Artificial intelligence (AI), cyber insurance, and climate change/natural cat
astrophes are the three themes that will have the biggest impact on the insurance market in 2026, according to an annual pre
diction from GlobalData, the London-based data and analytics company.
“Insurers that establish themselves as leaders in these themes will see i
mproved performance, better products, and enhanced customer service. AI i
s undoubtedly the leading technology trend in the insurance industry at
present,” commented Ben Carey-Evans, senior insurance analyst, GlobalData, in a statement.
“The emergence of agentic AI throughout 2025 has only increased the buzz around the technology and its capabilities. Its imp
act can be felt throughout the value chain, and agentic AI’s ability to react to liv
e information and making human-like decisions will accelerate the impact AI has on insurance in 2026 and beyond,” Carey-Evans continued.
The total value of M&A deals completed within AI in insurance skyrocketed in 2025, registering growth of 328% in terms of val
ue and 125% in terms of volume. Driven in part by the rise of generative AI—esp
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ecially agentic AI—this trend was also reflected in GlobalData’s other databases.
GlobalData's jobs and company filings databases show strong growth within AI in insurance, which indicates it is an area of focus
for insurers. One example was Munich Re’s July 2025 acquisition of Next Insurance
, a technology-first commercial property and casualty insurance with a focus on AI and digitalization, GlobalData said.
Cyber Insurance and Climate Change
Cyber insurance continues to see rapid growth that is forecast to cont
inue through 2030, GlobalData said, estimating the global cyber insurance market to be worth $22.2 billion in 2025 and $35.4 billion by 2030.
Climate change, the rise of severe weather events around the world, and natural catastrophe insurance are also major issues fo
r warranties, and their impact will only continue to increase in the coming years.
“Natural fire and hazard insurance is a major insurance product globally, with premiums and claims seeing sharp annual incr
eases, which are forecast to continue,” Carey-Evans said. “The frequency of severe weather events is a huge threat to the industry and la
Large areas of the world are becoming uninsurable, which is a major problem for consumers.”