Marsoner is joining Gallagher Re from Marsh, where she most recently served as Assistant Vice President – International Casualty Brokers

During her time at Marsh she gathered extensive experience managing General Liability and Life Sciences placements, with a particular focus on the Middle East and Asia.

She also brings strong experience in Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL), as she has also worked across both the underwriting and broking sides of the business.

Marsoner’s appointment underscores the firm’s commitment to deepening its technical expertise within the increasingly complex Asia-Pacific casualty landscape.

Gallagher Re has also recently strengthened its facultative team in North America with the appointment of Steven Housse.

As Facultative Reinsurance Leader for North America, Housse will lead the company’s facultative strategy across both North America and Canada, focusing on individual risks and facultative facilities across property & casualty and specialty lines.

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Dr. Bartholomew takes on his new role at Guy Carpenter on June 1st, 2026. He will be based in London and will report to David Lightfoot, Managing Director, Global Analytics and Advisory, Guy Carpenter.

In his new role, Dr. Bartholomew will work closely with the broking team to drive further growth in the emerging parametric risk transfer space to deliver robust solutions for clients.

Dr. Bartholomew founded FloodFlash in 2017 with Adam Rimmer. The parametric flood insurance company was acquired by NormanMax Insurance Holdings last year. Prior to founding FloodFlash, Dr. Bartholomew spent five years at Moody’s RMS as a senior consultant in the capital markets advisory team.

“We are excited to welcome Ian as we continue to expand our parametric advisory capabilities. Parametric solutions are an important part of the global risk management ecosystem, providing a transformative approach to risk transfer that is gaining traction across the reinsurance market. Ian’s extensive expertise and leadership in the design and implementation of parametric solutions will be instrumental for our clients as they seek to adopt these innovative mechanisms,” said Lightfoot.

Dr. Bartholomew commented: “Joining Guy Carpenter represents an exciting opportunity to advance the role of parametric advisory in today’s dynamic risk landscape. With the increasing unpredictability of global events, it’s crucial to develop solutions that are not only innovative and responsive but also practical.”

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The March 10-12 SCS outbreak hit more than a dozen states across central and eastern parts of the US, bringing violent and damaging tornadoes, potentially record-setting hail, and straight-line wind damage.

“This week’s outbreak brought widespread impacts across several central and eastern US states. While deadly tornadoes have driven most media coverage, we again witnessed considerable (and record-breaking) hail in many communities that drive widespread damage. Parts of the major metro areas of Chicago (IL), Kansas City (MO), and Oklahoma City (OK) were affected by baseball-sized hail – or larger,” said Steve Bowen, Chief Science Officer at Gallagher Re.

According to Gallagher Re, the outbreak is likely to become the most impactful and expensive US SCS event so far in 2026, as SCS-related damage costs with aggregated insured losses from January and February events landed below $1 billion.

March is known as the start of the peak SCS season in the US. “The peak months for overall SCS activity and observed losses are March, April, May, and June. Since 2010, those four months have accounted for at least 72% (USD390 billion) of US SCS insured losses. On an annual basis, the US has now seen three consecutive years of minimal USD50 billion in SCS-related insured losses,” explains Gallagher Re.

In fact, on an annual basis, Gallagher Re finds that, at $542 billion, SCS has now far surpassed the tropical cyclone peril ($367 billion) on an aggregate basis as the costliest for insurers since 2010.

The global rise in SCS losses was discussed recently by re/insurance broker Aon, who also warns that the March outbreak in the US could drive insured losses in the low billions of dollars.

“Total economic and insured losses over the past week may reach the low to mid-single digit billions USD,” said Aon on the SCS outbreak in its March 13 Weekly Cat Report.

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In his new role with Price Forbes Re, Ford leads the development of the reinsurance broker’s MGA practice across Asia, with a focusing on strategic growth initiatives.

He works closely with MGA clients to enhance their business operations and drive sustainable growth, while utilising industry insights to develop bespoke solutions that meet the unique needs of clients in the Asia region.

Most recently, Ford worked at Miller as a Treaty Reinsurance Executive in Singapore, and between March 2023 and May 2023, he worked at Lockton Companies Singapore as Head of Client Solutions Lockton International APAC Reinsurance.

