Best Insurance Professionals and Brokers Worldwide | Global 100 

Global insurers are heading into 2026 facing volatility that feels structural. Inflation is easing but still uneven, while growth is slowing down but remains positive. SwissRe predicts non-life premiums will increase by 1.7 percent in real terms next year and by around 2.5 percent in 2027, while global life premium will average an estimated 2.3 percent over the next two years.  

Against this backdrop, in an era of overlapping economic, geopolitical, climate, and technological shocks, the central challenge is less about topline growth and more about how effectively carriers:  

• deploy capital 
   

• manage risk 
   

• modernize operating models  
   

Macro uncertainty is reshaping what “diversified” really means. Yield curves, inflation profiles, and credit conditions now diverge sharply between North America, Europe, and Asia, eroding the reliability of traditional cross asset correlations and regional offsets. Geoeconomic fragmentation, with global trade increasingly splitting into competing blocs, adds another layer of complexity. It creates new demand for specialized covers, but also undermines insurers’ ability to diversify globally and allocate capital with confidence. 

In response, insurers are reallocating more deliberately and leaning harder into private markets. Private placements and private credit now account for just over a fifth of total insurance assets under management, and insurers’ managed assets grew 25 percent to US$4.5 trillion in 2024. CFOs and CIOs increasingly see private credit as the most attractive source of total return, with a majority planning to increase allocations over the next year. That shift is accelerating convergence between carriers and alternative asset managers – from outright PE acquisitions of life and annuity platforms to more nuanced partnerships and minority stakes. 

At the same time, carriers are experimenting with more agile capital models. Alternative risk transfer is moving further into the mainstream, with catastrophe bonds, sidecars, and other insurance-linked securities used to offload peak risks, smooth earnings, and broaden the capital base. The goal is clear: blend retained risk, traditional reinsurance, and capital market capacity to manage volatility while preserving underwriting appetite. 

In Europe, ongoing reforms to capital frameworks are recalibrating charges across asset classes and sharpening the cost of asset–liability mismatches. In the US, decentralized regulation produces a more fragmented but no less demanding landscape, while new requirements like the EU AI Act and evolving stress testing regimes are raising the bar on transparency, governance, and model risk. 

Climate change is now a core balance sheet issue, and the industry continues to absorb mounting losses from wildfires, convective storms, and secondary perils, even as occasional “muted” catastrophe quarters offer temporary relief. The frequency and severity of events, and their correlation with inflation and social inflation, keep pressure on margins, pricing discipline, and reinsurance strategy. 

In this polycrisis environment, the role of the risk manager is being redefined. Effective risk management is no longer just about transferring exposure; it is about preplanning, aligning business units around a shared risk appetite, and embedding strategic thinking about risk across operations, finance, legal, and HR. Governance, scenario analysis, and the quality and capacity of counterparties have become board-level concerns. 

Carriers are no longer just talking about digital transformation; they are deploying AI at scale in underwriting, claims, and service, cutting cycle times and enhancing decision making. Emerging standards for AI integration – such as model context protocols that securely connect models to governed data and tools – are starting to replace fragmented point integrations, enabling more consistent, auditable AI-driven workflows across the enterprise. 

Yet, technology alone is not enough. Customer expectations are rising even as satisfaction scores have come under pressure in the wake of higher premiums, more frequent catastrophes, and rapid tech change. Policyholders increasingly expect hyper-personalized solutions and seamless, omnichannel experiences that blend digital convenience with human advice. In group and benefits markets, employers are now willing to switch carriers if products cannot plug cleanly into their benefits technology platforms, putting a premium on APIs, integration capabilities, and ecosystem thinking. 

Delivering on this vision requires talent transformation. Insurers must upskill existing staff, attract new profiles, and build cultures that can thrive in digital, data-rich environments. Talent, culture, and leadership depth are becoming as central to competitive advantage as product or price. 

Taken together, these forces are reshaping the global insurance landscape. Margin pressure, climate-driven losses, regulatory scrutiny and broker consolidation are real headwinds. But modernization, AI, strategic alliances, and customer-centricity are unlocking new avenues for growth and resilience. 

