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General Insurance Market Update: August 2026

​Growth is still shaping the insurance market, but the way firms are building for it is becoming more selective.

This month’s market activity shows a shift toward sharper leadership structures and more focused investment. Private equity continues to favour specialty businesses and MGAs, and senior appointments are increasingly reflecting where organisations expect future complexity and revenue to sit.

At the same time, the talent picture remains tight. Overall vacancy levels may be falling, but that does not remove the shortage of experienced brokers, underwriters, risk leaders and technical specialists.

In this month’s update, we look at what current M&A activity, leadership moves and talent trends reveal about where the market is heading and why building specialist capability is a commercial priority, not simply a recruitment issue.

​

IDEX insight: what this month’s market activity means

In a market where demand for specialist capability is continuing to rise, even as overall hiring activity softens, emerging exposures are creating new organisational and technical requirements, while wider concerns around succession, early-career pipelines and senior leadership movement underline how difficult it remains to build capability quickly.

Firms need people who can combine technical expertise with commercial judgement but experienced brokers, underwriters and risk leaders remain difficult to attract and retain. IDEX’s latest insight explores why recruitment should be part of broader business planning, rather than a reaction to individual vacancies.

Read more in IDEX’s latest insight: Reinsurance Recruitment Strategies to Bridge the Talent Gap

  • Define capability before opening the search: Senior hires should be linked directly to the commercial outcome the business needs, whether that is access to new cedants, expertise in a specialist class, stronger market relationships or future leadership capability.

  • Give senior talent a compelling reason to move: Experienced professionals are rarely active jobseekers. Be clear about strategic purpose, authority, reporting lines, investment in technology and data, and the opportunity to influence the direction of the business.

  • Treat retention and succession as part of the same strategy: Clear mandates, credible career pathways, appropriate decision-making authority and purposeful knowledge transfer are essential to retain specialist expertise and protect future leadership pipelines.

Question for leaders: As your risk profile and growth ambitions change, do you have the specialist capability and succession pipeline to support the business you are building? Or are you still recruiting only when a gap appears?

​

Insurance market news

This month’s insurance news shows a market in which, while headline hiring activity may be cooling, but the pressure to secure the right skills is not.

  • Insurance and finance vacancies hit four-year low: UK financial and insurance vacancies fell to 30,000 in June, their lowest level since early 2022. But with 72% of UK brokers still recruiting and the London Market’s early-career pipeline continuing to contract, lower vacancy volumes are not necessarily translating into easier access to talent.

IDEX view: A quieter jobs market should not be mistaken for a talent-rich one. For businesses still growing, competition is concentrated around the specialist and revenue-generating people capable of making an immediate impact. The risk for firms that respond to softer conditions by pulling back on recruitment is creating the next skills gap before the current one has been solved.

  • Gallagher Re creates digital risk unit as AI reshapes accumulation: Bringing cyber, AI liability, data centres and digital risk engineering together in a new global digital risk practice reflects how technology exposures increasingly cut across traditional product lines, creating demand for more joined-up underwriting, accumulation and capital expertise.

IDEX view: AI is changing how insurance businesses structure themselves. As emerging risks become established classes, firms will need people with both technical insurance expertise and an understanding of increasingly complex tech and data exposures. Businesses that build that capability early will have an advantage both commercially and in attracting scarce specialist talent.

  • Degree apprenticeships draw 11 applicants per place: Competition for degree apprenticeships in England has risen sharply, with 11.3 applicants for every Level 6 place compared with 2.8 three years ago. These figures point to significant untapped demand for structured routes into professional careers.

IDEX view: Insurance frequently talks about its future talent shortage as an attraction problem, but these numbers suggest the picture is more nuanced. Young people are actively competing for routes that combine qualifications, experience and earnings. The question is whether enough of those routes exist and whether cutting junior hiring during softer market conditions is storing up a much bigger succession problem.

​

Mergers and acquisitions

M&A activity continues to show a more selective, rather than less acquisitive, market.

  • Fewest UK broker deals in a decade: UK insurance distribution deal volumes are at their lowest level since 2017, yet specialty and MGA businesses are attracting a growing share of private equity investment and overseas capital.

  • Marco Capital brings together 1,400-person group: Marco Capital has agreed to acquire Pro Global which together with PoloWorks, creates a specialist insurance services business of around 1,400 employees across 15 offices. The combined group will span Lloyd’s, the wider London Market and international insurance markets.

