Cyber threats, artificial intelligence, and persistent protection gaps are reshaping the US and UK insurance markets. A new study suggests the industry is only beginning to reckon with the scale of the problem.
The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and Munich Re US published RiskScan 2026 on June 8. The study surveyed more than 1,700 participants across five market segments in both countries.
Respondents included consumers, small business owners, middle-market decision-makers, property/casualty agents and brokers, and P/C carriers.
The findings cover two reports. One examines reinsurance exposures. The other focuses on specialty insurance. Both point to a risk environment defined by interconnected pressures rather than isolated events.
Cyber incidents, economic volatility, natural catastrophes, AI, business interruption, and emerging liability exposures all ranked as top concerns. Respondents across every segment flagged them together, rather than separately.
Michel Léonard, Triple-I’s chief economist and data scientist, said the economy is making everything worse.
“The data shows economic conditions are increasingly acting as a multiplier of insurance risk, affecting affordability, claims severity, capital allocation, and long-term market stability across the insurance value chain,” he said.
Non-peak catastrophe perils – including floods, severe storms, winter weather, and wildfires – are now seen as frequent and high-impact risks. The study says this challenges long-held assumptions about catastrophe exposure and diversification.
The specialty report found cyber and flood protection gaps remain stubbornly in place. This gap is growing wider.
Jennifer Wilson, head of cyber at Newfront, said inconsistent policy language across insurers is complicating coverage decisions. AI is accelerating both attack sophistication and underwriting uncertainty at the same time. This means that the mismatch between exposure and protection is becoming a material problem.
The flood picture is equally stark. Swiss Re put the global natural catastrophe protection gap at $424 billion in its latest sigma report, published just days before RiskScan 2026.
North America’s insurance coverage ratio has sat between 40% and 42% since 2015. Uninsured losses keep growing as populations concentrate in catastrophe-exposed areas and reconstruction costs rise.
RiskScan also found growing recognition of legal system abuse as a driver of rising P/C insurance costs. Marcus Winter, president and CEO of Munich Re US’s North America P&C Re division, said the findings point to a broader role for the industry.
“The findings also reinforce the critical role insurance plays in helping communities recover after loss, promoting long-term financial stability and strengthening resilience,” he said.
AI ranked as the most impactful emerging technology across all survey segments. HSB, part of Munich Re, found that 74% of small businesses already use AI tools.
Coverage clarity is not keeping pace. Timothy Zeilman, global head of product ownership at HSB, said the risk pattern echoes the early days of cyber. This is largely invisible within traditional insurance structures until losses forced a reckoning.
Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan said the industry cannot stop at awareness.
“The survey findings make clear that recognizing risk is only the first step,” he said. Kevelighan called for collaboration across insurers, reinsurers, policymakers, and communities to close protection gaps and build long-term resilience.
