Forrester Research predicts written cyber insurance premiums will rise 15% in 2026 as new artificial intelligence threats and data demands emerge.
In a new report, analysts at the global market research company anticipate the widespread adoption of AI to re
verse the cyber market’s recent deceleration. When asked why, Rohit Makhijani, a principal analyst at Forr
ester, said that implementing AI increases threat surface area.
“If you’ve got a bigger house, you’re going to need more insurance,” he explained in a phone interview. “There’s more to lose.”
Makhijani added that AI is enabling malicious actors to become more sophisticated.
The technology has become “a weapon for bad actors” and a target itself, he said. AI’s potential to create and accel
erate new threats from cybercriminals is outpacing the defensiv
e capabilities of many organizations, the report’s authors concluded, leading to an increase in successful attacks.
That aligns with broader findings: Moody’s Ratings shared in October that cyberattacks targeting the entiti
es it rates have been more frequent over the past decade than at any time previously, although they have fallen from a 2020 peak.
While modern software systems often rely on a complex netw
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ork of third-party vendors and suppliers, many organizations fail to rigorously assess third-party c
ybersecurity practices or manage open-source software risks, which can leave them exposed to supply chain attacks, Moody’s added.
Swiss Re numbers show that global cyber insurance gro
wth has cooled after an explosive expansion between 2017 and 20
22. Makhijani attributed this slowdown to the market’s maturation, noting “there’s a lot of capacity that is chasing risk.”
Looking forward, however, “The expectation is that we’ll see a
similar pattern where demand will pick up driven by this increased surface area for threat,” he said.
The report’s authors believe cyber insurers should become proactive partners in cybersecurity by providing cyber def
ense services, risk mitigation tools, and innovative ways to underwrite new risks posed by AI.