2025/2026: REVIEWS & OUTLOOK
Insurance 2026: Progress Through Technology and Collaboration
Looking ahead, the 2026 P&C Insurance environment may be much easier to forecast compared to the last several years. Most experts have already submitted that 2026 will be a year of profitable growth. Fitch suggests a combined ratio of 96% to 97% and even the volatile homeowner market is anticipated to “stabilize”. Similarly, it is obvious to predict the new year filled with AI in insurance building off widespread hype and numerous announcements of huge, multi-year investments by the likes of Travelers, Nationwide, GEICO, Chubb. Just how much and deeply AI will impact insurance remains far less visible with some areas of attention coming into focus, e.g.; pre-binding, underwriting data, claims/FNOL analysis.
Looking back to “see” forward
We also know that each year can bring some unexpected and unwelcomed surprises such as the record-setting $40B+ Palisades wildfires burning some 23,000 acres and everything in its path. On the flip side not a single hurricane hit the U.S. Atlantic coastline, still Global CAT losses amounted to $107B in 2025 per SwissRe. To put things in perspective, hurricane Katrina in 2005 was around $105B alone. However, severe CAT exposure has become more visible and thus accepted. In turn, risk models have presumably adjusted over the recent years and optimistically, the industry is better prepared.
Throughout 2025, M&A remained vibrant with insurtech funding just over $1B per quarter and an increase in early-stage funding toward the end of year per Gallagher. A closer look at some specific trends: READ ON
Alan Demers & Stephen Applebaum
2026 Trend Forecast: The insurance workforce
Despite lingering questions about how the efficiencies wrought by AI and automation could impact insurance recruitment and hiring, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a slight increase (3%) in financial-services services workers by 2034.
But this optimistic projection pales in comparison to longstanding anxiety regarding the insurance-industry talent gap, or the pending retirement of thousands of experienced professionals and the concurrent lack of talent to fill or redefine those roles.
Results from the 2025 Independent Insurance Agent Survey conducted by Propertycasualty360 in partnership with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents reflect this hiring anxiety, with the majority of respondents (81%) reporting they are somewhat or very concerned about insurance-workforce challenges.
Christopher Orr says the current insurance staffing landscape is complex and multidimentional.
“Even where some [insurance] roles are showing longer-term employment declines, the industry still is facing meaningful annual openings, especially in claims and underwriting,” says Orr, a partner in the global and North American insurance practice at the management consulting firm Korn Ferry.
Sure, AI is “the big story” in talent acquisition in 2026, according to Korn Ferry forecasts, but it’s not the only story as emerging technologies require significant organizational leadership as well as people who can manage and monitor that tech. So many insurance roles are being reshaped, Orr said, not replaced.
News
Moody's Ratings maintains stable outlook on global P&C insurance for 2026
Moody’s Ratings has maintained its stable outlook on the global property and casualty (P&C) insurance sector for 2026, with the rating agency expecting carriers to continue to generate good profitability and strong capitalisation against a backdrop of subdued global economic growth.
Moody'sThe ratings agency revised its outlook on the sector to stable from negative back in December 2024, at the time citing improved personal lines pricing adequacy, commercial lines pricing remaining supportive of good results, and strong investment income.
Today, Moody’s Ratings has confirmed that its sector outlook remains stable for the year ahead, reiterating that both personal and commercial lines’ profitability will remain solid.
Moody’s explains: “Cumulative pricing increases have improved profit margins for personal motor and homeowners insurance policies. This will help insurers sustain solid profitability for personal lines in 2026. However, pricing increases will taper off because improved profitability will increase pricing competition. Despite declining pricing for some commercial lines, such as property insurance, rates are still quite adequate following significant pricing increases during 2019-23 and will support good profitability in 2026.”
Berkshire falls on Buffett's last day as CEO, gained 6,100,000% over 60 years
Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), opens new tab shares closed slightly lower on Warren Buffett's final day as chief executive, with the legendary investor set to hand the reins to Greg Abel on Thursday**.
The price of Berkshire Class A shares edged down $600, or 0.1%, to $754,800 on Wednesday, while the Class B share price fell $1.06, or 0.2%, to $502.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 (.SPX), opens new tab fell 0.7%.
Investors fortunate enough to own Berkshire since 1965, when Buffett took over, realized a return of about 6,100,000%, far above the S&P 500's approximately 46,000% return including dividends.
