David Flandro, head of industry analysis and strategic advisory at Howden Re, discusses a growing reinsurance paradox: global risk is rising, but prices are falling. The episode was recorded as re/insurance executives headed to Monte Carlo for RVS 2026. The conversation explores what geopolitical instability, higher interest rates and the cost of capital mean for the market, whether Middle East losses could prove market-changing, and what combination of shocks it might take to turn the reinsurance cycle. Flandro also explains why geopolitics is becoming increasingly important to the way insurers and reinsurers analyse risk. And you can find Howden Re's "Breaking the glass" report, which we discuss in this episode, right here: https://www.howdenre.com/news-insights/howden-re-releases-breaking-glass
Chris Jarvis, group chief underwriting officer at IGI, discusses the reset taking place in political violence insurance.With geopolitical instability and conflict in the Middle East testing underwriting assumptions, Jarvis explains how IGI is adjusting pricing, line sizes, aggregation and capacity across its global portfolio.The discussion explores whether affordability is creating gaps in political violence cover, why IGI sees greater value in some areas of treaty reinsurance than the direct market, and whether political violence insurance can deliver sustainable returns.
Almost three years on from the October 7 terrorist attacks, Israel has fought across multiple fronts, from Gaza and Lebanon to direct confrontation with Iran.Amiad Cohen, CEO of The Herut Center, argues that Israel has substantially reduced the military threats surrounding it, outperforming pre-war expectations through a strategy he calls “peace through strength”.He discusses whether Israel’s wars are really over, the continuing threat from Iran and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, the security outlook in Gaza and Lebanon, relations with the US and Europe, and what the changing geopolitical landscape means for businesses and insurers.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s government financing landscape has been transformed by credit markets, changing geopolitics, and new sources of capital. This special episode, produced in association with Mosaic Insurance, features Katharine Villers, political risk underwriter and head of commercial finance at Mosaic, and Nick James, director, structured finance at ICBC Standard Bank. They explore how the continent’s financing system has evolved, the changing geopolitics of capital, and the role that banks and insurers are playing in supporting investment and development.
How can political violence and terrorism insurers turn recent events into better underwriting insights? Recorded live at Lloyd’s during Verisk’s “Insuring Political Violence, SRCC, and Terrorism Forum”, this special episode brings together Alex Baker of Chaucer, Guy Burrows of Inigo and Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft. The panel explores the underwriting lessons emerging from recent geopolitical events, including the 2026 Iran war, changing targeting patterns and the sparks that can trigger strikes, riots and civil commotion. The discussion also examines data quality, predictive modelling, portfolio resilience, hybrid conflict, claims information and the tools underwriters need to navigate an increasingly complex political violence landscape.