Triple-I and Munich Re RiskScan 2026 Highlights Growing Interconnected Risks and Protection Gaps

The Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and Munich Re US RiskScan 2026 research study continues to shape industry discussion, featured prominently in Insurance Journal's June 22, 2026 issue under the headline highlighting growing interconnected risks and protection gaps. The comprehensive cross-market study surveyed more than 1,700 participants across five market segments in the United States and United Kingdom: consumers, small business owners, middle-market decision-makers, property/casualty agents and brokers, and P/C insurance carriers.

The study's central insight is a shift in how risk is perceived. Rather than viewing threats as isolated events, respondents across all five market segments now increasingly recognize risks as overlapping and interconnected. Cyber incidents topped the list of concerns, followed by economic volatility, natural catastrophes, artificial intelligence-related risks, and business interruption. This convergence reflects a risk landscape where, for example, AI simultaneously accelerates the sophistication of cyberattacks and increases uncertainty in underwriting models, while economic and catastrophe pressures compound one another.

RiskScan 2026 provides two in-depth reports — one focused on (re)insurance exposures and one on specialty insurance. Both flag persistent protection gaps in flood and cyber coverage despite heightened awareness among businesses and insurance professionals. The study also identifies growing recognition of legal system abuse as a key driver of rising P/C insurance costs — a trend particularly visible in states like Florida and Louisiana, where litigation dynamics significantly affect claims costs and premiums.

The findings connect to broader industry data. Swiss Re's latest sigma report put the global natural catastrophe protection gap at $424 billion, and North America's insurance coverage ratio has remained stuck between 40% and 42% since 2015. Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan emphasized that recognizing risk is only the first step, calling on the industry to strengthen public understanding and close protection gaps through collaboration among insurers, reinsurers, policymakers, and communities. Kerri Hamm of Munich Re US noted the industry's need to accelerate development in the areas that matter most to P/C clients. The study builds on the inaugural RiskScan 2024 research, demonstrating how rapidly the risk environment is evolving.