Oct. 12--WASHINGTON -- A multi-part package of federal hurricane relief money hitting Congress this week will wipe away $16 billion in National Flood Insurance Program debt but won't include a number of changes to the program requested by the White House.

The debt relief will free up money to pay an avalanche of claims from NFIP policyholders in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate without ballooning interest payments owed by the program. The federally run program has eaten through its cash reserves and nearly exhausted its current authority to borrow more from the U.S. Treasury to pay flooded policyholders, leaving it in danger of running out of money.

Louisiana's congressional delegation welcomed the debt relief, a measure a number of Louisiana leaders have lobbied for but had seen only limited support in Washington until now. The bill also includes about $20 billion in other federal disaster funding, most of it for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to respond to a series of natural disasters in recent months.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney had also asked lawmakers to tie a number of sweeping changes -- which alarmed several Louisiana lawmakers and interest groups -- to the debt relief. Among the changes: rules to bar any newly constructed buildings in flood plains from the program, block any new flood insurance policies for commercial buildings and hike premiums for homeowners to "risk" rates.

None were included in the bill, which leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives released Tuesday night. U.S. Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, both Louisiana Republicans, criticized Mulvaney's proposals, as did Congressmen Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, and Ralph Abraham, R-Alto.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said at a Wednesday morning leadership press conference that the disaster relief package is needed to provide the resources needed to respond to a catastrophic 2017 hurricane season and deadly wildfires in California.

"If Congress doesn't provide this relief, the NFIP would be prohibited from paying any claims to any policyholders, regardless of where they are or why they are filing the claim, and that would be a major problem for lots of people in Louisiana," said Chris Bond, a Scalise spokesman.

"It's definitely a win for us," said Cailtin Berni, vice president of policy and communications for Greater New Orleans Inc., a regional economic development group that has focused extensively on flood insurance issues.

Berni had raised concerns that Mulvaney's suggested changes would effectively end construction in large swaths of flood-prone south Louisiana, make flood insurance unaffordable for many or even boot homeowners out of the program.

The fight over changes to the National Flood Insurance Program is far from over, however. Congressional authorization for the government-run program expires in early December, meaning lawmakers in Washington are under the gun to settle disputes and agree on an NFIP extension.

A number of hardline budget hawks -- led by U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, who chairs the House committee that oversees the NFIP -- have repeatedly backed changes designed to shrink the program, recalculate premiums to more accurately reflect flood risks and kick properties that have flooded more than once out of the program.

Those changes would likely lead to significantly higher costs for residents of flood-prone areas -- including Louisiana -- or simply place flood coverage out of reach of property owners in areas at high risk of flooding.

Many Louisiana property owners enjoy grandfathered flood insurance rates, meaning their risk of flooding -- and accompanying premiums -- are based on their property's elevation above the base flood level at the time it was built, not on current standards. That means owners of old homes, especially in flood plains, generally enjoy lower premium prices than they'd have to pay based on updated flood maps.

Excluding so-called "multiple-loss properties" from the program -- buildings that have flooded more than once -- could also hit areas of Louisiana hard. Owners of homes and commercial structures that took on water during previous hurricanes -- such as Katrina in 2005, Ike in 2012 or the 2016 Baton Rouge-area floods -- would be at risk of losing access to flood insurance coverage.

Hensarling and his allies have argued the changes are needed to put the NFIP on sounder financial footing.

A number of environmentalists, meanwhile, have complained that the NFIP effectively subsidizes new development in flood plains that destroy wetlands and leave areas more vulnerable to natural disasters.

But significant jumps in the cost of flood-insurance premiums -- or loss of access to coverage -- would likely hit homeowners hard in the pocketbook by pushing down home values.

Louisiana lawmakers have generally pushed for changes to the NFIP that would protect "grandfathering" for homeowners and expand the number of policyholders paying into the program.

"We need more people buying flood insurance, but some of the proposed changes (from the White House) would actually discourage that from happening and would be detrimental to Louisiana communities that rely on affordable flood insurance to help them recover from disasters like we faced last year," said Abraham, the Louisiana congressman, on Wednesday. "A lot of these issues will be addressed as Congress works to reauthorize the NFIP in December, so I'm glad we didn't attach hasty changes as riders on important bills like this."

Berni said she'd like to see further debt relief for the program when lawmakers act on it in December. The NFIP had remained in the black until 2005, when the staggering losses from Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the NFIP's cash and left it roughly $17 billion in debt.

Subsequent costly disasters -- including Hurricane Sandy, which caused extensive flooding in New York and New Jersey in 2012 -- further hiked the debt in the program.

Interest payments on the debt now exceed $400 million each year, paid to the U.S. Treasury out of policyholder premiums. Berni said that money could be used to pay out claims and put the program on sounder financial footing.

Berni also noted that much of Katrina's destruction came as the result of federal levee failures. She argued that saddling NFIP policyholders with the costs of an engineering disaster was unfair and bad policy.

