RiskScan 2026 Survey Reveals Increasingly Complex Risk Landscape as Insurance Protection Gaps Persist: Triple-I/Munich Re US

Business Wire

MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and Munich Re US today announced the release of RiskScan 2026, a comprehensive cross-market research study that examines evolving risk perceptions and interconnected exposures in the United States and United Kingdom insurance markets.

Featuring detailed research findings and key insights from Triple-I and various senior executives within the Munich Re Group of companies, RiskScan 2026 provides two in-depth reports:

RiskScan 2026 (Re)insurance highlights the growing alignment around related risks that are reshaping economies and societies and cites persistent insurance protection gaps that threaten long-term resilience. It builds on the inaugural RiskScan 2024 study and demonstrates that today’s risk landscape is increasingly defined not by isolated threats but by overlapping pressures spanning cyber incidents, natural catastrophes, economic volatility, artificial intelligence (AI), business interruption, and emerging liability exposures.

RiskScan 2026: Specialty Insurance incorporates global specialty market perspectives and insights on cyber incidents, business interruption, new technologies, and natural catastrophes – revealed as tightly interconnected concerns that reinforce how operational disruption, supply chain volatility, liability exposure, and technology dependencies can quickly cascade across organizations and industries. The specialty findings also underscore growing attention to long-tail emerging exposures, including evolving AI-related risks.

More than 1,700 participants were surveyed in the U.S. and U.K, across five key insurance market segments: consumers, small business owners, middle-market decision-makers, property/casualty (P/C) insurance agents and brokers, and P/C insurance carriers.

Key Findings

Cyber incidents, economic pressures and AI emerged as top concerns across all market segments, reflecting the increasingly interconnected nature of modern risk.
Non-peak (secondary) catastrophe perils, including floods, severe storms, winter weather and wildfires, are now viewed as frequent, high-impact risks, challenging traditional assumptions about catastrophe exposure and diversification.
AI ranked as the most impactful emerging technology, highlighting both its rapid adoption and growing concerns around operational, regulatory, liability and systemic risks.
Persistent protection gaps remain for flood and cyber insurance, despite heightened awareness of these exposures among businesses and insurance professionals.
Growing recognition of legal system abuse as a driver of rising P/C insurance costs signals broader awareness of the factors influencing affordability and long-term market stability.

“As insurance professionals, we are committed to driving positive change by helping clients better understand, mitigate and manage today’s increasingly complex risks, from cyber incidents and business interruption to natural catastrophes and emerging AI exposures,” said Marcus Winter, president and CEO, North America (P&C Re), Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. (“Munich Re US”). “The findings also reinforce the critical role insurance plays in helping communities recover after loss, promoting long-term financial stability and strengthening resilience.”

Highlights and Perspective

“Today’s risk environment is being shaped not only by catastrophe and cyber exposures, but also by the interaction between economic inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain pressures and rising legal costs,” said Michel Léonard, Ph.D., CBE, chief economist and data scientist, Triple-I. “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.”

The study found economic inflation, economic decline and rising property insurance costs remain among the top market concerns across all audiences surveyed. Respondents increasingly recognized macroeconomic pressures, including inflation, supply chain disruption, geopolitical uncertainty and legal system abuse, are intensifying the impact of catastrophe losses, cyber incidents and overall insurance affordability challenges.

“The survey findings make clear that recognizing risk is only the first step,” said Sean Kevelighan, CEO, Triple-I. “As flood, cyber and other interconnected exposures continue to evolve, the industry has an important opportunity to strengthen public understanding, close protection gaps, and work collaboratively with consumers, policymakers, businesses, and communities to better predict, prepare and prevent ever-increasing risks.”

Additionally, the survey found “broad recognition of insurance’s societal value and underscores the importance of collaboration among insurers, reinsurers, industry organizations, policymakers and risk management leaders to address emerging exposures, improve public understanding of risk and advance solutions for resilience and economic stability,” continued Kevelighan.

Methodology

Munich Re US and the Triple-I engaged independent market research firm RTi Research in 2026 to conduct an online survey among 1700+ respondents; methodology details can be found in the report online.

About the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I)

Since 1960, the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I®) has been the trusted voice of risk and insurance, delivering unique, data-driven insights to educate, elevate and connect consumers, industry professionals, policymakers and the media. An affiliate of The Institutes, Triple-I represents a diverse membership accounting for nearly 50% of all U.S. property/casualty premiums written. Our members include mutual and stock companies, personal and commercial lines, primary insurers and reinsurers – serving regional, national and global markets.

Triple-I is a registered trademark of the Insurance Information Institute. All rights reserved.

About The Institutes

The Institutes® are a not-for-profit comprised of diverse affiliates that educate, elevate, and connect people in the essential disciplines of risk management and insurance. Through products and services offered by The Institutes’ 21 affiliated business units, people and organizations are empowered to help those in need with a focus on understanding, predicting, and preventing losses to create a more resilient world. Learn more at Global.TheInstitutes.org.

The Institutes is a registered trademark of The Institutes. All rights reserved.

About Munich Re US

Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. (“Munich Re US”) is one of the largest reinsurers in the United States. We provide reinsurance coverages, specialty reinsurance, and risk management solutions to commercial and personal lines insurance carriers, agents and brokers, program administrators, and managing general agents. Our admitted and non-admitted insurance company affiliates offer specialty insurance products. We provide insurance carriers with white-label products to help protect against the devastating effects of natural catastrophes and emerging risks. We believe that by looking out for our clients’ best interests with innovative risk solutions, we can help build more resilient communities and close insurance gaps.

About Munich Re

Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft in München (“Munich Re”) is one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance and insurance-related risk solutions. The Group consists of the reinsurance and ERGO business segments, as well as the asset manager MEAG. Munich Re is globally active, operating in all lines of the insurance business. Since it was founded in 1880, Munich Re has been known for its unrivalled risk-related expertise and its sound financial position. Munich Re leverages its strengths to promote its clients’ business interests and technological progress. Moreover, Munich Re develops covers for new risks such as rocket launches, renewable energies, cyber risks and artificial intelligence. In the 2025 financial year, Munich Re generated insurance revenue of €60.4bn and a net result of €6.1bn. The Munich Re Group employed about 44,000 people worldwide as at 31 December 2025.