Ford served as Acting Group COO of Capital Insurance Group Limited between December 2019 and March 2020. He’s also been a consultant at Steadfast in Australia; SVP Head of Treaty Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa at Allied World Reinsurance Company; Chief Reinsurance Officer at Chubb; SVP and GM at Travelers St Paul Re in Aus/NZ; and has spent time at Munich Re, and Aon. He began his career at QBE.

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This addition marks Brokerslink’s entry into a new country, strengthening its presence across the Baltic region.

Perks, an independent insurance broker specialising in corporate and SME risks, including property, business interruption, and general and professional liability, was founded in 2012.

It serves a broad range of industries, including forestry, agriculture, real estate, transport & logistics, food production, and trade and wholesale.

Perks is led by Founder Guntis Zoldners, who brings international corporate risk experience gained by serving four years servicing Wtw clients across the Baltic region.

Guntis Zoldners, Founder, Perks, commented, “Joining Brokerslink represents an important milestone for Perks and for the development of independent broking in Latvia.

“We are proud to bring Latvia into the Brokerslink network and to offer our clients access to international expertise and connections, while maintaining our strong local focus and advisory approach. We look forward to building long-term relationships with fellow partners and affiliates across the global network.”

Carla Alves, Marketing and Operations Director, Brokerslink, added, “Expanding into Latvia is another step in the continued development of Brokerslink’s presence in the Baltic region.

“Perks brings a strong reputation in the local market, a clear advisory philosophy and valuable international experience. We are delighted to welcome Guntis and his team to the network and to extend our reach into this new territory.”

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Flandro said: “We have to be much more multifaceted, I think, as a sector. Yes, of course, treaty placements, and working together with markets, with investors and with buyers to find the best solutions as the market pricing environment changes, that’s clearly crucial in treaty. And then utilising facultative reinsurance in the right way, at the right time, including D&F, including retro, all of those things are absolutely crucial.”

A key driver of this shift is how buyers now view their risk transfer. Flandro noted that reinsurance is increasingly treated not just as an expense, but as a strategic financial tool like equity or debt.

“But brokers also need to bring strategic advisory to the table, whether that’s advice around rating cap, reg cap, valuation, ALM, ERM, captives. All of those discussions that brokers are asked to have on a daily basis, we have to be adept at that, and there has to be a bridge into capital markets. Because reinsurance is a form of contingent capital, like equity and debt, and any intelligent buyer at scale will be considering reinsurance in that context,” Flandro explained.

Additionally, managing general agents (MGAs) and specialised facilities have also become increasingly important for clients, becoming indispensable, especially as the market pricing environment remains fluid.

“It’s treaty, fac, strategic advisory, capital markets, and finally, MGAs. MGAs and facilities are an increasingly important part of the market for our clients, especially as the market pricing environment changes. So, just at a minimum, brokers have to bring all five of those things to the table, in addition to all the other consultancies that we undertake. But that’s an important part of the story, more so than it was 10 years ago for sure,” the executive concluded.

Watch the full video interview to hear Flandro discuss brokers and other trends transforming the re/insurance market.

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Guidewire’s research is based on a survey of more than 250 insurance brokers who primarily work with London Market insurers.

In a softening market, Guidewire suggests brokers are becoming increasingly focused on efficiency and are favouring technologically advanced insurers. This is even more pronounced among senior brokers and director-level respondents.

Reliance on outdated technology was ranked as the single biggest impediment to modernisation in the London Market, cited by 24% of respondents.

The report also found that 78% of respondents are proceeding with their own technology strategies regardless of the Blueprint Two timeline. Of those moving ahead independently, 31% expressed concern about insurers’ ability to integrate due to legacy core constraints.

The top AI use case identified by brokers was automating submission intake and data extraction (42%), followed by enhancing exposure management (38%).

Just over half of brokers (51%) say the shift toward algorithmic or fully digital underwriting is happening now, while nearly half (48%) view ‘smart follow syndicates’ positively for their ability to speed up placement, highlighting the growing role of automation in underwriting workflows.

Jamie McDonnell, London Market Director, Guidewire, said, “London Market broker loyalty is no longer anchored in history or relationships alone. In a softening market, where competition for business intensifies, modernisation is more critical than ever. This survey shows a clear majority of brokers favour technologically forward insurers. This reflects the need for stable, durable core operating platforms that can power the commitments the London Market makes to customers around the world. Insurers that invest in resilient foundations – platforms that evolve with the pace of competition, enable seamless integration, and provide underwriters with the ability to leverage emerging tools, in the context they require – are better positioned to deliver consistently and compete dynamically.”

