New and emerging risk predictions for 2026

Originally published by Digital Insurance on January 4, 2026.

Digital Insurance gathered perspectives from insurance professionals on emerging risks for 2026, including input from Carpe Data on fraud detection challenges.

Several executives highlighted cyber and technology risks. Beazley Security's CEO warned that third-party software dependencies will increasingly expose organizations through less-secure partners, driving investment in vendor risk management and Zero Trust architectures. Coalition's principal researcher flagged AI chatbots as a growing data privacy concern, noting that 5% of privacy claims analyzed targeted chatbot technologies under state wiretap laws, while LexisNexis Risk Solutions pointed to persistent risky driving behaviors including rising distracted driving rates.

Other leaders addressed market dynamics and disclosure challenges. Hippo's president predicted MGAs will gain momentum through specialized expertise and data agility in responding to climate-driven property risks and emerging auto technologies. Beazley executives identified "tariff-washing" as the latest disclosure pitfall joining greenwashing and AI-washing, while MSIG USA anticipated continued hard market conditions in excess casualty amid nuclear verdict concerns.

Tom Rasmussen, VP of product for claims at Carpe Data, criticized so-called advanced fraud detection systems that overwhelm adjusters with false positives and constant alerts. "This avalanche of noise not only overwhelms adjusters but also erodes trust in the tools themselves, " Rasmussen noted. He emphasized that insurers need evidence-based, low-noise insights that reduce false positives and standardize online evidence usage in claims workflows to balance automation with accuracy.

Read the full article at Digital Insurance.