The best insurance professionals and brokers who will stand out are those who treat volatility as a design constraint rather than a shock by reinventing operating models, tightening asset liability management, integrating alternative capital and private markets thoughtfully, and building digital first, human-centric organizations that can adapt quickly as the next wave of disruption arrives. 

Jean-François Chalifoux has shaped one of Canada’s most dynamic insurance success stories by pairing mutualist values with forward-looking transformation. His central challenge is preserving Beneva’s deep relevance for its historic affinity groups – public-sector employees and unionized workers – while modernizing the business model and expanding into new segments in a rapidly changing market. Chalifoux tackles this by staying close to members, relentlessly focusing on experience, and insisting that growth never come at the expense of affordability or purpose. 

Under his leadership, Beneva has become the largest mutual insurer in Canada, serving around 3.5 million members and customers and managing tens of billions in assets. Chalifoux is using that scale to push the mutual model forward rather than dilute it. He has driven a multiyear integration of La Capitale and SSQ Insurance into a single, unified brand, pacing the transition “one company at a time” to protect service quality and trust. At the same time, he is preparing Beneva for its next growth leap through the planned merger with Gore Mutual, a move designed to bolster catastrophe resilience, diversify geographically, and create a pan-Canadian mutual champion with roughly CA$8 billion in premiums.  

Chalifoux is also at the forefront of how insurers respond to structural risks. On climate change, he is repositioning Beneva’s portfolio and underwriting to account for rising frequency and severity of weather events, using scale and regional diversification to “smooth the impact” of catastrophes and ensure the organization can stand by members when events hit. He is coupling that with a strong technology agenda, particularly around AI, to speed up claims handling and strengthen catastrophe response while keeping human judgment and empathy at the center of the process.  
 

“It has been my experience and our firm’s experience that it’s possible to do well and do good at the same time”
Jean-François Chalifoux Beneva Hunter Litigation Chambers

His leadership has also been recognized for its ESG ambition and people-first culture. Chalifoux has received a special ESG distinction as one of Quebec’s top financial industry leaders, reflecting his commitment to using Beneva’s mutualist roots as a platform for environmental and social impact. Internally, he has championed flexible work models built on trust and respect and consistently frames performance and humanity as non-negotiable partners rather than trade-offs.  

In 2025, this combination of strategic clarity, innovation, and human-centered leadership was recognized when he was named CEO of the Year at the IBC Awards, further industry validation that Chalifoux is not only steering Beneva through change but setting a benchmark for what outstanding leadership in insurance looks like. 
 

Cameron Copeland’s modus operandi is leading Canada’s largest delegated underwriting authority enterprise, unifying a portfolio of legacy MGAs and program administrators into a single, disciplined, innovation-driven platform. His north star is clear: leadership as stewardship and service, in an industry built fundamentally on trust with brokers, carriers, employees, and policyholders. 

Copeland’s agenda is not about short-term optics. He consistently prioritizes long-term values over optics, combining growth with accountability. That philosophy underpins SPG Canada’s rapid expansion. Under his leadership, the group has integrated established brands such as Cansure, i3 Underwriting, Beacon, Totten Insurance Group, and Anderson McTague & Associates into a coherent national platform, and most recently stepped into the auto segment through the acquisition of Mode Insurance Services. Rather than chasing scale for its own sake, he is focused on what he calls the hardest problem in growth: scaling without dilution. 

To solve that problem, Copeland works on three fronts. 

• First, clarity of strategy: he is ruthless about prioritization so that SPG Canada does not attempt to be “everything to everyone”. Internal and external stakeholders get a clear sense of purpose, strategic direction, and risk appetite.
   

• Second, culture as infrastructure: he treats values as non-negotiable, believing growth only works if belief systems scale with it. SPG Canada is deliberately people-led and customer-centric, turning entrepreneurial legacy businesses into empowered, entrepreneurial teams within a larger, cohesive enterprise. 
   

• Third, systems over heroics: Copeland invests heavily in ERP integration, governance, underwriting discipline, and data transparency. In his model, strong systems exist to support people and enable strategy, not to constrain them. 