  • Peter Cullum’s MBP takes sixth minority stake: Minority Broker Partnerships has invested in 130-year-old independent broker Eggar Forrester, its sixth deal in ten months. The investment leaves the broker’s existing leadership and day-to-day independence intact while providing capital to support further growth.

IDEX view: Capital continues to chase specialist capability, strong management teams and businesses with a credible growth story, while minority investment is giving founders another option beyond a complete sale and creating questions around where capabilities overlap and what gaps emerge as the business scales.

​

People moves and senior appointments

Senior hiring activity this month shows leadership structures continuing to evolve across some of the market’s largest businesses.

  • Aon launches CFO search: Aon has announced the immediate departure of CFO Edmund Reese, with Nadin Virani stepping into the role on an interim basis while an internal and external search is conducted.

  • HSBC insurance chief to leave amid wider restructuring: Global insurance head Edward Moncreiffe is expected to leave HSBC in September after two decades with the group. HSBC is reportedly planning to divide his responsibilities between two executives as its wider organisational reshaping continues.

  • Arch appoints global head of transactional risk: Arch Insurance International has promoted Roger Moniz to global head of transactional risk, giving the business unified leadership across R&W, W&I and tax insurance internationally.

IDEX view: Established firms are reshaping responsibilities at the top, while specialist growth areas are gaining greater executive focus. Leadership planning increasingly needs to account for both continuity in core functions and competition for executives who can lead emerging or fast-growing areas of the market.

​

Monthly Insurance Market Updates, Backed by Hiring Expertise

Stay close to the General Insurance market with monthly updates covering market news, M&A activity, senior appointments, leadership moves and IDEX insight.

Subscribe to the monthly newsletter to understand not just what has happened, but what it could mean for growth, hiring, succession and market positioning.

The IDEX Salary Calculator gives Insurance professionals access to market-specific compensation insight, helping them benchmark pay and make informed career decisions. Check your salary is in line with market rates

Finding the right people does not need to slow your growth. IDEX uses deep market knowledge and established sector relationships to connect firms with skilled professionals who can support long-term performance.

Review your advice team capacity

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General Insurance Market Update: August 2026

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​Growth is still shaping the insurance market, but the way firms are building for it is becoming more selective.

This month’s market activity shows a shift toward sharper leadership structures and more focused investment. Private equity continues to favour specialty businesses and MGAs, and senior appointments are increasingly reflecting where organisations expect future complexity and revenue to sit.

At the same time, the talent picture remains tight. Overall vacancy levels may be falling, but that does not remove the shortage of experienced brokers, underwriters, risk leaders and technical specialists.

In this month’s update, we look at what current M&A activity, leadership moves and talent trends reveal about where the market is heading and why building specialist capability is a commercial priority, not simply a recruitment issue.

​

IDEX insight: what this month’s market activity means

In a market where demand for specialist capability is continuing to rise, even as overall hiring activity softens, emerging exposures are creating new organisational and technical requirements, while wider concerns around succession, early-career pipelines and senior leadership movement underline how difficult it remains to build capability quickly.

Firms need people who can combine technical expertise with commercial judgement but experienced brokers, underwriters and risk leaders remain difficult to attract and retain. IDEX’s latest insight explores why recruitment should be part of broader business planning, rather than a reaction to individual vacancies.

Read more in IDEX’s latest insight: Reinsurance Recruitment Strategies to Bridge the Talent Gap

  • Define capability before opening the search: Senior hires should be linked directly to the commercial outcome the business needs, whether that is access to new cedants, expertise in a specialist class, stronger market relationships or future leadership capability.

  • Give senior talent a compelling reason to move: Experienced professionals are rarely active jobseekers. Be clear about strategic purpose, authority, reporting lines, investment in technology and data, and the opportunity to influence the direction of the business.

  • Treat retention and succession as part of the same strategy: Clear mandates, credible career pathways, appropriate decision-making authority and purposeful knowledge transfer are essential to retain specialist expertise and protect future leadership pipelines.

Question for leaders: As your risk profile and growth ambitions change, do you have the specialist capability and succession pipeline to support the business you are building? Or are you still recruiting only when a gap appears?

​

Insurance market news

This month’s insurance news shows a market in which, while headline hiring activity may be cooling, but the pressure to secure the right skills is not.

