In this article, 20Twenty Search advisor Jason Sykes discusses how growing hedge fund interest in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is intensifying recruitment competition and testing sector talent dynamics.

“The latest wave of high‑profile hires from specialist ILS firms signals renewed interest – but also raises questions about its impact on talent and market stability,” said Sykes.

Sykes also highlights that, with hedge funds making high-profile hires from specialist firms and offering premium pay, established ILS businesses face tighter talent pools and staffing challenges, particularly given long notice periods and limited early-career pipelines.

A wide range of senior leaders from Managing General Agents shared their thoughts in Insurance Post’s MGAs Review of the year, including Collegiate Management Services Managing Director Richard Turnbull.

Describing the best news for the MGA sector in 2025, Mr. Turnbull pointed to the abundance of capacity available, but warned about the potential consequences of insurers recklessly providing capacity to competing MGAs. This, he said, doesn’t promote prudent underwriting standards and contributes to a more volatile market.

Mr. Turnbull voiced disappointment at the speed with which certain elements of the insurance market have reverted to some of the poor practices, which he said were “prevalent and possibly responsible for the reduction in capacity and subsequent hardening of the market in 2019.”

In the Insurance Age ‘Review of the Year’ feature, Rob Gibbs, President & CEO, SiriusPoint International, highlighted strong growth through MGA partnerships, which has involved building strategic relationships with leading MGAs from the ground up and creating meaningful, deep partnerships that align with the company’s long-term strategy.

Mr. Gibbs said that he sees the UK’s MGA market as buoyant, attracting European interest and healthy competition.

Painting a positive picture for 2026, Mr. Gibbs said he expects solid profitability and continued MGA momentum, but noted the need for discipline amid some market softening. His wishes for 2026 include greater efficiency, automation, and reduced geopolitical tensions.

In an interview with Insurance Business, James Bullock-Webster, Director and Head of Tech, Media & Cyber at New Dawn Risk, discusses the threats posed by payment processors.

In the interview, Mr. Bullock-Webster discusses how payment processors are critical to global commerce but face persistent cyber threats like ransomware, data breaches, and systemic risks from third-party failures.

Mr Bullock-Webster said: “From a bad actor’s perspective, there’s something of a gold mine. If you can disrupt them [payment processors], if you can extract money out of them, they are a high-value target.” He went on to explain that, while risks have evolved digitally, the fundamentals remain unchanged, requiring insurers and brokers to adapt quickly to protect clients.

IQUW has promoted Tristram Prior to Head of Professional Lines & Cyber Insurance in Bermuda. Tristram will oversee the launch of Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O), Financial Institutions (FI), and Cyber products, reporting to Chief Underwriting Officer James Mitchell.

The appointment supports IQUW’s strategy to expand its Bermuda platform and diversify its offering, following its recent move into Mortgage, Credit, and Cyber reinsurance.

Tristram said: “I’m excited to help establish IQUW Bermuda as a market for Professional Lines and Cyber insurance, delivering data, insight and human expertise to support brokers with a seamless, efficient service proposition.”

In an Insurance Journal ‘Viewpoint’ article, Doug Marquis, Chief Technology Officer at Zywave, shares his thoughts on how Agentic AI is emerging as the next evolution of artificial intelligence in insurance, moving beyond task automation to autonomous decision-making and strategy development.

Mr. Marquis goes on to explain how the technology is built on generative AI principles, it uses “chain of thought” reasoning to plan and execute complex processes, from marketing campaigns to policy selection.

The author explains potential efficiencies, while urging that human oversight remains essential for compliance, data integrity, and ethical transparency. Mr. Marquis says he expects agentic AI to become widespread within one to two years.

At Insurance Times 2025 awards ceremony on 3rd December, Collegiate Management Services were awarded a Bronze Award in the MGA of the Year(under 100 employees) category.

Richard Turnbull, managing director at Collegiate, spoke to Insurance Times ahead of the awards ceremony, to explain what makes Collegiate a stand-out contender for the MGA of the Year category. Mr. Turnbull points to the company’s stability, profitability, and service excellence in a volatile Professional Indemnity market and cites nearly 40 years of consistent underwriting performance.

Mr. Turnbull expresses pride achieving retention rates above 80% and an average client tenure of 8.4 years, as well as the trust and long-term partnerships Collegiate has built among brokers and insurers, with a track record of technical expertise and sustained profitability.

In a byline article featured in Money Marketing, Lucy Brown, Insurer Partnerships Director at Reassured, describes how Life insurers can play a key role in supporting men’s mental health.

Ms. Brown explains that, with 50% of men facing mental health issues and men making up 75% of suicides in England and Wales, there’s a pressing need for better support. Four in five suicides are by men, and suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 35 (Men’s Health Forum).

Concluding the article, Ms. Brown states the need for companies to do more: “Our industry must therefore continue to do all we can to help our customers improve their health and wellbeing by encouraging open dialogue on mental-health issues and by better communicating the support that is available through added value services.”