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.

The last few years have tested property and casualty claims professionals as they’ve battled climate volatility, social inflation, supply-chain disruption, third-party litigation and increasing nuclear verdicts. As we usher in 2026, the industry will face tough choices about issues like the use of AI in claims processes, evolving customer expectations, risk appetite and data usage.

Below, we share several predictions for what claims professionals can expect in the new year. Scroll down to read insights from across the industry.

Cyber insurance protects enterprises from most cyberattack liabilities. But before committing to a policy, CISOs need to check for the following hidden loopholes.

Facing ever-mounting cyberthreats, enterprises are increasingly turning to cyber insurance to address the potentially severe financial damage a successful attack can inflict. Unfortunately, cyber insurance presents its own risks, particularly for cybersecurity leaders who tend to pay more attention to evolving threats than insurance fine print.

You’re just about as likely to find a commercial P/C underwriter or actuary who is unconcerned about the increased use of AI in insurance as you are to find one that’s afraid of being replaced by AI.

That’s what a recently published report from hyperexponential, an AI-powered pricing and underwriting platform, showed based on a survey of 350 U.S. and UK underwriters and actuaries working in commercial and specialty insurance conducted on the firm’s behalf by Coleman Parkes in September.

Just over half of the survey takers—51 percent of the actuaries and 52 percent of the underwriters—said they were not worried at all or hadn’t considered the prospect of being replaced by AI.

“Megadeals” are ruling insurance industry mergers and acquisitions as action remained consistent throughout 2025, with the prospect that the need for growth with drive more deals in 2026.

According to a new report from PwC, 93% of deal value during the second half of 2025 was drive by what it calls “megadeals.”

The term “affordability” surfaced in the U.S. recently to describe the challenges many people are experiencing squaring their income with rising expenses.

Some of the trends driving the conversation include an uptick in rent and home prices over the last decade; inflation-driven price increases on such necessities as groceries, utilities and health care; and higher personal debt burdens paired with depressed wage increases and shrinking savings.

And although some national leaders purport that the “affordability crisis” is a political “con job,” write-in responses to 2025 Independent Insurance Agent Survey indicate today’s Main Street insurance businesses are struggling to navigate a difficult economic landscape.