The index outperformed in 2025 and over the last decade, though Berkshire never had a down year, as Buffett struggled to find acquisitions for his $1.08 trillion conglomerate.
Berkshire subsidiaries include the insurer Geico, the BNSF railroad, dozens of manufacturing and energy businesses, and retail brands such as Brooks, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and See's Candies. It ended September with $381.7 billion of cash and equivalents.
The Hartford Expands Technology Team With New Office In Columbus, Ohio
The Hartford today announced the opening of its newest technology hub in Columbus, Ohio. This strategic expansion is the latest example of the company’s commitment to insurance innovation, collaboration, and delivering exceptional experiences for customers, agents and brokers.
Located in Columbus’s Easton Town Center, the office will hold approximately 75 employees focused on AI, cloud architecture, and technology transformation. The office will accommodate new hires and employees who have worked remotely in the region. The space features collaboration zones and infrastructure to support experimentation and prototyping of new products, processes and services.
“The Hartford is a destination for top talent working on the frontier of technological change, and this Columbus office is part of our strategy to have employees collaborate on products and services that are integral to the future of insurance,” said The Hartford’s Chief Information Officer Shekar Pannala. “By expanding our technology presence, we are creating opportunities to deliver faster, smarter solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers.”
This expansion complements The Hartford’s existing technology centers in Hartford, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; Charlotte, North Carolina, and Hyderabad, India, underscoring its commitment to building a globally integrated technology ecosystem.
Research
Good Times for U.S. P/C Insurers May Not Last; Auto Challenges Ahead
In their latest report on the U.S. auto insurance market, analysts from S&P Global Market Intelligence predict the strongest overall U.S. property/casualty insurance underwriting results in 18 years for 2025, driven by favorable private passenger auto outcomes.
Still, while their 2025 projected combined ratio across all lines is now 96.2, three points better than a midyear projection of 99.2 estimated for the year in August, “success is anticipated to be temporary due to various market dynamics and challenges,” S&P GMI said in a December media statement.
The media statement announced the publication of the firm’s 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Market Report, which stresses the significant weight that auto insurance has on overall P/C insurance industry results.FULL ARTICLE
Los Angeles Wildfires
One Year Later: Consequences of the Los Angeles Area Wildfires for the Insurance Sector
The 2025 Los Angeles (L.A.) area wildfires were a significant stress event for the California property and casualty (P&C) insurance sector. While the industry has been resilient and positive reforms such as allowances for rate increases have been implemented, the sector is still vulnerable to another significant loss event especially as the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan total exposure grows.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS - The U.S. P&C insurance sector has recovered from the 2025 wildfire losses thanks to premium increases and low catastrophe losses for the remainder of the year.
State Farm General Insurance Company, the entity writing California property risk for State Farm, was particularly vulnerable and remains in a weaker position.
Allowance for premium increases and other reforms are a move in the right direction to create a sustainable property insurance market, but the reliance on the FAIR Plan is a risk for the industry and doesn't incentivize accurate pricing of risk.
"A year after the January 2025 L.A. area wildfires, the U.S. P&C insurance sector has generally remained resilient, with no failure among the leading insurers in the California property market," said Patrick Douville, Vice President Global Insurance and Pension Ratings.
"However, State Farm General Insurance Company, which is a leading property insurer in California, has incurred $7.6 billion in catastrophe losses and remains in a relatively weak, although stable, financial position. California's FAIR Plan received a $1 billion payment from the insurance industry in 2025, after it ran out of funds to cover approximately $4 billion in claims related to the L.A. wildfires. With the total exposure of the FAIR Plan growing fast and reaching $696 billion, the risk remains significant for the industry."
Commentary/Opinion
Why easing P&C rates don’t signal a full market turn
As the property and casualty (P&C) insurance sector enters 2026, brokers are seeing strong signals of easing pricing in select pockets of the market. However, at least one leader sees a market in recalibration rather than a dramatic turn toward soft conditions.
The Swiss Re Institute’s US P&C outlook for 2025-2026 states that direct premiums written are expected to grow by 5% in 2025, decelerating to 4% in 2026, reflecting slower pricing momentum and increased competition among carriers.
But according to Alera Group’s P&C leader Justin Foa (pictured), unlike past cycles where rate pressure eased industry-wide, today’s softening is highly uneven: some constructions and property risks are seeing capacity and rate relief, while others, often those with recent losses or CAT exposures, remain challenged.
