Project Risk Management Conference Underway

- The increasing frequency and severity of climate-related events have significantly impacted insurer profitability, with global insured losses from natural disasters reaching $140 billion in 2024, the third most expensive year on record. In the first half of 2025 alone, insured losses from natural catastrophes hit $100 billion, more than double the 21st-century average for the same period. - Cybersecurity is a major driver of claims, with the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. surging to an all-time high of $10.22 million in 2025. The healthcare sector remains the most impacted, with an average breach cost of $7.42 million, driven by the high value of patient data on the dark web. - InsurTech firms are playing a critical role in managing new risk categories; for example, Corvus Insurance uses AI and data science to underwrite cyber risk, while Shift Technology focuses on AI-driven fraud detection and automated claims handling. These technologies are crucial as ransomware attacks, a top driver of cyber claims, increasingly involve data exfiltration, with these incidents costing more than double those without data theft. - Supply chain disruptions, exacerbated by geopolitical and climate events, are a growing concern, with breaches originating in the supply chain costing an average of $4.91 million to remediate. This has led to increased demand for specialized coverage like contingent business interruption and trade disruption insurance. - To target and engage enterprise insurance buyers, B2B marketers are adopting account-based marketing (ABM) strategies, which focus on personalizing outreach to entire buying committees within high-value accounts rather than individual leads. This approach is better suited for the long sales cycles and complex needs of large corporate clients. - The regulatory landscape is also shifting, with a greater emphasis on climate risk integration and data privacy. Insurers are increasingly required to provide transparency on how they are pricing climate risks and implementing sustainable underwriting practices. - In response to these complex risks, there is a growing trend of collaboration between traditional insurers and InsurTech startups. Major insurers are acquiring or partnering with tech firms to access advanced capabilities in areas like AI-powered risk assessment and automated claims processing to improve efficiency and underwriting accuracy. - The use of AI and machine learning is becoming standard in underwriting and claims processing to better predict and price risk. For instance, AI-powered analysis of medical data is being used by companies like DigitalOwl to streamline underwriting for life and health insurance.