Mulvaney, the White House budget director, pegged projected NFIP payouts from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria at $16 billion -- the same amount of debt forgiveness requested in the emergency disaster bill.

If those projections prove accurate, the NFIP would be left with the same debt load once claims are settled and paid.

The House is slated to vote on the disaster bill sometime Thursday. If passed, the Senate would then consider it next week, once senators return from a weeklong break.

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(c)2017 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

Visit The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La. at www.theadvocate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Westaim Corporation (“Westaim” or the “Company”) (TSXV: WED) today announces its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Westaim recorded a net loss of $81.5 million ($2.45 diluted loss per share) for Q2 2026 compared to a net loss attributable to controlling interests of $0.2 million ($0.01 diluted loss per share) for Q2 2025.

“Within our Insurance segment, we continue to experience solid support from our national distribution partners, generating $303 million of premiums during Q2 and more than $660 million of premiums issued and pending through July 31, 2026. Ceres’ invested assets increased to $445 million as of June 30, 2026, all supported by the accelerating pace of our annuity policy issuances. In particular, we are very pleased with Ceres' AI native technology platform, which, as we scale, can automate 85% of operations and substantially scale the current volume with minimal additions to the infrastructure and employee base, positioning Ceres Life to drive higher return on equity than industry peers.

Within our Asset Management segment, we have made meaningful progress towards step-function growth in AUM¹ over the coming quarters, driven by new product lines and strategic joint partnerships. In addition, we have implemented more than $16 million worth of gross annualized run-rate savings, which we expect to become increasingly evident in our future results. These actions reflect our continued focus on aligning our cost structure with strategic priorities and driving sustainable improvement.” said Cameron MacDonald, Chief Executive Officer of Westaim.

"We look forward to providing additional context on our AUM growth, strategic partnerships and financial outlook at our Investor Day on Thursday, September 17, 2026."

Leadership Update

Westaim also announced today that Deanna Mulligan, Chief Executive Officer of Ceres Life, will transition to the role of Ceres Strategic Advisor. Erik Askelsen, Chief Legal Officer of Ceres, will be promoted to President of Ceres and will be named Acting Chief Executive Officer.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as Ceres Life’s CEO since its founding. As an advisor and an investor, I look forward to Ceres’ continued growth under Erik’s capable leadership,” said Ms. Mulligan.

Further, Mr. MacDonald added, “Erik joined us in 2025 with a strong leadership background in the annuity industry, having worked at Athene and American Equity. We look forward to Erik’s leadership of Ceres and wish Deanna well in her new role as Ceres Strategic Advisor.”

Chinh Chu, Executive Chairman of the Board for Westaim, added, “Deanna has been instrumental in the maturation of Ceres Life from an idea into a growing annuity platform, assembling the team, the technology and the risk framework that the business runs on today. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank her for her leadership as founding Chief Executive Officer of Ceres Life, and I am glad we will continue to have the benefit of her counsel as a Strategic Advisor.”

Mr. Askelsen brings more than 25 years of insurance, regulatory and operating leadership experience. He joined Ceres Life in March 2025 as Chief Legal Officer, where he has been a member of the executive team building the company's de novo annuity platform. Mr. Askelsen has significant experience in the life and annuity industry, serving previously as Chief Legal Officer of American Equity and as General Counsel of Athene and Aviva USA, leading providers of fixed annuity products. He has also served as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer of a payments and technology services provider and been a partner in two law firms earlier in his career.

Insurance

The Insurance segment, which primarily operates through Ceres Life Insurance Company (“Ceres” or “Ceres Life”), reported an Adjusted EBITDA² loss of $65.0 million and $85.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. The results include net insurance service losses of $56.8 million and $67.9 million and operating expenses of $17.0 million and $31.2 million for the three and six month periods, respectively. These amounts were partially offset by interest income of $8.0 million and $13.2 million, respectively.

Our financial results reflect the early-stage nature of our insurance business. Net insurance service results remain negative as Ceres continues to scale issuance of new multi-year guaranteed annuity (“MYGA”) and fixed indexed annuity (“FIA”) policies. As we discussed last quarter, under applicable IFRS accounting treatment, both products require Ceres to recognize reserves for future policyholder obligations at the time policies are issued. This differs from US GAAP and results in upfront accounting losses on new business, including a $56.8 million reserve recognized during the quarter.

Insurance service results face near-term ramp up pressure as Ceres added $15.1 million and $288.1 million in MYGA and FIA premiums during the quarter. We continue to expect these contracts to contribute positively to operating results over time as premiums are invested, and the portfolio earns returns in excess of crediting rates. However, near-term accounting results are expected to be pressured while new business growth remains significant relative to the size of the in-force book. As the business matures and earnings from in-force contracts increasingly offset losses associated with new policy issuances, we expect this accounting impact to moderate.

Current-quarter operating expenses include approximately $1.4 million of platform build-out costs. As Ceres continues to scale and improve operating efficiency, we expect operating expenses as a percentage of policies written to decline meaningfully over time.