  • Insurance and finance vacancies hit four-year low: UK financial and insurance vacancies fell to 30,000 in June, their lowest level since early 2022. But with 72% of UK brokers still recruiting and the London Market’s early-career pipeline continuing to contract, lower vacancy volumes are not necessarily translating into easier access to talent.

IDEX view: A quieter jobs market should not be mistaken for a talent-rich one. For businesses still growing, competition is concentrated around the specialist and revenue-generating people capable of making an immediate impact. The risk for firms that respond to softer conditions by pulling back on recruitment is creating the next skills gap before the current one has been solved.

  • Gallagher Re creates digital risk unit as AI reshapes accumulation: Bringing cyber, AI liability, data centres and digital risk engineering together in a new global digital risk practice reflects how technology exposures increasingly cut across traditional product lines, creating demand for more joined-up underwriting, accumulation and capital expertise.

IDEX view: AI is changing how insurance businesses structure themselves. As emerging risks become established classes, firms will need people with both technical insurance expertise and an understanding of increasingly complex tech and data exposures. Businesses that build that capability early will have an advantage both commercially and in attracting scarce specialist talent.

  • Degree apprenticeships draw 11 applicants per place: Competition for degree apprenticeships in England has risen sharply, with 11.3 applicants for every Level 6 place compared with 2.8 three years ago. These figures point to significant untapped demand for structured routes into professional careers.

IDEX view: Insurance frequently talks about its future talent shortage as an attraction problem, but these numbers suggest the picture is more nuanced. Young people are actively competing for routes that combine qualifications, experience and earnings. The question is whether enough of those routes exist and whether cutting junior hiring during softer market conditions is storing up a much bigger succession problem.

​

Mergers and acquisitions

M&A activity continues to show a more selective, rather than less acquisitive, market.

  • Fewest UK broker deals in a decade: UK insurance distribution deal volumes are at their lowest level since 2017, yet specialty and MGA businesses are attracting a growing share of private equity investment and overseas capital.

  • Marco Capital brings together 1,400-person group: Marco Capital has agreed to acquire Pro Global which together with PoloWorks, creates a specialist insurance services business of around 1,400 employees across 15 offices. The combined group will span Lloyd’s, the wider London Market and international insurance markets.

  • Peter Cullum’s MBP takes sixth minority stake: Minority Broker Partnerships has invested in 130-year-old independent broker Eggar Forrester, its sixth deal in ten months. The investment leaves the broker’s existing leadership and day-to-day independence intact while providing capital to support further growth.

IDEX view: Capital continues to chase specialist capability, strong management teams and businesses with a credible growth story, while minority investment is giving founders another option beyond a complete sale and creating questions around where capabilities overlap and what gaps emerge as the business scales.

​

People moves and senior appointments

Senior hiring activity this month shows leadership structures continuing to evolve across some of the market’s largest businesses.

  • Aon launches CFO search: Aon has announced the immediate departure of CFO Edmund Reese, with Nadin Virani stepping into the role on an interim basis while an internal and external search is conducted.

  • HSBC insurance chief to leave amid wider restructuring: Global insurance head Edward Moncreiffe is expected to leave HSBC in September after two decades with the group. HSBC is reportedly planning to divide his responsibilities between two executives as its wider organisational reshaping continues.

  • Arch appoints global head of transactional risk: Arch Insurance International has promoted Roger Moniz to global head of transactional risk, giving the business unified leadership across R&W, W&I and tax insurance internationally.

IDEX view: Established firms are reshaping responsibilities at the top, while specialist growth areas are gaining greater executive focus. Leadership planning increasingly needs to account for both continuity in core functions and competition for executives who can lead emerging or fast-growing areas of the market.

​

Monthly Insurance Market Updates, Backed by Hiring Expertise

Stay close to the General Insurance market with monthly updates covering market news, M&A activity, senior appointments, leadership moves and IDEX insight.

Subscribe to the monthly newsletter to understand not just what has happened, but what it could mean for growth, hiring, succession and market positioning.

The IDEX Salary Calculator gives Insurance professionals access to market-specific compensation insight, helping them benchmark pay and make informed career decisions. Check your salary is in line with market rates

Finding the right people does not need to slow your growth. IDEX uses deep market knowledge and established sector relationships to connect firms with skilled professionals who can support long-term performance.

Review your advice team capacity