A threat has been building for years
The Houthis’ return to maritime aggression, for those in the insurance market, was a matter of when rather than if. The group halted large-scale attacks on commercial shipping in October 2025 following the Gaza ceasefire – but the war risk premium in the Red Sea, which increased 20 times from its pre-crisis baseline in January 2024, remained stubbornly high during that period of relative peace. As Insurance Business UK reported in April, the ceasefire will never be enough to reopen the insurance market. When Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping lines, stopped short of resuming the strikes in 2025, it waited a full two months before sending a single ship back through the Red Sea.