The highly segmented nature of current trends, with variations not only by line of business, but also by niche, account quality and risk profile, makes generalized market assumptions less useful than tailored, expert guidance.
“It is really a matrix now,” Foa told Insurance Business. “It is not just ‘construction is hard, but food is not.’ It is ‘construction, but these types of construction accounts are soft, and these are still hard.’ Each line of business has its own nuance, which I think is important.”
CES Las Vegas 2026
Ring Unveils a New Generation of Smarter, More Connected Security at CES 2026 - The Ring Blog
- Partnership with Cambridge Mobile Telematics
- Built-in GPS and always-on Sidewalk connectivity keep you informed—even when parked away from home
- Monitor your vehicle in real time and receive instant alerts on location and movement
At Ring, we’re focused on building security solutions that are smarter, more connected, and easier to use—whether you’re protecting a single room, a vehicle on the go, or an entire jobsite. This year at CES, Ring is introducing a new generation of devices and AI-powered features designed to deliver clearer awareness, stronger reliability, and meaningful insights wherever they’re needed. […]
Monitor your vehicle in real time and receive instant alerts on location and movement Together, these layers deliver a flexible, connected security network that protects your home inside and out, with battery-operated sensors that continue working during internet or power outages.
Ring Car Alarm is available for pre-order today, and Ring Sensors will be available for purchase in March. Sign up here to be notified about their availability.
Google Gemini Is Taking Control of Humanoid Robots on Auto Factory Floors
Google DeepMind is teaming up with Boston Dynamics to give its humanoid robots the intelligence required to navigate unfamiliar environments and identify and manipulate objects—precisely the kinds of capabilities needed to perform manual labor.
The collaboration, announced at CES in Las Vegas, will see Google’s Gemini Robotics model deployed on various Boston Dynamics’ robots, including a humanoid called Atlas and a robot dog called Spot.
The companies plan to test Gemini-powered Atlas robots at auto factories belonging to Hyundai, Boston Dynamics’ parent company, in the coming months. The move is an early look at a future where humanoids are able to quickly master a wide range of tasks.
InsurTech/M&A/Finance💰/Collaboration
Zurich partners with Players Health
Zurich North America is partnering with Players Health, a provider of risk management services and insurance products to sports organizations.
The companies are introducing “a first-of-its-kind” Critical Injury Protection Insurance solution for colleges, universities, collectives and their student athletes who receive name, image and likeness payments. The new insurance protects these institutions’ financial investments in top student-athletes in the event the athlete suffers a season-disrupting injury.
The Critical Injury Protection Insurance policy provides cover to the college or collective for NIL contract payments made or owed to an athlete who suffers an injury in official play, practice or training that causes them to miss a significant portion of the season (typically 40% or more). As the NIL space continues to evolve, the surplus-lines coverage is customizable and tailored to the value of NIL contracts. Another iteration of the offering can provide coverage to athletes for potential loss of future NIL-related income due to injury.
Fraud
GEICO alleges Florida chiropractors ran $1.37 million PIP billing scheme
GEICO is accusing two Florida chiropractic clinics of running a multi‑year PIP billing scheme that it says siphoned more than $1.37 million from the insurer.
In a civil action filed on January 5, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach Division, four GEICO companies allege that chiropractor Chris Lavoris Thompson, D.C., fellow chiropractor Mark Laudadio, D.C., and their entities – Chris Thompson PA d/b/a Health and Wellness Chiropractic Centers and South Florida Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Center, LLC – built an operation that, according to GEICO, centered on fraudulent personal injury protection (PIP) billing.
On the face of the filing, GEICO says the defendants “wrongfully obtained” more than $1,370,000.00 by submitting “thousands of fraudulent and unlawful” no‑fault/PIP charges since at least 2019, and that more than $75,000.00 in additional PIP claims are still pending and unpaid. The insurer asks the court to declare that it does not have to pay those outstanding bills.
The dispute turns on Florida’s Motor Vehicle No‑Fault Law, which requires auto insurers to pay PIP benefits only for services that are both medically necessary and lawfully provided. The statute defines “medically necessary” services as those a prudent physician would provide to prevent, diagnose, or treat an illness or injury, in accordance with generally accepted standards of medical practice, clinically appropriate in type, frequency, extent, site, and duration, and not primarily for the convenience of the patient or provider. It also ties payment to lawful operation, defined as substantial compliance with all relevant criminal, civil, and administrative requirements of state and federal law related to medical services or treatment.
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