Regulators push oversight

State insurance regulators are moving artificial intelligence, climate risk and insurer finances from discussion lists into active oversight. (content.naic.org) At the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Spring 2026 meeting in San Diego, held March 22-25, regulators set 2026 priorities around capital and investment rules, data architecture, market analysis, resilience and AI model governance. The NAIC said its members include the chief insurance regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. (content.naic.org) The practical work is already underway. The NAIC’s Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Working Group met March 24, and its 2026 charges include supporting adoption of the Model Bulletin on insurers’ use of AI systems and helping regulators review those systems. (content.naic.org) Regulators are also testing a common exam tool for AI. The NAIC said the pilot started in March 2026, and 12 states are using the AI Systems Evaluation Tool in market conduct exams, financial exams, financial analysis and broader inquiries. (content.naic.org; willkie.com) That push reaches beyond insurers’ in-house models. The Third-Party Data and Models Working Group said March 23 there was consensus around building a registry focused on governance and creating a national framework for outside data and model vendors used in pricing and underwriting. (content.naic.org) Market conduct oversight is widening at the same time. During the spring meeting, the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs Committee created a new Market Conduct Regulation Modernization Working Group to review whether current data, systems, tools and supervisory methods still fit changing business models and consumer expectations. (content.naic.org; content.naic.org) Climate is now tied more directly to solvency and availability questions. The Natural Catastrophe Risk and Resilience Task Force, created after the Fall 2025 meeting by combining earlier climate and catastrophe groups, heard on March 24 that insurers are retaining more catastrophe risk on their own balance sheets as reinsurance appetite for lower layers has changed. (mayerbrown.com) Risk officers inside insurers are moving in the same direction. EY’s third annual survey, based on work with 106 insurance organizations from November 2025 through January 2026, found cyber, third-party risk, operational resilience and AI remain enterprise priorities, and that firms want high-quality data and digitally skilled staff for next-generation risk management. (ey.com; ey.com) EY said insurers are operating in a faster, more interconnected risk environment, with supervisors increasing their focus on private credit, climate and cyber as potential systemic channels. The firm said AI and automation are moving from pilots to operating-model changes, alongside stronger governance and controls. (ey.com; ey.com) The result is a more document-heavy version of insurance oversight. Regulators are asking how an insurer or vendor made a decision, what data trained it, who can audit it and whether the same controls hold up when climate losses, investment stress or consumer complaints rise. (content.naic.org; content.naic.org; ey.com) The next milestones are already on the calendar: the NAIC’s market conduct modernization group held a workplan session on April 8, 2026, and spring-meeting summaries say recommendations on the market framework are expected later this year. The direction from both regulators and chief risk officers is the same: decisions made by models will need a paper trail. (content.naic.org; willkie.com)