Australia and a potential $700 million loss in Indonesia, Aon executives say.

Preferred Influencers: Insurtech Influencer Credits Active Travel Calendar for Building His Brand: Ken Leibow, CEO and founder of InsurTech Express, has built a strong online presence supported by connecting at in-person events.

Preferred Podcasters: Podcast Seeks To Size Up Risk: Risky Science Podcast host Chris Westfall, an entrepreneur, financial journalist and business coach, focuses on how predicting and modeling risk can be useful for insurers.

Preferred Publishers: Retirement Income Journal Examines Policy, Market for Pensions, Annuities: Kerry Pechter, founder, editor and publisher, sees the good, the bad and the ugly in retirement industry trends.

Special Advertising Section: MSIG USA’s Data-Driven Growth: Brian Botkin, Chief Underwriting Officer at MSIG USA, said that the company’s growth has come through a very disciplined underwriting approach and a build-out of its specialty underwriting capabilities. Following are excerpts from the interview.

Trending: Best’s News: ‘Forward Thinking’ Features Top List of Trending News, Offering Insights Into AI, Regulation and Secondary Perils: Other popular coverage includes a ranking of the world’s largest insurers and an article about employee poaching claims.

Trending: Best’s Research: Trending Research Includes Reports on the US Economy and US D&O Liability Insurance: Other trending research includes reports on surplus lines and P&I clubs.

Underwriting & Loss Control Resources: Alcohol Consumption Poses Risk to Golf Club Owners and Operators: Best’s Underwriting Reports and Best’s Loss Control Reports provide insights into the risks and lines of coverage for golf and country clubs.

Web Traffic: Web Traffic: Visits to Largest Asia-Pacific Insurer Sites: Life Insurance Corporation of India leads web analytics provider Semrush's ranking of most-visited Asia-Pacific insurer sites.

Web Traffic: Web Traffic: Visits to Largest Commercial Multiperil Insurer Sites: State Farm Group leads web analytics provider Semrush’s ranking of most-visited commercial multiperil insurer sites.

What AM Best Says: AM Best: Sidecar Market Seeing Growth in Multiple Sectors: Also, with catastrophe bond issuance hitting another record in 2025, there have been some “really outsize returns,” Matt Tuite, director, AM Best, told AM Best TV at the Artemis ILS NYC 2026 conference in New York.