“It’s easy for leadership to become insulated. I remain engaged in strategic broker and carrier conversations because alignment at the senior level accelerates trust and produces innovation and value creation” 
Cameron CopelandSPG Canada

Copeland also sees specialty insurance in Canada as being on the cusp of profound transformation driven by digitization, data, and analytics, AI-enabled underwriting and claims, consolidation, evolving risks, and shifting regulation. He is intent on ensuring that SPG Canada shapes that future rather than reacts to it. That means making decisive calls in uncertain markets: leaning into hard markets, retooling for soft markets, investing in technology before the ROI is obvious, and acquiring businesses during periods of volatility. 

Equally, he defines success by the strength of the leadership bench, not his own profile. By pairing ambition with institutional discipline, and marrying vision with operational excellence, Copeland is positioning SPG Canada, and himself, among the standout leaders in the insurance industry.

T. Marshall Sadd’s defining challenge is matching the speed of Navacord’s expansion with the development of its people, ensuring that 5,000+ colleagues grow alongside a business that is rapidly scaling across Canada and beyond. 

Under Sadd’s leadership, Navacord has evolved from a holding company of regional broker partners into a unified, market-facing national brand. What began as a federation of strong local firms is now being brought together under a single platform, with some 50 distinct organizations transitioning into one Navacord identity. The recent merger with Acera Insurance – Canada’s largest independent, employee-controlled brokerage – has taken this to a new level, creating one of the country’s largest privately held insurance, benefits, and wealth advisory firms with roughly $7.2 billion in premiums, $7.5 billion in retirement assets, more than 5,000 professionals, and over 150 locations nationwide. 

Sadd is acutely aware that scale alone is not a strategy. His focus is on integration with purpose: aligning 50 legacy cultures, systems, and brands around a shared mission and values while preserving the entrepreneurial, client-centric DNA that made each firm successful. He spends significant time staying connected to teams across the network to maintain momentum and engagement through this transition. For Sadd, the biggest KPI is not just revenue or premium volume, but whether Navacord’s people feel supported, developed, and empowered as the organization grows. 
 

“I place a lot of importance on having a clear vision and bringing people along on the journey” 
T. Marshall SaddNavacord 

Strategically, he is positioning Navacord as a “Great Canadian Brokerage” that can compete on a global stage. Headquartered in Toronto and already one of Canada’s top commercial and multiline brokers by premium volume, Navacord is approaching the scale of the largest players in the market while remaining rooted in Canadian ownership and leadership. Canada’s vast geography and regional diversity have forced the company to master the balance of deep local expertise with centralized strength – a model Sadd now sees as exportable. 

Looking ahead, he is driving a clear international agenda. Navacord has already made inroads in the US and is preparing for a much larger push south of the border, while also eyeing eventual expansion into the UK. At the same time, he is investing in technology and insurtech partnerships – including AI-driven tools for brokers – to ensure Navacord’s scale comes with sophistication, data transparency, and underwriting discipline. 

In combining rapid consolidation with disciplined integration, people-first leadership, and global ambition grounded in Canadian values, Sadd is not only transforming Navacord but setting a benchmark for what impact-driven leadership looks like. 
 

Best Insurance Professionals and Brokers Worldwide | Global 100  

• 
  Cameron Copeland
  SPG Canada
   
  
• 
  Jean-François Chalifoux
  Beneva
   
  
• 
  T. Marshall Sadd
  Navacord
   
  
• 
  Claire Burke
  CHU Underwriting Agencies
   
  
• 
  John Jennings
  Jencap Group
   
  
• 
  Phil van Zyl
  Sedgwick
   
  
• 
  Timothy Turner
  Chief Executive Officer of Ryan Specialty
   
  

