Beazley, led by CEO Adrian Cox, forecasts a more combustible risk landscape in 2026 as generative AI and large-scale computing reshape economies and attack surfaces. The insurer warns that AI’s physical and social footprint will elevate protest risk, intensify cyber incidents and interact with geopolitical tensions in ways that threaten business continuity and insurer exposures.
The Looming Threat of Public Backlash
Beazley predicts a rise in physical protests targeted at data centers and AI infrastructure. Public anger will be driven by two visible threads: the high energy consumption of training and hosting large models, and rapid workforce shifts from automation that amplify job insecurity. Local communities, environmental groups and labour organisations may mobilise around data center buildouts and AI rollouts, prompting transport disruption, site shutdowns and reputational damage for firms perceived as contributing to local strain.
Intensifying Cyber Landscape
Cyber incidents are already hitting record levels in frequency and cost. Beazley highlights growing sophistication among threat actors, wider use of AI-enabled attack tools, and deeper systemic exposure via supply chains and cloud dependencies. The insurer cautions that by 2026 a single, well-placed exploit could trigger cascading failures and precipitate a major corporate collapse, with cross-border contagion to clients and counterparties.
Interconnected Risks and Resilience Imperatives
Geopolitical uncertainty magnifies these threats by raising the likelihood of state-aligned disruption and restrictions on critical tech flows. Beazley emphasises that insurance plays a role within a broader resilience toolkit. Policies should be aligned with recovery capabilities that restore operations, data integrity and stakeholder trust after an incident, not only with measures that reduce the likelihood of failure. Boards, risk teams and underwriters must incorporate scenario planning that links protests, cyber shocks and geopolitical shifts into capital, continuity and crisis plans.
For business leaders and insurers, the message is clear: plan for converging risks in 2026 and treat insurance as one component of a pragmatic recovery strategy.
