ITC Europe has revived its Challenge Lab contest, tapping Generali once again as industry partner to set this year's brief – “AI Liability: Insuring Intelligence at Scale” – as carriers race to get ahead of an exposure the market is already calling the new cyber.
The platform matches early-stage and scaling firms with insurance bosses to crack sector-wide problems. It debuted at ITC London in January, where AI claims intelligence startup Senen scooped the top prize under a sustainability brief.
Applications opened on April 24 and close on May 5. Finalists will be unveiled on May 11, with the top three pitching on the main stage at ITC Europe 2026, held at La Llotja de Mar in Barcelona on May 28-29. The winner, named on May 28, walks away with a trophy, PR coverage and a speaking slot at ITC Europe 2027.
Entrants must build tools that help insurers spot, monitor, govern and manage the risks thrown up by AI systems deployed at scale.
Generali's brief warns that as AI seeps into pricing, operations and customer engagement, accountability is shifting from humans to algorithms, leaving exposures that are tough to pin down.
The urgency is plain. HSB, part of Munich Re, has flagged a wave of silent AI exposures buried in professional liability, D&O and general liability lines but seldom spelled out in policy wordings. Its data shows 74% of small businesses already use AI tools, with 91% planning to follow suit.
Deloitte tips global AI insurance premiums to hit US$4.8 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual rate of 80%. A separate IIS survey found 71% of insurance executives rank AI as their top business issue, yet 17% admit their firms are not ready for its full impact.
Andrew Kelly, executive vice president at AJ Wayne & Associates, reckons the next five to 10 years will see a dedicated AI insurance sector emerge much as cyber did, complete with specialist MGAs, claims teams and bespoke forms.
Generali rolled out a Trustworthy AI framework built on human oversight, fairness and explainable algorithms, and pledged €1.1 billion to digital transformation between 2022 and 2024 (announced 2022).
In January 2025, it teamed up with MIT's Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems to push AI into risk modelling, claims and underwriting.
Danilo Raponi (pictured above), group head of innovation at Assicurazioni Generali SpA, said AI liability "is arriving faster than our industry's frameworks can keep pace with," adding the firm wants to find startups already tackling the issue and help them scale.
Lee Cibis, head of content for ITC London and ITC Europe, said the renewed tie-up gives organisers confidence the Barcelona edition "will surface genuinely transformative solutions."
