Data Behind Subsidiary-Level Transactions That Shape the Insurance Industry

The insurance industry has its share of company-level M&A transactions. Two examples from March are the acquisitions of Beazley by Zurich and Equitable by Corebridge Financial. Aside from transactions that involve buying and selling entire companies, the insurance industry is also shaped by M&A transactions at a subsidiary level. Since mid-August, four such “subsidiary” transactions have unfolded that total north of $19 billion: three transactions occurred in the last half of August (Munich Re/At-Bay, Willis Re/BMS Re US, Aon/USI), and one transaction announced last week (EQT/McGill). 

This report focuses on the AON/USI transaction to show the data FactSet provides for insight regarding the buyers and sellers and details in these transactions. 

The summary transaction data is accessed from the left-hand pane on the workstation and entering an entity in the upper-left corner (in this case AON is entered), then selecting “Transactions” highlighted in the top exhibit.

In addition to displaying summary data shown, the arrow in the exhibit points out additional transaction data, such as the snapshot shown in the bottom exhibit that includes a description of the transaction as well as transaction-related documents, such as the 8-K. The arrow also highlights “Target” and “Acquirer” to access additional transaction data. 

AON /USI: M&A Summary 

AON /USI: Deal Snapshot 

Macro Drivers and Impact on Insurance Earnings

Macro summary: Payroll growth reaccelerated sharply in August (+162K), pushing the unemployment rate to hold at 4.1% and continuing its retreat from the 4.5% shutdown-era peak, while weekly jobless claims have drifted modestly higher off mid-July lows but remain well under the 225K watch level.

Price pressures have not cooperated: producer prices jumped 0.4% in August (5.4% year-over-year, the fastest pace since the post-pandemic surge), and both CPI and PCE inflation have re-accelerated since spring, with core PCE holding at 3.3% for three straight months—evidence the disinflation trend has stalled well above the Fed's 2% target.

Equity markets have pulled back from early-September records amid rising oil prices and geopolitical risk, though both major indices remain up materially over the trailing year.

Insurance earnings implications: The combination of firmer payrolls and a stalled disinflation trend is a mixed setup for insurance companies. Strong employment and payroll growth support P&C exposures (workers' comp, commercial auto) and the persistency of life/annuity business, but reaccelerating producer and consumer prices keep loss-cost and claims-severity trends elevated for P&C lines, such as auto physical damage and homeowners in particular.

Persistent, above-target inflation also argues for the Fed holding rates higher for longer, which is a net positive for insurers' investment income and reinvestment yields, yet the recent equity pullback is a modest headwind for variable annuity account values and AUM-linked fee income.

Our Macro Tracker table below lists key economic data and the potential impact on insurance company earnings. The right-hand column identifies the specific potential impacts on company earnings. 

Macro Tracker

Inflation

PPI (Producer Price Index): Producer prices for final demand rose 0.4% in August—the largest monthly increase of this cycle—following an upwardly revised 0.1% gain in July, with a 1.1% jump in goods prices (led by diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline) driving the advance; the 12-month unadjusted rate accelerated to 5.4% 

Earnings implications: The reacceleration in producer prices is an unfavorable early signal for P&C loss severity—materials, parts, and construction costs feed into claims costs with a lag—and reinforces the case for continued rate-adequacy work on auto and homeowners lines; the jump from a stalled July reading also raises the bar for reserve caution. 

Equity Markets

Both indices fell for a second straight session on Sept 9 (S&P 500 -0.48% to 7,636.36; Nasdaq 0.64% to 26,253.34) as rising oil prices, higher long-term Treasury yields, and geopolitical risk (Iran, U.S.-Canada trade tensions) pressured risk assets, pulling back from the early-September record set Aug 6. Both remain up materially over the trailing year despite this year's two separate double-digit corrections (Nasdaq -13.4% bottoming March 30, -10.1% bottoming July 29). 

Solid/dashed markers = confirmed closing prints at key turning points; not a continuos daily series.