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In an interview with Reinsurance News, Schwebach, Head of Property North America at reinsurance broker Gallager Re, discussed the Florida market and the outlook for the mid-year renewals, against the backdrop of the reforms in 2022 and 2023, which have stabilised the state’s property market.

To start, Schwebach gave his thoughts on how he expects the general trends in Florida to play out this year.

“The way I describe it is, we went into 2025 with cautious optimism that the legislative reforms were proving out. There was really solid data that was starting to come out of specifically Milton. Helene was more of a flood loss within the state of Florida, but Milton was showing signs of acting like a normal hurricane. Losses were coming in, as expected. You weren’t getting the historical first notice of loss that also had a lawsuit attached to it, that had become common prior to reforms,” he said.

“I would say as we enter 2026, the cautious portion of the cautious optimism is starting to go away, and I would say everybody in the state is actively looking to grow right now into what they view as a very, very positive, stable insurance environment,” added Schwebach.

This positivity, according to Schwebach, is also rolling over to reinsurers who are now looking at the state with renewed interest, pleased that the uncertainty surrounding lawsuits and everything that goes along with that has been removed, ultimately making reinsurers more comfortable to write Florida business.

“While we see all of the carriers actively looking to grow within the state, some (reinsurers) may say they would like to keep relatively stable in the state and they have enough, but I think that most would be happy to grow within the state mid-year this year,” said Schwebach.

Moving forward, Schwebach feels that the fact reinsurers have adjusted their risk assessment models in Florida since the reforms were put into place, is key.

“This is where we could get a bifurcated view depending on whether you talk to a company, a broker, or a reinsurer, on what the overall rate impact is in any given year, because behind the scenes reinsurers are messaging and telling us they’re doing exactly that. There were loads that they were forced to include within their pricing for litigation, for social inflation, for all of the buzz words that we’ve heard, and they’re very actively reviewing those assumptions right now, and in many instances, starting to reduce them.

“That’s going to, just on its own, have a very positive effect. And that’s why I think that you’ll see a bifurcation in what reinsurers view the difference in rate being in any given year. I think we saw a little bit of this last year, but I think we’ll see more of it this year. Last year, most brokers were reporting something like a 15% decrease in rates. I think it’s very possible that a reinsurer could look at that and say, actually, when we strip out some of these loads, we may see rates down five-ish percent, and that feels pretty positive,” he said.

Adding: “So, I expect we’re going to continue to see that trend in 2026 where reinsurers are reassessing the loads that they’re putting into the Florida market, and to the extent they can get back to just underwriting hurricane risk, which they’re very good at, I think they’re very happy to do that. So, I think all of that will lead to rate reductions in the state in 2026.”

Prior to the reforms, reinsurers pulled back from the Florida property market to avoid the rising costs tied to litigation post-event, but with the 2026 mid-year renewals fast approaching, Schwebach notes that “this is the most proactive in years” that he’s seen reinsurers in engaging with Florida carriers.

“For example, we had reinsurers reaching out in July of last year with ideas and proposals for carriers to think about for 6.1 of this year. They are absolutely thinking forward and trying to partner with the people that they’ve been partnering with for the past several years, and look for growth opportunities.

“It’s actually a lot of fun for clients to be on their front foot and starting to explore some creative ways to think about reinsurance. And for brokers, we love it, because the fun part of our job is in the creativity and helping people grow. And reinsurers, coming to brokers and cedants with ideas, is a really fun place to be,” he said.

As Gallagher Re’s January renewal report highlights, property and notably property catastrophe reinsurance rates softened further at the 1.1 2026 renewals, and as supply outpaced demand, Schwebach expects reinsurers that failed to reach their growth targets at January 1 to look for growth at the mid-year.

“I think that’s going to lead to more supply. I think it’s going to lead to more appetite for reinsurers for the Florida business and write mid-year renewals in general. So, that’s all a very positive thing. Reinsurers aren’t going to throw away any of their underwriting guidelines and not worry about pricing as they think through hitting revenue goals, but it is going to be a factor that they’re going to need to think about,” said Schwebach.