• Aaron Radelet
  Acrisure
• Adam Lloyd
  Commercial UK, Allianz
• Adrian La Forgia
  QBE North America
• Ajay Mistry
  Insurance Cultural Awareness Network (iCAN)
• Alex Meier
  Axis Insurance Managers
• Alger Fung
  AIA Hong Kong & Macau
• Anthony Baldwin
  Westfield Specialty International
• Anusha Thavarajah
  Allianz Asia Pacific
• Brent Tredway
  CRC Group
• Brett Graham
  Agile Underwriting Solutions
• Carrie Brodzinski
  The Hartford
• Chika Aghadiuno
  Munich Re Specialty (Global Markets)
• Claire Ighodaro
  Lloyd’s of London
• Colleen Ryan
  Howden US Retail
• Danielle Brookbanks
  NZbrokers
• David V. Palermo
  Insureit Group
• Dawn Miller
  Lloyd’s America
• Dionne Bowers
  Canadian Association of Black Insurance Professionals (CABIP)
• Fela Abioye
  The Hartford
• Glenn Ross
  MECON Insurance
• Graeme Trudgill
  BIBA
• Greg Case
  Aon
• Harpreet Bindra
  HSBC Life Singapore
• Jacques Goulet
  Sun Life Canada
• Jalil Rehman
  CNA Hardy
• James Nicholson
  Zurich UK
• Jamie Lyons
  Westland Insurance Group
• Jenny Bax
  Underwriting Agencies Council (UAC)
• Jim Williamson
  Everest
• John Keogh
  North America Insurance, Chubb
• Jonathan Zaffino
  Ascot Group
• Kate Markham
  Hiscox London Market
• Katrina Shanks
  ANZIIF
• Kelly Whittington
  Aviva UK
• Ken Norgrove
  Intact Insurance UK and International
• Kenneth Lai
  AXA Hong Kong and Macau
• Kerrie Challenor
  NTI
• Kris Faafoi
  Insurance Council of New Zealand
• Lisa Davis
  Canopius
• Louis Gagnon
  Intact Insurance
• Louise Day
  International Underwriting Association (IUA)
• Luke Gallagher
  IAG
• Mandy Hunt
  Shape Underwriting
• Marc Estrada
  HDI Global US
• Mark Shepherd
  ABI
• Martin Thompson
  Brit Insurance
• Matt Baynton
  RAISE Underwriting
• Matt Whitley
  PSC Insurance Group
• Matthew B. Gough
  Ames & Gough
• Matt Baynton
  RAISE Underwriting
• Matthew Wilson
  Travelers Europe
• Melissa Cantell
  Aon New Zealand
• Michael Price
  Dellwood Insurance Group
• Michael Rea
  Gallagher UK
• Michael Wood
  Woodina Underwriting Agency
• Mike Sicard
  USI Insurance Services
• Mikio Okumura
  Sompo Holdings
• Nav Dhillon
  Aviva Canada
• Neil Cousins
  Steadfast New Zealand
• Neil Nimmo
  Specialist Risk Group (SRG)
• Nick Cook
  National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA)
• Nick Slessor
  GT Insurance
• Olga Collins
  Worldwide Broker Network (WBN)
• Omari Aarons-Martin
  National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA)
• Pamela Beilby
  Allianz Commercial (Australia)
• Paul Brand
  Convex Insurance
• Peter Blanc
  Howden Group Holdings
• Phil Bayles
  Everywhen
• Pina Albo
  Hamilton Insurance Group
• Robert Kemp
  Aon UK
• Ryan Hodges
  Trident Reciprocal Exchange
• Sam White
  Freedom Services Group
• Sare Ozkara
  Vero
• Scott Gunter
  AXA XL
• Scott Hudson
  Gallagher Bassett
• Scott Jerome
  Brooklyn Underwriting
• Scott Purviance
  Amwins Group
• Sean McGovern
  UK and Lloyd’s Market, AXA XL
• Shahzad Ali
  Billyard Insurance Group
• Sharyn Reichstein
  Tower Insurance
• Sheila Cameron
  Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA)
• Shelagh Bock
  AM&T, GT Insurance
• Shirley Chisholm
  Ebony Women International Insurance Network (EWIIN)
• Simon Goh
  Great Eastern Singapore
• Stan Alexandropoulos
  UAA Group
• Stuart Bruce
  FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada
• Thérèse Singleton
  Ando Insurance
• Tina Osen
  HUB International Canada
• Tony Beirne
  MSIG USA
• Tony Wheatley
  Berkley Insurance Australia
• Tracy Ryan
  NCCI
• Wendy Houser
  US Wholesale and Specialty, Markel
• Will Ashcroft
  Cover
• Winnie Wong
  Asia Insurance Company (Hong Kong)