Earnings implications: The pullback is a modest near-term headwind for Life carriers' variable annuity account values and AUM-linked fee income, though levels remain well above year-ago marks and continue to support P&C investment portfolios. The repeated correction-and-recovery pattern remains a hedging-cost and volatility watch item for life carriers if it recurs. 

Employment

ADP, August 2026 (private-sector employment): private payrolls rose 38,000, below the 47,000 consensus and down from an upwardly revised 46,000 in July—the slowest pace since January. Base pay growth held at 3.2% YoY. The soft ADP print proved a poor guide to the official data: BLS nonfarm payrolls came in at +162,000 for August, well above consensus, underscoring the two series' frequent short-term divergence. 

Weekly Jobless Claims

Unemployment Rate

Earnings implications: August's steady unemployment rate was accompanied by a rebound in labor-force participation (to 61.6%, from 61.4%) alongside strong payroll growth—a cleaner, more constructive combination for P&C exposure bases and life persistency than the labor force-exit dynamic seen earlier this year. 

Nonfarm Payrolls

Nonfarm payrolls rose 162,000 in August, the strongest print in five months and well above the 56,000 consensus as June and July were revised up a combined 55,000 (June to +31,000, July to +21,000). The unemployment rate held at 4.1%. 

Earnings implications: The broad-based rebound in payroll growth expands the wage and payroll base underlying group life and voluntary benefits premium as well as workers' comp and commercial auto exposure units — a constructive read-through for both P&C and Life segments after a choppy spring. 

Weekly Jobless Claims

Initial claims held at 206,000 for the week ending September 5, matching the 4-week moving average; claims have drifted up modestly off the 189,000 cycle low set in mid-July but remain comfortably below the 225,000 watch level. 

Earnings implications: Claims well below the watch level point to stable workers' compensation claim frequency for P&C carriers; this series otherwise functions as an early warning indicator rather than a direct earnings driver for either segment this period. 

AUM Through the Cycle

The table directly below presents AUM roll forward data for PRU, EQH, and HIG from 2Q21 through 1Q26, individual company net change (as a percentage of beginning AUM), and S&P 500 quarterly price return. The pattern that emerges is both consistent and actionable: AUM balances follow S&P 500 returns.

Updated company AUM data for Equitable and Voya show increases in AUM. This result is expected given the equity market data we tracked throughout 2Q. 

Company AUM Roll Forward Detail

Equitable (up): Company/Security - Assets Under Management - EQH-US - FactSet

Hartford (drop): Company/Security - Assets Under Management - HIG-US

Prudential (up): Company/Security - Assets Under Management - FactSet

Principal (up): Company/Security - Operations by LOB - FactSet

Voya (up): Company/Security - Assets Under Management - FactSet

Manulife (up): Company/Security - Assets Under Management - FactSet

Accessing Insurance Insight Reports

FactSet Insight blog: Read more insurance sector analysis in our previous blog articles.

Document search: Access insurance insight reports from the FactSet Workstation using the Document Search function. Search for "Insurance Tracker: Event of the Week".

Today’s Top News: Insurance insight reports are also delivered on the Workstation through StreetAccount’s Today’s Top News, or “TTN”. Aside from providing access to insight reports, TTN provides an insurance-focused daily sector synopsis, updated events calendar, and “insurance reads” that highlight current news stories that impact the insurance sector.

To access TTN, select the Today’s Top News tab on the FactSet Workstation and select Insurance from the drop-down menu (both highlighted below).

Insurance Solutions

Deep sector data and functionality shown in this report are available through the FactSet Workstation. Learn more about FactSet insurance solutions that combine investment research, portfolio construction, and risk management in a cloud-native platform. Our comprehensive tools enable investment and actuarial teams to enhance asset modeling and capitalize on market opportunities.

This blog post is for informational purposes only. The information contained in this blog post is not legal, tax, or investment advice. FactSet does not endorse or recommend any investments and assumes no liability for any consequence relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction taken based on the information contained in this article.