Senior leaders from across the insurance industry are gathering at the Santa Monica Pier today for InsuranceFest 2026.
The event has once again pulled in a record crowd, with more than 1,750 registrations from over 1,000 companies spanning 35 states.
Brokers, underwriters, risk managers and executives are taking part in a full day of programming focused on some of the industry’s most pressing challenges.
The event kicked off with a yoga session, setting the tone for a day that blends serious industry discussion with the energy of a festival.
Across five zones — Pacific, Ocean, Palm, Shore and Coral — concurrent sessions are exploring artificial intelligence, cyber risk, catastrophe exposure, distribution and M&A, as well as career development for the next generation of talent.
Recurring themes across the program include the shift from AI "copilots" to agentic decision-making tools, the growing complexity of nuclear verdicts and litigation risk in the E&S space, catastrophe modeling in a more volatile climate environment, and how brokers are adapting distribution strategies amid ongoing consolidation and M&A activity.
Monica Sangelis, an executive vice president and Commercial alliance leader at USI for Southern California, said: "I am super excited to reconnect with insurance carriers, vendors market and the future of insurance in a much more relaxed environment, and also to challenge some assumptions about AI is here to help us and empower us."
Christina Lucas, the global market leader for insurance at Google Cloud and one of today's speakers, said: "What I'm most looking forward to with InsuranceFest is the ability to really connect across the ecosystem and to see the emerging technologies, the future partners for doing business, the talent that's out here, and to really work with, collaborating on."
The biggest addition for 2026 is sponsor-led Discussion Tables across four themes: cyber, digital transformation, construction, and E&S. Each targets a real broker pain point.
Cyber tables tackle the blurring lines between D&O, EPL, and cyber coverage. Digital transformation tables cut through the noise on AI adoption. Construction tables, workshop contract clauses, and hidden builder's risks. E&S tables focus on securing capacity when traditional markets say no.
Attendees are exploring what's next in technology, distribution, emerging risks, and leadership throughout the day, with the goal of walking away with practical ideas, new connections, and proven plays they can put to work in their own practice the moment they're back at their desks.
Alongside the day's programming, they're also working their way through a buzzing marketplace of more than 40 providers and live InsurTech experiences, trying out new tools, meeting potential partners, and scouting real, ready-to-use solutions for brokerage, underwriting, claims, and client challenges.
Organizers have leaned into combining festival fun with focused business development, blending mixology, volleyball, and other immersive activations with targeted workshops designed to help attendees network with partners and prospects, strengthen connections, and leave ready to act on new opportunities.
