Barclays Plc has increased its review process to better detect client exposure to flood risk, according to Amit Puri, the bank’s head of sustainability for business. The move comes as the bank runs internal models to track scenarios where flood risk is higher, reflecting a response to more severe flooding threats in the UK. The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority has issued guidelines pressuring banks to analyse climate-related risks more closely, including flooding and storms.

A recent Barclays survey of 700 UK business leaders found 86% have faced difficulty obtaining climate-risk insurance, and half have redirected capital away from areas at higher risk of extreme weather. In real estate and housing, over 40% of firms have shifted investment towards resilience, while more than half would invest further if they had better information on business benefits. Flood risk now tops the list of climate factors influencing business location decisions.

UK banks face mounting demands to show they understand climate risks, particularly as the Flood Re reinsurance scheme, which helps high-risk homeowners access insurance, is due to end in 2039 and excludes homes built after 2009. The urgency to protect assets from climate impacts is growing as physical risks materialise sooner than expected, according to Puri.

The Federal Trade Commission and eight states have filed a lawsuit against Toast Inc., a software provider to small restaurants, alleging the company imposed hidden and unauthorised fees, unwanted add-ons and made it difficult for customers to cancel services. The complaint claims Toast violated the FTC Act, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act and several state laws. Toast customers reported being charged for add-ons like payroll processing without consent and faced early termination fees that could exceed $5,000. The complaint also cites a $0.99 fee charged to some restaurant patrons without proper disclosure.

Toast is accused of failing to provide the promised "24/7/365" customer support, with some restaurants waiting months for issue resolution, sometimes losing card payment revenue. The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection director said these practices drained profits from small businesses and were illegal. Toast disputes the allegations, arguing that the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act does not apply to its business-to-business contracts and that it has cooperated with the FTC since mid-2025.

The lawsuit raises questions about how far consumer protection rules extend to B2B software and payment providers. Regulated firms in finance, insurance and healthcare should examine their own contract terms, customer support and transparency around fees. The outcome may influence future regulatory scrutiny of commercial software agreements.

RiverStone International has completed two significant loss portfolio transfer (LPT) reinsurance deals, one marking its entry into the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market. The Bermuda-based legacy specialist reinsured portfolios linked to funds managed by Leadenhall Capital Partners, a London investment manager. This is RiverStone’s first involvement in the ILS sector, according to its group M&A head, and is seen as a step towards offering more tailored legacy solutions.

The second deal finalises several reinsurance transactions with QBE Insurance Group, covering about US$1.6 billion in reserves for North American middle market and workers’ compensation portfolios, as well as European liability books. RiverStone’s group CEO said the agreements show its ability to deliver complex legacy solutions at scale and strengthen its long-term partnership with QBE.

For insurers and reinsurers, RiverStone’s move into ILS and the scale of the QBE transfer may broaden the tools available for managing legacy liabilities. The deals may prompt other carriers to consider similar transactions as they seek capital relief and certainty over old exposures.

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that most Americans are wary of artificial intelligence making decisions about their medical care or insurance claims. Of 3,488 US adults surveyed, 60% said they were uncomfortable with AI helping doctors make diagnoses or treatment plans. Only 5% supported insurance claim decisions made by AI without human review, and nearly half did not want AI involved in these decisions at all.

The report notes that while Americans may accept AI for tasks like translating, they expect a human to do the final review in medical and insurance matters. Trust is higher in doctors using AI than in insurance companies, government, tech firms or hospital leadership. More than half of respondents see AI as a risk to their personal health information.

Public attitudes have shifted more negatively among younger adults since 2022, according to Pew. As tech firms promote AI in healthcare, transparency and clear communication about AI’s role in care remain important for acceptance.

Healthcare and insurance executives need to consider these findings when planning AI adoption, focusing on consent, transparency and maintaining a human role in critical decisions.

AIG has agreed to acquire Everest Group's insurance subsidiary in Chile and has completed its purchase of Everest Colombia, the companies announced. The deals will add Everest's Chilean and Colombian operations—including licences, staff and ongoing business—to AIG's portfolio, which targets corporate and upper-middle-market clients in areas such as property, energy, marine and financial lines.

Everest said this agreement is the final step in its planned withdrawal from commercial retail insurance in Latin America. The company has focused on aligning its business with areas where it sees the most long-term value. AIG, meanwhile, said the acquisitions will strengthen its presence in Latin America, where Colombia and Chile are the fourth- and fifth-largest corporate insurance markets.

The Chile transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals. Both companies said they will work together to ensure a smooth transition for staff, clients and brokers. For insurers and brokers, the deal signals ongoing consolidation and growth in Latin America's commercial insurance market.

