Author: completebodyneeds

When Mitesh Parikh, a headhunter at UK recruiter Selby Jennings, started looking for an ILS modeler for a large US hedge fund this year, the pool of qualified candidates was disconcertingly small. “It was a tough search,” says Parikh, who specializes in roles focused on risk. ILS — which stands for insurance-linked securities — is “a relatively new and emerging area among hedge funds,” he said. “And they’re all looking for the same talent.” Experts in ILS have traditionally focused on things like modeling the probability that a hurricane might hit an urban area, and how that would feed into…

Merck & Co. says it will settle a spate of lawsuits that blame the drugmaker’s blockbuster Gardasil cancer vaccine for causing autoimmune ailments that affect young women’s hearts and reproductive systems for an amount that is “not material” to the pharma firm. Gardasil prevents human papillomavirus, or HPV infections. Under the accord, Merck would pay more than $50 million to settle more than 200 cases, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal would also resolve a closely watched case set for trial next month in state court in Los Angeles. Merck, based in Rahway, New Jersey, said in…

National Howden, Cybeta LLC Howden acquired the intellectual property assets of Cybeta LLC, a cyber data and analytics provider. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cybeta was founded in 2019 by a team of data science experts with experience …

Doctor Bots “Well technically, I could. It’s within my remit as a Doctor.” — AI chatbot “Emilie,” which allegedly told a male investigator posing as a patient with depression that she was licensed to practice psychiatry in Pennsylvania, as well …

By L.S. Howard War has overtaken civil unrest as the political violence exposure that companies fear most, as conflicts in Europe and the Middle East disrupt global trade flows, strain political alliances, embolden adversarial powers, and heighten risks to business assets, according to the 2026 Allianz Risk Barometer. War was identified as the political violence exposure most feared by companies, surpassing civil unrest to garner 53% of the votes in the 2026 Allianz Risk Barometer, climbing from 48% in 2025. Allianz noted political risk and violence climbed to number seven in the Risk Barometer, its highest position ever (compared to…

By Scott Freiday When one independent insurance agency acquires another, they should be able to model the results with realistic accuracy. However, a year after the close of the sale, the actual financial results often do not mirror the projections. Why? Because the focus was on the front-end of the deal–for example, the multiple that was paid. Yet, the post-close economics were not thoroughly considered and modeled to reality. In agency acquisitions, the focus on the purchase price can lead to tunnel vision. But the four pillars of the deal–amortization, interest expense, tax allocation, and owner distributions–ultimately determine whether a…

By Chris Burand The industry has just come through the hardest market in 40 years. Premiums have increased fast, growing by almost 40% in the last five years. Carrier profits have been at record highs now for three consecutive years ($398.3 billion in net income). And yet, some companies are so incompetently managed, they have effectively gone backward and have not made any money. At the agency and insurance distribution level, ask yourself this question: How is a carrier that cannot grow in the most rate inflationary environment in two generations going to help me grow? They clearly do not…

By Andrew G. Simpson As part of an effort to lower insurance costs for operators of affordable housing, New York State has made a $2 million loan to Milford Street Association, an organization with an insurance captive that is owned and operated by members of the state’s affordable housing industry. The loan is from Empire State Development (ESD) to the Milford Street Association Insurance Co. Milford Street plans to use the loan to cover a portion of the initial capital contribution cost for membership, thereby hoping to increase membership in the captive. Increasing membership should enable the captive to be…

By Andrea Wells U.S. workers’ compensation net written premium decreased 0.2% in 2025, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). NCCI reported that while the calendar year 2025 combined ratio for workers’ compensation is 91 (compared with 86 the prior year), the workers’ comp accident year 2025 combined ratio is 102 with prior years continuing to experience downward reserve development. The annual State of the Line Report analyzed U.S. private workers’ comp carrier data from the 38 states served by NCCI. NCCI said it’s the 12th consecutive year where the workers’ comp calendar year combined ratio measured below…

By Ezra Amacher Recovery times for injured workers are growing longer even as workplace injury rates decline, according to a new report from Travelers. Travelers’ 2026 Injury Impact Report found injuries to employees aged 60 and older are more severe, carrying recovery times of 97 days–more than two weeks longer than the overall average. Older employees are susceptible to fractures and dislocations, which take longer to heal. Slips, trips, and falls are the leading causes of expensive injury claims (those exceeding $250,000) for all employees, but particularly those aged 60 or above, the report found, causing approximately 40% of all…