To end, Schwebach discussed where he sees the main growth opportunities for re/insurers in Florida.

“I think that there’s opportunities certainly below the fund. For those that had moved away from writing underneath the FHCF, we did see some markets coming back to that market last year. I think we will see an acceleration of that in 2026, a lot of that again has to do with the certainty around the results that they’re seeing. If you go back in time, it wasn’t just hurricanes, but SCS events that could have a very negative impact fairly high into a reinsurance program where reinsurers were not expecting that. SCS events were largely driven by litigation historically within the state, the fact that those have gone away, it’s essentially become a non-issue for both carriers and reinsurers that are providing that coverage at the bottom-end of the curves. And I think that will give a lot of them the certainty to move down in programs,” he said.

“The other thing which reinsurers are messaging is a willingness to look at structural creativity. Whether that’s adding some dropping component, providing some aggregate coverage, I think that there is a view that the ILS market is certainly willing to consider those types of structures right now, and the traditional market will need to follow suit in order to not lose ground,” concluded Schwebach.

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The approval was facilitated through its subsidiary SGIS Malaysia Ltd., but as noted by the firm, this development elevates the entire group into an “elite circle of global brokerages” authorised to negotiate and place risks directly with underwriters at Lloyd’s, the world’s oldest insurance and reinsurance marketplace.

As a Lloyd’s broker, SGIS Group now has a direct pipeline to unparalleled underwriting expertise and specialist insurance capacity, enhancing its ability to manage complex, high-stakes risks across various sectors.

Some of the sectors the group plans to work in are Financial Lines & Specialty Casualty, Cyber & Political Risks, Professional Indemnity, Property & Engineering, and Marine & Specialty Solutions.

Through this entry, the group aims to design more sophisticated, bespoke insurance programmes and source capacity more efficiently by directly engaging with the Lloyd’s market.

Simon Oh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SGIS Group, commented, “Becoming a Lloyd’s broker is a major achievement that reflects the strength of our governance and our technical expertise.

“This direct engagement with the Lloyd’s market allows us to deepen our commitment to international markets and deliver significantly enhanced value to our clients and business partners worldwide.”

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After completing the sale of the treaty reinsurance operations of Willis Re to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in late 2021, WTW confirmed in late 2024 that it intended to re-enter the market via a joint venture with private investment firm, Bain Capital.

Since then, Willis Re has made numerous hires as the build-out continues. And in April of last year, WTW’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Carl Hess, stressed that the joint venture is progressing well.

During the recently held WTW fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings call with analysts, leaders at WTW were questioned on Willis Re, specifically if anything had been learned from the 1.1 2026 reinsurance renewals.

“So, we’re very happy with the trajectory of the build-out of Willis Re, it is going according to plan. And the business was able to participate in the 1.1 renewal cycle, and we’re very happy with how that went from a business and operational perspective,” said CFO Krasner.

In today’s results announcement, WTW revealed that it expects Willis Re to be a headwind on Adjusted Diluted EPS of ~$0.30 this year, stating that the remaining equity investments in the interest in earnings of associates line are not expected to be material in 2026.

Krasner emphasised on the call that WTW will continue to make investments in its reinsurance joint venture as it scales its newly launched commercial operations.

During the Q&A, WTW was also quizzed on whether a fully operational Willis Re would make the group incrementally competitive in winning some of the digital infrastructure business, an area WTW highlighted a strong and growing presence, supporting five of the 10 largest data centre developers globally.

Lucy Clark, President of Risk & Broking at WTW, responded: “In terms of will the reinsurance business be supportive? Sure. But, we already have a ton of work in that segment, and really using the work that we’ve done with some of our largest global owners and developers, plus many of the top data centre construction companies. The guys have just announced that they’ve developed an integrated global risk framework to respond to this sector’s risk profile, one that is increasingly systemic, interconnected and difficult to address through traditional insurance solutions by themselves.

“Their framework is designed to address the full spectrum of risk facing data centre owners, operators and investors across the entire life cycle of the project, from development and construction through steady-state operations. The framework really gives a holistic view of both current and emerging risks, including those that are systemic, difficult to model or still evolving.

“So, we continue to see high demand for our offering from new business, of course, but also from the strong pipelines that are developed by our existing clients.”

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