North Korea’s state-backed TraderTraitor group, accused by the FBI of the $6.3 billion Binance hack, has adopted artificial intelligence to target high-value crypto firms, according to cybersecurity experts cited by Insurance Journal. The group, reportedly numbering just a dozen elite hackers, uses AI to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in crypto businesses, focusing on employees with privileged access. This approach enabled them to steal $6.36 billion in cryptocurrency in just 20 minutes, with $2.8 billion later frozen, leaving net outflows of $3.6 billion.

Experts say TraderTraitor’s activities now generate nearly half of North Korea’s banned weapons funding. The group’s techniques include social engineering, such as targeting key staff with fake job offers. Crypto exchanges are responding by strengthening security for employees with sensitive access. The scale and speed of these attacks have increased as AI lowers technical barriers and accelerates operations.

For regulated financial institutions, the incident shows the growing sophistication of state-sponsored cyber threats. With North Korea’s cyber thefts funding military expansion, the risk is not just financial but geopolitical. Firms must review access controls, staff training, and incident response plans to keep pace with evolving threats.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, restored customer withdrawals after a cyberattack drained over $6 billion, in what is described as the biggest digital asset theft to date. Withdrawals resumed for 15 tokens and across 15 blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, after more than two days of suspension. According to DefiLlama, net outflows reached $3.5 billion by Sunday evening in Asia, though Binance stated that withdrawal volumes have since stabilised.

The company said it replaced about 95% of the stolen funds using its corporate treasury, emergency, and insurance funds, vowing not to pass losses to users. Binance also updated its Proof of Reserves addresses to new wallets as part of its security response. The US FBI and blockchain intelligence firms have attributed the attack to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. Some experts link the rise in crypto hacks to the use of artificial intelligence by threat actors.

The event puts a spotlight on cyber risk management for financial institutions and digital asset platforms. Binance’s ability to absorb losses and maintain operations is being closely watched by market participants and regulators. The incident also adds to concerns about the resilience of crypto infrastructure as the sector becomes more integrated with mainstream finance.

Barclays is seeking to buy default protection from insurers on over $10 billion of debt linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to sources cited by Insurance Journal. The bank aims to create space for more lending as demand from hyperscale clients increases. Talks with insurers are ongoing, with no final decisions yet on the size or timing of any deals. Barclays declined to comment.

Banks often use credit risk insurance to share potential losses and release regulatory capital for new business. The surge in AI-driven data centre projects has led to greater insurer exposure, but a recent Willis Towers Watson survey suggests many insurers are nearing their sector limits for this type of risk. Some are already full on data centre exposure.

With McKinsey projecting global data centre spending to reach $6.7 trillion by 2030, the need for debt financing is expected to grow. This is already putting pressure on the credit market, as seen in recent moves in Meta Platforms’ credit risk and comments from Citadel’s Pablo Salame about market strain.

Barclays is reportedly seeking to transfer more than half of the credit risk on certain AI-related facilities. Senior leaders should monitor insurer appetite and capacity as the sector’s funding needs expand.

General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to resolve allegations from attorneys general in 35 US states and the District of Columbia that it sold drivers' private behaviour and location data to brokers, who then sold it to insurers. The claims focused on GM's Smart Driver programme, which ran from 2016 until 2024 and involved millions of drivers. Regulators said GM promoted the programme as a safety tool but failed to uphold promises not to sell data without drivers' consent.

The settlement requires GM to restrict the driving data it collects and to obtain drivers' express consent before collecting or sharing such data. This follows a $12.75 million settlement with California and a separate agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission to limit data sharing for five years. Insurers including Allstate, Progressive and Geico use telematics to set premiums, claiming it rewards safe driving.

For insurers and automakers, this settlement signals increased regulatory attention on telematics and personal data use. Firms must review consent processes and data handling practices to avoid similar legal and reputational risks.

Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia have restricted third-party artificial intelligence agents, including Meta’s Muse, from accessing their digital banking systems. The banks say this step follows security reviews and aims to reduce unacceptable customer risk and potential liability exposure. RBC’s group heads of technology and personal banking told staff the decision was based on the safety and security of clients and systems. Other banks, including Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, are either blocking such access or monitoring the issue closely.

Bank spokespeople note that only a small proportion of clients use these AI agents, but the risk of unauthorised access and data loss is significant. Several banks urged clients not to share credentials with AI agents and said they are interested in AI innovation but need stronger safeguards before allowing access. US banks have taken similar steps, with Charles Schwab’s CEO recently confirming active blocks on unauthorised AI agents.

This move reflects growing concern in financial services about the risks of third-party AI tools acting beyond customer instructions or exposing sensitive data. Senior executives should assess where their own AI policies may need to be tightened, especially as client demand for automation grows.