The year 2026 is expected to bring diverse changes across many sectors, from cyber and artificial intelligence (AI) to renewable energy to workers’ compensation. Experts from Crawford & Company, Beazley, and Gallagher Basset have offered their insights and predictions into some of the biggest trends the claims industry can expect to see over the next several months.
Cyber Trends: AI Helps Facilitate and Fights Cybercrime
Q: What impact will cybercrime have on businesses this year, and how does it differ from other years?
Alessandro Lezzi, group head of cyber risks, Beazley: This year has shown how fast a cyber incident can spiral into operational paralysis. And with the JLR attack in September shaving an estimated 0.2% off U.K. GDP, businesses face a stark reminder that a single outage can ripple far beyond the confines of IT teams, hitting revenue, reputation, and resilience in real time. Ransomware, after a brief lull following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, has returned with force, now armed with AI-driven capabilities. The risk extends beyond operations. Boards that fail to manage cyber risk might face longtail D&O exposure, with shareholder lawsuits over poor preparation, weak response plans, or underinsurance potentially surfacing months or even years later. In this complex environment, 2026 could be the year a major business suffers long-term damage or even failure from an outage caused by a cyber-attack. In the face of rising threats, businesses need a mindset shift—from panic to resilience. And true resilience isn’t about relying on insurance alone; it means preparing before, responding fast, and recovering stronger.
Q: What are some of the latest technological advances in AI and cyber security?
Kirsten Mickelson, cyber product group leader, Gallagher Bassett: Both AI and cybersecurity are industries that are booming and are showing no signs of slowing down, with most new cyber security solutions incorporating some aspect of AI. For example, AI and machine learning are being used for automated threat detection to analyze vast amounts of data in real time to detect anomalies, identify patterns, and detect potential cyber threats. For rapid response capabilities, AI is enabling automated responses to cyber incidents, reducing the time required to mitigate threats. AI systems can isolate affected systems, block malicious traffic, and initiate recovery processes autonomously.
Q: What are some of the latest tactics being used by cyber threat actors?
Mickelson: Threat actors always seem to be a few steps ahead of us. We have seen threat actors use techniques to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA), use QR codes in phishing campaigns to bypass email security features, exploit supply chains for bigger impact, use double extortion methods (data encryption plus threats of data publication), and use more collaboration between cybercrime groups (i.e., ransomware as a service model and outsourcing certain aspects of an attack). Most recently…threat actors are leveraging AI for all aspects of crime. We are seeing threat actors deploy AI-driven phishing attacks to generate more credible sounding and realistic threats. And with AI, threat actors can scale these phishing attacks and translate them into multiple languages to increase chances of success. We are also seeing threat actors use AI to create AI-generated video, image, or audio, known as deep fakes.
Finally, we are seeing threat actors leverage AI to automate many aspects of the ransomware deployment process. This includes using AI to research targets, identify system vulnerabilities, write malicious code, and detect access points. AI is also being used to harvest credentials to get into systems and remain undetected while doing reconnaissance. This makes the barrier for entry a lot easier, enabling more budding cyber criminals to be successful. And when negotiating with these threat actors on the ransom payment, AI-powered chatbots are being used by threat actors to conduct negotiations. AI chatbots allow these threat actors to mimic the tone and appearance of legitimate customer service portals, introducing a chilling level of professionalism to what’s essentially extortion and dealing with criminals.
Q: Beyond fraud detection, how is AI supporting claims professionals?
Joe Powell, chief digital officer, Gallagher Bassett: Fraud is just one of the ways that AI can equip claim handlers to make better decisions and focus on what matters across the claim lifecycle. Increasingly, AI will become a true Copilot across the claims process. Ultimately, AI will not replace professional judgment but will play a large role in compressing the time it takes to understand a file, spot what matters, and act on it. As Gallagher Bassett integrates more AI capabilities (including fraud) into the day-to-day tools claims teams already use, the opportunity is to pair always-on monitoring with expert governance: AI handles the scanning, correlation, and prioritization while claims professionals provide context, empathy, and decision accountability.
Q: How will cyber regulations drive activity and associated expenses from panel providers?
K Royal, global chief privacy officer and deputy general counsel, Crawford & Company: Agencies regulating cyber breaches and AI will expand their reach in 2026, and laws initially designed to protect national operations and critical infrastructure will trickle down to have an impact on companies with more run-of-the-mill data breaches. As these regulations and enforcement activities increase, we will see an uptick in insureds who are hitting high deductibles and filing cyber claims. This, in turn, will drive a need for even more specialization from the professionals that provide cyber incident support, from panel providers to forensics and cyber investigators to the lawyers that handle data incidents.
The onus will be placed on each of these providers to stay current in their technology and legal expertise, and the expense for that expertise will be passed along to the insureds, further driving up the cost of cyber claims in the coming year.
The Environment and Sustainable Energy
Q: How are PFAS becoming an escalating challenge for the insurance market?
Robert Latimer, environmental risk director, Crawford & Company: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” are rapidly emerging as one of the most significant global environmental risk exposures confronting the insurance industry. Their persistence in soil and water, combined with mounting evidence of adverse health effects, has already led to multi-billion-dollar settlements in the U.S. and an expanding wave of litigation across multiple sectors, and we would expect this to continue in 2026.
Regulatory momentum is also accelerating globally. In the U.S., PFAS are now listed as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, while more and more countries are setting drinking water standards for PFAS at parts-per-trillion (ppt) levels.
