Happy Wednesday! This week's Big I Buzz features IIAW's Annual Business Meeting on August 26, 2021, insurtechs with multibillion dollar valuations and how the potential government spending of $1.2T on infrastructure would impact the insurance industry.

IIAW's Annual Business Meeting - August 26, 2021

Join us for an overview of the Association's past fiscal year as presented by members of the IIAW Executive Committee at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 26th 2021. This meeting is reserved for IIAW members only. Go here to register to attend.

7 Insurtechs with Multibillion-Dollar Valuations

A number of insurtech startups are coming to market through blank-check companies. Here are valuations of several that have announced special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) plans.



Read more here. 

Construction Constrained: Market Dynamics Under U.S. Infrastructure Plan

Insurance for the construction sector is already in a tough position. Supply is shrinking, but demand is rising as the economy advances in the late-COVID environment. Insurance capacity for residential homebuilders risk and excess liability are constrained following some large surety losses, and prices are rising in line with almost all other classes of business insurance. If the current bipartisan White House proposal to spend $1.2 trillion on U.S. infrastructure goes ahead — or even a bill for substantially less — the dynamics of the market will have to change dramatically if we’re to get all these projects covered.

Carriers that have historically been dominant are still present, but they’ve scaled down the availability of their capacity, the Terms & Conditions they apply, or both. Various Lloyd’s syndicates have also participated in many major U.S. construction risks, but the market’s new “performance management” regime means it’s reasonable to presume appetite will be shrinking there too.

With no sign yet of these changes being reversed, finding adequate cover for a trillion dollars worth of projects will not be easy. That said, the market environment may be at least somewhat different when the projects actually come on line, which for most will take a few years at least. By then, some of the traditional players may be willing to release more capacity to construction, and new players may have joined their ranks.

Read the full article here.

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click  here  to add your email to our emailing list. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!