Airmic 2026 returned to Birmingham’s ICC with a timely theme: Back to Basics. For insurers operating against a backdrop of geopolitical volatility, accelerating AI adoption and sustained economic pressure, the focus on core risk management principles felt particularly relevant. Bringing together insurers, risk professionals and industry leaders, the conference provided a valuable forum to examine how fundamentals such as resilience, data security and people risk are evolving – and how insurers must respond.

The setting was upbeat and the conversations firmly grounded in the realities shaping underwriting, claims performance and portfolio resilience. 

Structural change in the risk environment 

Across the exhibition floor and conference sessions, there was broad consensus that insurers are navigating a period of structural change. The rapid development of Large Language Models and the pace of AI adoption are introducing new efficiencies across the value chain but at the same time creating more complex and interconnected risk exposures. 

For insurers, this raises important questions around risk assessment, pricing and claims volatility, particularly where emerging risks sit outside traditional loss information and data. 

Cyber risk: escalation, sophistication and exposure 

Cyber risk remains a dominant theme. Exhibitors and speakers highlighted a marked increase in the sophistication of phishing and social engineering attacks, driven by generative AI which dramatically lowers the barriers to entry. The developments are increasing the potential for frequency and severity, with implications for cyber underwriting, claims handling and loss prevention strategies. 

Economic uncertainty and the value of resilience 

Industry leaders spoke candidly about the difficult decisions businesses face amid prolonged economic uncertainty. For insurers, it is sharpening focus on portfolio resilience, the strength of partner organisations and the ability to absorb shock events. 

A consistent message emerged: risk management and resilience should not be viewed as discretionary expenditure.  They are fundamental to long‑term sustainability – for insureds and insurers alike. Insurance continues to play a vital role as a financial backstop, but its effectiveness depends, as always, on robust underlying risk management. 

Rebalancing efficiency and long‑term sustainability 

A recurring theme was the need to rebalance priorities. Operational efficiency and cost discipline remain essential, with the recognition that excessive focus on short‑term savings can undermine long‑term resilience. 

For insurers, this has direct relevance to: 

  • Claims strategy 
  • Supplier management 
  • Risk engineering investment 
  • Loss prevention initiatives 

It’s crucial to create space for forward‑looking risk engineering – identifying emerging threats, stress‑testing scenarios and anticipating future loss drivers. The challenge, as ever, is resource availability. 

Incremental change as a practical strategy 

Rather than advocating wholesale transformation, speakers consistently promoted a more pragmatic approach: continuous, incremental improvement. For insurers, that involves gradual enhancements across underwriting, claims and risk management functions, without introducing unnecessary operational disruption. 

People risk: an underwriting and claims consideration 

When discussion turned to the people within the complex organisations within our industry, it was emphasised that employees are both a critical asset and a potential vulnerability. Change, uncertainty and operational pressure are felt well beyond the boardroom, influencing decision‑making, error rates and resilience at an operational level. 

Investment in training, education, wellbeing and resilience planning are key.  For insurers, it reinforces the importance of understanding people risk not just as an HR issue, but as a factor influencing claims outcomes, loss events, risk, overall quality of service and ultimately profitability and business sustainability. 

Conclusion: strengthening the fundamentals 

The risk landscape continues to evolve in challenging and unpredictable ways, bringing new risks alongside familiar ones in altered forms. 

The key takeaway from Airmic 2026 was clear: returning to basics is about doing the right things well. It is about clarity, discipline and prioritisation – strengthening the fundamentals that support effective underwriting, claims management and long‑term resilience. 

 

This article was authored by Rob Tanner.