Amwins acquires Applied Risk Capital; The Mutual Group names CEO: Insurance news

The following summaries are written by the Digital Insurance editorial staff.

Digital Insurance reviews a high volume of news leads every week for this and other stories. Please send press releases and other information to kaitlyn.mattson@arizent.com.

Nationwide appoints small commercial leader

Nationwide named Joe Chamberlain as small commercial operations and service solutions lead. Chamberlain was most recently chief administrative officer at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group. He oversaw property, marine, workers'compensation, financial lines and political risk.

George Williams, SVP and leader of Nationwide's small commercial business, said in a statement: "Joe's people-first leadership style and deep industry experience make him an ideal fit to lead our small commercial operations and service solutions team. Throughout his career, he's built a reputation for operational excellence and strategic execution, and his ability to drive results while fostering strong team culture will be a tremendous asset to Nationwide."

The Mutual Group names CEO

The Mutual Group appointed Tom Troy as chief executive officer, effective January 5. Troy joins from USAA where he was chief transformation officer. He was also previously the CEO and president of CSAA Insurance Group, an EVP at Allstate and a variety of EVP roles at Liberty Mutual. Troy succeeds David Charlton, who has been serving as interim CEO. 

Chuck Chamness, chairman of The Mutual Group Board of Directors, said in a statement: "We are thrilled to welcome Tom to The Mutual Group. With his deep industry expertise, proven leadership and commitment to innovation, Tom is ideally suited to lead The Mutual Group as we accelerate our momentum and enter the next phase of growth. We are confident that Tom will build on the strong foundation laid by our team."

Amwins acquires Applied Risk Capital

Amwins acquired Applied Risk Capital (ARC), a credit insurance MGA. ARC will join Amwins Underwriting. BMO Capital Markets was the financial advisor to ARC.

Ryan Armijo, president of Amwins Underwriting, said in a statement: "Expanding into credit insurance represents a milestone for Amwins. ARC is led by a highly experienced and qualified team who has earned a reputation as the leader in the leveraged finance space. With our scale, relationships and infrastructure, we're confident this will create tremendous value for our clients and partners."

AIG promotes Cooper, Luck and Levinson

AIG has promoted three executives in its North America Commercial division.

The insurer named Allison Cooper and Barbara Luck as co-presidents of retail and Lou Levinson as president of wholesale. The newly promoted executives will report to John Neal, the new president of AIG.

The promotions follow the announced retirement of Don Bailey, executive vice president and CEO of North America Commercial.

FurtherAI announces new funding round

FurtherAI, an insurance workflow automation company, announced a $25 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The company previously had a $5 million funding round in April. It plans to use the new fund to expand its insurance-specific workflows for underwriting, claims and more, deepen integrations with carrier and broker systems, and scale its go to market teams.

Aon launches insurance for corporate financing, M&A

Global professional services firm Aon has launched a suite of insurance solutions for M&A and capital financing transactions.

The suite includes Secondaries R&W insurance (representations and warranties), LP Clawback insurance, Fund Wind-Down insurance, GP Stakes insurance, Tax insurance, and Contingent & Litigation insurance.

"Liquidity remains one of the most pressing challenges facing private market investors," said Matthew Wiener, Co-Head of Aon Transaction Solutions, said in a press release. "By combining transaction structuring with bespoke insurance products, we are able to facilitate deal execution by providing more efficient means for sponsors and investors to lock-in unrealized gains and pursue new opportunities."

Universal Insurance picks ZestyAI solution

Universal North America Insurance Company, part of the One Alliance Group, is now using ZestyAI's Roof Age service to increase the accuracy of its property risk assessments.

"Accurate roof data is foundational for managing one of the costliest drivers of property insurance losses," said Miguel Barrales, President of Universal North America Insurance Company, in a press release. "ZestyAI's Roof Age solution provides the reliability we need to make more confident risk decisions and strengthen portfolio performance."

Axonic taps iPipeline platform for annuity distribution

Axonic Insurance, an annuity and investment solutions company has chosen iPipeline to improve its annuity order entry process.

Axonic will use iPipeline's AFFIRM platform to launch its VantagePoint annuity product and expand distribution through an independent marketing organization channel. Axonic will also be able to use iPipeline's platform to distribute its products through the LIBRA Insurance Partners network.

"Insurtech solutions that easily integrate and are swiftly deployed enable our team to quickly scale new products, without back-end development," said Axonic Insurance CEO Michael Gordon. 

Secura Insurance adopts Kalepa AI tech

Secura Insurance and Kalepa, an AI underwriting software provider, have partnered to bring AI to the insurer's operations.

"For 125 years, Secura has built its reputation as a pillar in the communities we serve, delivering on our promise to protect what matters," said Kevin Klestinski, chief underwriting officer at SECURA. "To write the next chapter of that story, we sought an AI partner who could enhance the skills of our people. Kalepa gives us the platform to expand while staying grounded in the values and relationships that make SECURA unique."

Kalepa automates underwriting reviews, analyzing data to produce insights and recommendations. 

Davies adds agentic AI to claims technology

Davies, a professional services and technology company serving P&C claims adjusters, has added agentic AI features to its ClaimPilot product.

With the new features, ClaimPilot can automate opening of claims and reading documents, as well as claim and injury validations. The new features are the first part of a series of agentic AI upgrades that Davies is planning. "It's great to see the hard work of our in-house engineering and operations teams paying off as we launch these two new LLM-powered AI agents into our ClaimPilot product suite, during the second half of 2025," said Dan Saulter, group CEO of Davies. 

Hill Country launches new underwriting product

Hill Country Underwriters, an underwriter serving artisan trade contractors in Texas, has launched a general liability and inland marine product. 

"Artisan contractors play a crucial role in the growing Texas construction market but often lack the specialty coverage needed to guard against the nuanced risks associated with their trades," said David Henry, president of Hill Country Underwriters. "This product is designed from the ground up to meet specific contractor needs, ensuring that often overlooked artisan contractors receive proper coverage."