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As a new financial year begins in the UK, the insurance industry continues to operate in an increasingly complex arena, facing an interplay of technological, political, environmental, and economic dynamics. To assist you in anticipating potential claims impact, this report provides a legal perspective through a UK lens on the impact of new and emerging risks across your priority lines of business.
We have just witnessed the biggest election year in modern history, resulting in multiple shifts in global policy. Extreme weather events continue to cause devastating damage to towns and communities, and the scaling up and adoption of technology continues at pace.
Shifts in policy and rising costs are likely to impact business confidence. In a politically and economically volatile environment, this brings the possibility of stifled growth, leading to redundancies and insolvencies. In turn, this will raise ongoing cost of living concerns amongst consumers and businesses. When coupled with additional pressure on already stretched supply chains and increases to the costs of goods and services, claims inflation remains a live issue.
This increased risk is reflected in the stream of new regulations imposing increasingly stringent duties and responsibilities for insureds, and for you as an insurer, across all sectors. This is coupled with ground-breaking legal judgments and new laws changing the way policies are interpreted and damages awarded.
As 2024 drew to a close, we surveyed more than 170 of our global partners to find out what topics, issues and risks they saw as having the biggest impact on their market in the year ahead, and what actions corporates and their insurers should take to ensure business resilience in an ever-evolving risk landscape.
These partner insights are summarised in our Global Forecast 2025, which examines the priority drivers of risk which we consider will have the biggest impact on the global insurance markets in the year ahead, together with new risks arising.
Insight by business line
A - E
- Agriculture & pet: Stronger environmental protections and biosecurity measures reshape rural risks
- Aviation: Sustainability, AI, and geopolitical disputes reshape aviation risk landscape
- Complex casualty: Microplastics and climate risks create complex coverage exposure challenges
- Catastrophic injury: Discount rate changes and litigation reforms reshape injury compensation
- Construction: Insolvencies and safety laws reshape risk and contracting practices
- Crime & regulatory: Human error, online harms and inquest reforms drive compliance risks
- Cyber: AI misuse, ransomware reform and evolving data laws shape exposure
- Employer’s liability: Court reforms and liability scope challenge traditional employer protections
- Employment: Proposed reforms reshape dismissal rights, pay gaps and worker status
- Energy: SAF rollout, nuclear expansion and AI integration redefine energy risks
F - M
- Financial institutions: Regulatory reforms reshape risk and governance for financial institutions
- Fraud: Deepfakes, ghost broking, and economic pressure drive fraud trends
- Healthcare: Legal reform, patient safety and mental capacity dominate healthcare claims
- Legacy disease: Low-dose asbestos claims challenge causation thresholds in courts
- Life sciences: AI regulation, post-market safety and MHRA roadmap reshape compliance
- Marine: Geopolitical risks and trade sanctions impact global marine logistics
- Motor: Whiplash reforms, insurance costs and automated vehicles shape claims
N - Z
- Political risk: Elections and sanctions reshape political risk models and coverage
- Product liability: EU reforms drive safety obligations and litigation risk for products
- Professional liability/indemnity: AI and insolvency reshape liability risks for professionals
- Property: Renters’ Bill and fire safety raise liability for valuers
- Public sector: Abuse claims reforms and safety laws reshape public duties
- Real estate: Green leases, EPC reforms and redevelopment dominate real estate risks
- Travel: EU reforms, SAF mandates and visa rules reshape travel
- White collar crime: New fraud offences and sanctions enforcement reshape corporate liability
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