Professional Risks in 2026: Market Shifts You Can't Ignore

Why It Matters

Understanding these emerging risks and expectation gaps enables insurers and brokers to protect clients effectively, preserving market stability as premium pressures and AI liabilities intensify.

Key Takeaways

• AI liability is emerging as top professional risk in 2026
• Premiums fell 50‑60% but future discounts are unlikely
• SME clients expect coverage that policies often exclude
• Cross‑border underwriting complexity hampers startup expansion into global markets
• D&O policies struggle with protected disclosures and insolvency exclusions

Summary

Insurance Business TV’s 2026 professional‑risks panel highlighted a shifting landscape for New Zealand brokers and underwriters. The discussion, led by Willis’s Nina Croft and joined by ICIB’s Tom Leeming and Gerrard’s Ethan Gerrard, examined pricing, capacity, claim trends and buyer behavior as the market moves toward a post‑soft‑market environment.

Key insights included continued competitive pricing and ample capacity, but a warning that recent premium cuts of 50‑60% are unlikely to persist. Cyber‑related claims and health‑and‑safety losses remain prominent, while AI‑driven liabilities are surfacing across sectors, prompting insurers to draft new exclusions and demand robust governance frameworks. SME clients, feeling economic pressure, are chasing further savings yet often misunderstand the scope of professional indemnity and D&O policies, especially around contractual liability and protected‑disclosures provisions.

Panelists offered concrete examples: Croft cited London carriers rolling out generative‑AI exclusions after US litigation; Leeming described a financial institution questioning AI‑generated advice in its PI renewal; Gerrard warned that employment‑dispute claims are set to surge as the economy stays weak, and highlighted the prohibitive cost of overseas coverage for start‑ups. The recurring theme was a gap between client expectations and policy language, with brokers urging pre‑emptive contract reviews and clearer communication.

The implications are clear: brokers must become educators, helping clients align expectations with actual coverage, while insurers need to refine AI risk underwriting and address cross‑border policy nuances. Failure to bridge these gaps could leave businesses exposed to costly claims and limit New Zealand firms’ ability to expand internationally.

Original Description

Insurance Business TV brings together leading market voices for the first New Zealand Professional Risks Power Panel of 2026. In this fast-moving discussion, the panel breaks down competitive pricing, growing insurer capacity, cyber and health and safety claims trends, client expectations around policy response, and the rising pressure AI is placing on professional indemnity and liability risk.