Insurance growth can come from unexpected sources. The rapid expansion of the AI infrastructure is leading to new concentrations of insurable assets. Data centers, for example, concentrate significant physical assets alongside power, cooling, business interruption, cyber and technology risks.
Data centers illustrate a broader shift in the insurance market. While the insurance industry is expected to grow at approximately 5% annually, growth is increasingly focused on specific risk categories, distribution models and customer segments.
Our insurance 2030: Discover the market that others miss. Research shows that there are more than 20 high-growth pools in property and casualty (P&C) insurance. Select pools are expected to grow at around 15% annually through 2030, compared to 1.2% for the rest of the P&C market. Together they represent an estimated $550 billion in additional premiums by 2030.
For insurers, the strategic challenge is to identify key growth areas, assess their competitive position and determine which opportunities justify investment.
The framework conditions for insurance growth are changing in four growth areas
Our global market analysis identified four categories of opportunities that are driving growth across the insurance space.
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- Evolving sales models. Integrated insurance, digital channels and platform-based distribution are changing the way insurers reach customers and provide insurance coverage. In many cases, the underlying risks remain unchanged. Select channel pools are projected to generate approximately $300 billion in global premiums between 2025 and 2030.
- Connected technologies and risk prevention. Connected vehicles, factories, homes and agricultural equipment equipped with sensors can generate data to support risk assessment. This creates opportunities for insurance offerings based on monitoring, intervention and prevention, rather than just compensating customers after a loss. Select pools of connected solutions are projected to generate approximately $111 billion in global rewards between 2025 and 2030.
- Emerging and increasing risk exposures. Cyber risks, climate-related risks, data centers and other emerging risks create additional insurance needs. Unlike changes in distribution models, these capabilities can expand the volume of insurable business. Select new risk pools are forecast to generate approximately $119 billion in global premiums between 2025 and 2030. However, rapidly evolving risks, fragmented data and limited claims histories make underwriting difficult. Seizing these opportunities requires specialized underwriting expertise, relevant data and disciplined portfolio management that can be supported by AI.
- Changing protection needs and underserved customer segments. Demographic changes, changing work patterns and changing customer behavior are creating opportunities in segments that have historically been underserved or economically difficult to reach. This includes aging populations, gig economy workers and pet owners. Select customer segment pools are forecast to generate approximately $21 billion in global premiums between 2025 and 2030. While some growth pools may initially be smaller, digital distribution can make more targeted insurance offerings viable.
The more than 20 fast-growing P&C pools we identified in our research are expected to drive much of the market growth in the coming years. However, the skills required to take advantage of individual opportunities vary significantly. Insurers must therefore prioritize those that fit their business models and value propositions.
Life insurance also has its own growth potential
When it comes to life and pension insurance, our top-down view of the established market shows that growth varies significantly depending on product and region. Retirement and retirement savings are forecast to grow the fastest at 7.0% and 6.6% per year respectively, while Canada, the US and the UK have the highest growth expectations among major mature markets at 3.9%, 3.8% and 3.3% respectively.
A separate bottom-up analysis identifies four additional targeted growth pools: digital life, senior life, child support and funeral expenses. In total, these pools are expected to reach $219 billion by 2030 and grow at nearly 10% annually – about twice the overall rate of the L&A market.
Knowing where the potential lies is just the first step
To capture a growth pool, insurers must assess their right to profit.
An insurer with extensive specialist underwriting expertise can be well positioned to deal with emerging commercial risks. A carrier with scale, connected data and efficient operations can have a competitive advantage in technology-enabled mass markets. Others may have special access to partners and ecosystems that make embedded distribution more attractive.
These differences make portfolio decisions increasingly important. Insurers must address four questions:
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- Which growth pools are most relevant to our portfolio and markets?
- Where do we already have the necessary skills and competitive advantages or can we realistically develop them further?
- How do these opportunities support our market value proposition and our overall strategic objectives?
- What changes are needed in capital allocation, talent, partnerships, governance and operational capabilities to capitalize on opportunities?
AI breaks the orthodoxies that have kept growth pools out of reach
AI can break down long-standing barriers in all four growth areas. As sales evolve, it can orchestrate partner and point-of-sale journeys to accelerate offers, retention and service. With connected solutions, live sensor data can be transformed into prevention, intervention and more dynamic underwriting.
As risks emerge, AI can transform fragmented and unstructured data into underwriting signals for cyber, climate and specialty risks. For underserved customer segments, it can enable micro-segmentation, tailored offerings, and easier product training at a reasonable cost.
This expands the range of growth pools insurers can pursue and strengthens the way they combine proprietary data, distribution access and underwriting expertise into differentiated business models.
The order is important: Insurers must first determine where they have a right to profit, then use AI to build and scale the capabilities needed to capture those pools.
See the market that others are missing
Insurance will remain a large and resilient industry through 2030. The more interesting question is what lies behind the market growth headlines.
Our research identifies fast-growing niche markets with the potential to become mainstream. Insurers that fail to capitalize on these opportunities risk continuing to focus on slower growing segments.
Insurers must recognize where they have a right to profit and assess whether they are reallocating resources quickly enough to take advantage of these opportunities.
These decisions could play an important role in determining insurance performance through 2030.