Against this rapidly shifting backdrop, the scale and cost of remediation are expected to rise sharply. Insurers are responding with tighter underwriting criteria, widespread PFAS exclusions, and escalating premiums for environmental liability cover. For corporates, this evolving landscape also underscores the importance of early risk identification, robust due diligence on historical land use, and proactive engagement with brokers and technical experts.
Q: How will the risk and insurance landscape continue to evolve in the renewable energy sector?
Alan Tucker, global head of renewable energy, Crawford & Company: In 2026, the renewable energy sector will continue to face an evolving risk and insurance landscape as operational, technological and market pressures converge. Weather-related losses continue to rise, with hail the most damaging peril, particularly for solar facilities. Many assets are still adapting to evolving climate patterns, with design standards continuing to catch up.
The rapid expansion of mega-projects, such as large multi-tech generation/storage facilities and hyperscale data centers, is also amplifying the scale and complexity of losses. Replacement costs are escalating as well, with long lead times for components. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) help fill supply gaps, but reliance on unfamiliar equipment, spares and technicians increases risk.
Contractor error will remain a major claims driver. Fast-evolving technology and surging global demand have outpaced growth in the specialist labor needed to install and maintain renewable systems. A softer insurance market, with broader extensions and lower deductibles, will lead to increased claim frequency.
Compounding these issues, markets are being approached to insure new technologies with limited operating data under covers such as LEG2. Further, as digitalization increases across renewable infrastructure, cyber exposures are also accelerating, creating a more complex risk environment for owners and developers.
Q: How will shifts in energy ownership reshape property risk?
Lindsay Shipper, head of commercial property, North America & Simon Wilson, head of open market property - UK/RoW, Beazley: Geopolitical uncertainty, climate risk and supply chain fragility are reshaping how businesses think about energy. In 2026, many property owners will move from relying solely on external energy providers to bringing their energy supply chain in-house. From wind farms and battery energy storage systems (BESS) to nuclear and even emerging fusion technologies, organizations are investing in independent energy sources to secure resilience and business continuity.
Owning energy infrastructure offers clear advantages. Yet, this shift introduces new property risks. As businesses explore innovation, they face vulnerabilities that traditional risk frameworks weren’t designed to handle. Battery systems bring fire risk, wind farms require complex maintenance, and nuclear projects carry significant regulatory and operational exposures. Add to this the growing threat of extreme weather events, which can disrupt continuity and threaten safety—and that’s before factoring in the ever-present danger of cyberattacks.
The insurance industry is responding. Innovators are developing solutions to address these emerging challenges, enabling businesses to embrace energy independence without compromising security. By de-risking investment in on-site generation and storage, insurance becomes a critical enabler of this transformation.
Q: How will brownfield sites provide more opportunities in the renewable energy sector?
Jenny Han, focus group leader – environmental, Beazley: Brownfield sites are fast becoming prime real estate for the next wave of infrastructure. From data centers and wind farms to battery storage facilities, these locations offer an answer to the challenge of sustainable development, and they are critical to the energy transition. As demand for renewable energy and electrification accelerates, brownfields provide the space to build the backbone of a low-carbon economy.
Regenerating blighted land, often already located close to existing transport and energy networks, reduces pressure on greenfield sites and revitalizes communities. And while society demands greener energy and better infrastructure, few want these projects in their own backyard.
Brownfields offer a compromise, repurposing land with a history of industry, rather than consuming untouched countryside. But environmental liabilities loom large. Even with thorough due diligence, site investigations are indicative, not exhaustive. Developers may uncover unexpected pollutants during excavation, facing operational exposures like dust, vapor, or chemical runoff. Extreme weather events, such as flooding, can carry contaminants, impacting nearby sites. But through insurance, developers can have confidence to invest and realize the opportunities of brownfields, enabling sustainable regeneration and supporting the next energy transition.
Workers Compensation Trends
Q: What trends are you seeing in workers’ comp claims severity heading into 2026?
Irina Simpson, executive vice president for worker’s compensation, Gallagher Bassett: While claims frequency continues to decline, the cost of medical care is rising; thus, leading to the increased severity in claim costs. Several economic and regulatory factors also come into play, starting with how businesses, governments, and various agencies are reevaluating their budgets, their expenditures, and their financial outlook, which changes their approach to claims.
Another notable trend is the rise in mega claims, elevated through increased medical costs. These claims require more resources, faster and more comprehensive intervention, and higher caliber claims expertise to manage. With medical advances continuing throughout the world, survivability is increasing; therefore, requiring longer and better lifetime support.
Then, looking at the injured worker experience, mental health continues to shape how we approach claims. Recovery is a holistic journey, and whether laws change regarding mental health’s compensability or because we serve with empathy first, we account for the whole person while working toward resolution.
Another trend worth mentioning is access to care, especially in rural areas. With hospital closures and consolidation, decreases in graduating primary care physicians, an increased reliance on alternative providers, and with some providers opting out of traditional PPO networks, concerns around access to and cost of care are key trends to watch.
Q: How is the aging workforce influencing workers’ comp outcomes?
Simpson: There are a lot of generations in the workforce, each with their own challenges. What we see in terms of trends is the increased severity and complexity when it comes to the claims from the aging workforce. Alternatively, there is also some trend around increase in frequency over low tenured and often younger hires that requires some attention. It is critical that the employers that are seeing a prevalence of aging workforce have robust plans around early intervention, clinical involvement in these claims at the onset, increased coordination of care, and a good level of claim expertise to address co-morbidities and their impact.