Triple-I and Munich Re RiskScan 2026 Flags $424 Billion Global Protection Gap

The insurance industry continues to grapple with a widening gap between the risks society faces and the protection actually in place, according to the RiskScan 2026 research study published by the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and Munich Re US. The comprehensive cross-market study surveyed more than 1,700 participants across five segments in the United States and United Kingdom: consumers, small business owners, middle-market decision-makers, property/casualty agents and brokers, and P/C carriers.

The headline finding remains stark: Swiss Re's latest sigma report puts the global natural catastrophe protection gap at $424 billion. North America's insurance coverage ratio has remained stagnant between 40% and 42% since 2015, meaning the majority of catastrophe losses continue to fall on uninsured individuals and businesses. Uninsured losses keep growing as populations concentrate in catastrophe-exposed areas and reconstruction costs rise faster than incomes. Moody's separately warned that the US flood insurance gap is large and not improving.

A central theme of RiskScan 2026 is the shift in how risk is perceived. Rather than viewing threats as isolated events, respondents across all five market segments now increasingly recognise 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. The study found that inconsistent cyber policy language across insurers is complicating coverage decisions, while AI is simultaneously accelerating the sophistication of cyberattacks and the uncertainty in underwriting models.

The research also flagged the growing recognition of legal system abuse — sometimes called 'social inflation' — as a key driver of rising property/casualty insurance costs, a trend particularly visible in states like Florida, Louisiana, and New York. Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan emphasised that recognising risk is only the first step, calling on the industry to strengthen public understanding, close protection gaps, and collaborate with consumers, policymakers, businesses, and communities to better predict, prepare for, and prevent escalating risks. The findings build on the inaugural RiskScan 2024 study and reflect a maturing industry conversation about resilience in an era of compounding, correlated exposures.