Asset Management

The Asset Management segment, which primarily operates through Arena Investors Group Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Arena”), reported an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $8.0 million and $15.2 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. Adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, included $5.9 million and $13.6 million, respectively, of management, servicing and other fee revenues less negative incentive and performance fees due to marks on unrealized positions.

As of June 30, 2026, our AUM and Programmatic Capital³ totaled $4.5 billion, with fee-paying AUM of $2.7 billion, of which $0.6 billion was managed on behalf of our Insurance segment. We continue to advance new business initiatives and partnerships that we believe can drive meaningful growth in fee paying AUM and third-party capital through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.

We have continued to take significant steps to reduce our cost base, and we expect the benefits of these initiatives to become increasingly visible in the second half of 2026. As we continue to grow fee-paying AUM on a more efficient operating platform, we believe the business is well positioned to progress toward consistent profitability.

Corporate and Other Investments Activity

While Corporate is not considered a separate operating segment, the Corporate column in our segment reporting includes activities that reside outside of our two operating business segments. These activities include investments within the FINCOs, other cash and investments held outside the operating segments, compensation costs, including share-based compensation, for employees and directors not allocated to the operating segments, and other corporate overhead expenses.

We continue to make progress monetizing assets within the FINCOs, which had an investment balance of $116.4 million as of quarter end.

The Company continued its 2026 Normal Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”), repurchasing 16,686 common shares at a cost of C$0.4 million. As of June 30, 2026, the Company held 306,959 shares in treasury.

Westaim's Rebrand

On Monday, September 14, 2026, Westaim will be unveiling its new name and rebrand, marking a significant milestone in the Company's evolution.

Investor Day

We are pleased to invite existing and prospective investors to Westaim’s Annual Investor Day, which will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) at the Met Life Building, 200 Park Ave, 8th Floor, New York City, New York. The agenda will include a business overview and discussion with the management teams of Westaim, Ceres Life Insurance Company, Arena Investors and CC Capital Partners, LLC, followed by a question-and-answer session.

We do hope you can join in-person or virtually via a live stream. REGISTER HERE

Segment Results

As a result of the strategic transaction with CC Capital and in accordance with IFRS, the Company now manages its operations and reports its financial results in two operating business segments: Asset Management and Insurance. Other activity for the Company outside of these two operating segments is reported in the Corporate column of our segment reporting.

This press release should be read in conjunction with Westaim’s unaudited interim consolidated financial statements (the “Financial Statements”) and management’s discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025 (the “MD&A”) which were filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. These documents and the Company’s Q2 2026 Investor Presentation can be found on the Company’s website at www.westaim.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Ratios

Westaim reports its Financial Statements using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) and accounting policies consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). Westaim uses both IFRS and non-GAAP measures and ratios to assess financial performance of its business, including in this press release Adjusted EBITDA, AUM and Programmatic Capital. The Company cautions readers that non-GAAP measures and ratios do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS, should not be considered alternatives to performance measures determined in accordance with IFRS and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Readers are urged to review Section 15 Non-GAAP Measures in the MD&A (available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca) which is incorporated by reference into this news release for quantitative reconciliations of non-IFRS measures to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures.

About Westaim

Westaim is an integrated insurance and alternative asset management company with two primary operating businesses: Ceres Life and Arena.

Ceres Life is a cloud-native, highly scalable, de novo annuity insurance company. Inspired by the belief that technology can reinvent the way insurance providers meet the needs of investors, Ceres Life is building a nimble, highly efficient, and risk-conscious insurance company that provides simple-to-understand and easily accessible annuity products to create better outcomes for policyholders. For more information, see www.ceresinsurance.com.

Founded in 2015, Arena is a global institutional asset manager with deep expertise in credit and asset-oriented investments, including the full spectrum of corporate, real estate and structured finance opportunities. Arena provides creative solutions for those seeking competitive capital and flexibility to engage in custom transactions. For more information, see www.arenaco.com.

The Common Shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”) under the trading symbol “WED”.

Cautionary Note and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), including with respect to expected results of gross annualized run-rate savings, MYGA and FIA policies contributing positively to operating results, pressure on near term accounting results, future growth in third-party capital, anticipated benefits of reductions of the cost base in the Asset Management segment, growth in fee-paying AUM driving toward consistent profitability, return on equity, timing of name change and rebrand, and timing of the Investor Day. All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions.

Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management of Westaim at the date the statements are made based on information then available to Westaim. Various factors and assumptions are applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking statements including past practice of the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to and involve a number of known and unknown, variables, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Westaim, which may cause Westaim’s actual performance and results to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

No assurance can be given that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's business are contained under the heading “Risk Factors” in its annual information form for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260813058518/en/

For more information, visit our website at www.westaim.com or contact:

J. Cameron MacDonald, Chief Executive Officer;

Matt Skurbe, President and Chief Operating Officer; or

Nikita Klassen, Chief Financial Officer

The Westaim Corporation

[email protected]

(347) 802-1040

Source: The Westaim Corporation