AI, cyber insurance coverage, and local weather change/pure catastrophes had been highlighted because the three themes that may have the largest affect on insurance coverage in 2026 as a part of GlobalData’s annual predictions webinars. Insurers that set up themselves as leaders in these themes will see improved efficiency, merchandise, and customer support.
AI is undoubtedly the main know-how pattern within the insurance coverage business at current. The emergence of agentic AI all through 2025 has solely elevated the thrill across the know-how and its capabilities. Its affect may be felt all through the worth chain, and agentic AI’s means to react to reside data and make human-like selections will speed up the affect AI has on insurance coverage in 2026 and past.
The overall worth of M&A offers accomplished inside AI in insurance coverage skyrocketed in 2025, registering progress of 328% by way of worth and 125% by way of quantity. Pushed partly by the rise of generative and particularly agentic AI, this pattern was replicated in GlobalData’s different alerts databases. Our jobs and firm filings databases present sturdy progress inside AI in insurance coverage, which signifies it’s an space of focus for insurers. One instance was Munich Re’s July 2025 acquisition of Subsequent Insurance coverage—a technology-first industrial property and casualty insurer with a deal with AI and digitalisation.
Cyber and local weather change/pure catastrophes are additionally key themes. Cyber insurance coverage is constant to see huge progress, and we forecast that to proceed to 2030. We estimate the worldwide cyber insurance coverage market to be value $22.2bn in 2025 and $35.4bn by 2030. Local weather change, the rise of extreme climate occasions world wide, and pure disaster insurance coverage are main points for insurers—and their affect will solely proceed to extend within the coming years. Pure hearth and hazards insurance coverage is a significant insurance coverage product globally, with premiums and claims seeing sharp annual will increase, that are forecast to proceed. The regularity of extreme climate occasions is a large menace to the business and huge areas of the world have gotten uninsurable, which is a significant drawback for shoppers.
The webinar selected these themes because of the affect they’re already having and the way we anticipate them to develop in significance (and worth) in 2026 and past. Insurers must be specializing in these three themes as we head into 2026.