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.

There has been much discussion in the insurance industry about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can take on mundane, laborious tasks and complete them in a fraction of the time it would take a human.

But the technology is evolving rapidly. Agentic artificial intelligence is the next iteration of AI – effectively an autonomous, thinking robot that makes decisions, develops strategies, and continuously learns from the process. Expert predictions on AI’s future role in shaping insurance practices and the evolution of agentic AI were some of the hottest topics at the ITC Vegas insurtech event in October.

Economic downturn remains the top near-term risk for U.S. business leaders, according to a World Economic Forum survey released Wednesday.

They also cited as top risk concerns decline in health and well-being, misinformation and disinformation, adverse outcomes of AI technologies and disruptions to a systemically important supply chain.

The WEF survey, of over 11,000 business leaders from 121 countries, was conducted in partnership with Marsh McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group.

The message appears to be getting through to consumers: Excessive insurance litigation is not good for insurance costs.

According to a new survey from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big I), 64.3% of those surveyed are worried that lawsuits increase their premiums, and an even larger majority of consumers think the legal system is being used in ways that drive up insurance costs.

Insurance companies’ first-time share sales on Wall Street hit a 20-year high this year as investors flocked to firms that were insulated from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Predictable cash flows and resilient business model gave private equity firms an opportunity to sell some portfolio companies and offered investors a safe haven as other industries got whipsawed by escalating tariffs, sticky inflation, labor market cracks and geopolitical turmoil.

Apollo-backed Aspen Insurance and American Integrity Insurance were among the first IPOs to trade after Trump initiated a trade war, which sent the markets sideways and derailed other debuts. Aspen and American Integrity raised nearly $457 million and $127 million, respectively, in their initial public offerings.

Forrester Research predicts written cyber insurance premiums will rise 15% in 2026 as new artificial intelligence threats and data demands emerge.

In a new report, analysts at the global market research company anticipate the widespread adoption of AI to reverse the cyber market’s recent deceleration. When asked why, Rohit Makhijani, a principal analyst at Forrester, said that implementing AI increases threat surface area.

Third quarter 2025 underwriting income in American International Group’s (AIG) General Insurance segment increased 81% compared with last year, to $793 million.

The unit—North America commercial, International commercial, and global personal—recorded $100 million in catastrophe-related charges in Q3 2025, compared with $417 million for Q3 2024.