Full Capacity: AI‑led insurtech: revival or recalibration?

February 14 2026 by

Welcome to Full Capacity, a weekly briefing on all the most important developments of the past week with a personal take on the news from our editor-in-chief, Mithun Varkey, delivered to your inbox every Saturday.   

Leadership update. Lloyd’s has promoted Asia CEO Emma Loynes to CEO of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA), succeeding Chris Mackinnon, who will leave for Munich Re Specialty in April. Singapore-based Loynes will also retain her role as Lloyd’s country manager for Singapore. 

M&A brief. London-headquartered broker Specialist Risk Group has deepened its APAC presence with an entry into Australia with the acquisition of entertainment specialist intermediary H2. The Warburg Pincus and Temasek backed specialty broker will have offices in Sydney and Melbourne. 

Meanwhile, Ardonagh-backed Envest completed the merger of its underwriting agencies Blue Zebra, Proplab Group, including SGUA and Allstate Underwriting brands, and Point Insurance. The single entity with a combined GWP of US$320m. Perth-based Rowan Watson, CEO of Proplab Group, will lead the combined group. 

Odd one out. Despite a soft market across Asia with a 5% rate decline in Q4 2025, Vietnam experienced a notable 15% increase, contrasting with an 11% decline in Q3 and earlier decreases of 2% in Q1 and Q2, according to Marsh’s Asia Insurance Market Index. While the property insurance rates in most of the markets in Asia declined, Vietnam’s property rates surged 18% in Q4, following a 13% drop in Q3.  

Japan also saw a modest rate increase of 1% after a 6% rise in the previous quarter, continuing a trend from last year.  

Brewing discontent.  In 2026, insurers in APAC are bracing for a surge in violent unrest, political instability, and cross-border conflict fuelled by high youth unemployment and rising geopolitical tensions, according to Willis’ crisis management annual review. 

In 2025, 8% of global client incidents occurred in APAC as the region saw a surge in protests, terrorism and armed clashes, especially in South and Southeast Asia.  

Civil unrest escalated throughout Nepal, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, the Maldives, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, driven by economic strain and political corruption.  

Student-led movements, powered by social media, increasingly overwhelmed local authorities. This newsletter had highlighted the risk of simmering, organised Gen Z discontent last year.  

Can AI revive the insurtech narrative? 

For much of the past few years, optimism around insurtech has felt misplaced. 

Beginning in 2022, funding dried up, valuations plummeted, and many of the sector’s early darlings struggled to turn innovation into profit. Boston Consulting Group noted in 2023 that the insurtech hot streak had ended, with global investment plunging from its 2022 peak, leaving the sector looking directionless.  

The billions raised yielded little in return for investors and the initial hype turned out to be a damp squib. 

However, Gallagher Re’s latest Global InsurTech Report reveals a more compelling narrative.  

In Q4 2025, global insurtech funding surged by 67% quarter on quarter, reaching US$1.68 billion – the highest quarterly total since Q3 2022.  

This time, the driving force is artificial intelligence (AI). Remarkably, eight of the top 10 companies by funding round were AI-focused, resulting in an average deal size of US$35 million, the report showed. 

And the industry is shifting away from distribution-led startups that pursued growth at any cost. Instead, it is being reshaped by AI.  

The first wave of insurtech emphasised user experience – creating sleek apps, facilitating rapid onboarding, and streamlining sales processes. While these front-end innovations expanded access, they did not fundamentally alter how insurers assessed or managed risk. 

AI is beginning to change that equation. Instead of reimagining sales, it is being applied to the operational core –  underwriting, modelling, claims processing, and fraud detection.  

The emphasis is shifting from frontend disruption to backend efficiency.  

Insurtechs are embedding AI directly into insurers’ existing systems, enhancing rather than displacing incumbents. 

The funding data reflects this recalibration. The era of multiple lookalike startups chasing seed rounds has faded. In its place is a smaller, more differentiated group of technology firms demonstrating resilience and clearer commercial logic. 

Insurtech may not need saving, but it is clearly entering a new phase shaped by AI. While there seems to be a revival in funding, but the for the industry, it is more about refinement – a gradual alignment between AI-fuelled digital capability and the core disciplines of insurance. 

People moves

In notable appointments this week, Markel International has hired John Bang as head of South Korea and Japan to lead its expansion in the two markets. 

In the ongoing, reshuffle in the W&I broking market, BMS’ Martijn de Lange joined Aon as managing director for transaction solutions in Asia Pacific. 

Lockton appointed David Gower as chief client officer for the Pacific region. 

Axa XL has handed Xiao Chen new role as head of strategy and chief of staff for APAC and Europe. 

Do check out our weekly people move round-up to stay up to speed on the most important appointments in the region. 

MORE FROM: Round ups
Partner Content
Join the mailing list Designed to help you stay ahead, our daily newsletter provides a round-up of the latest news and insights, delivered straight to your inbox.
Print Edition
Subscribe to receive our quarterly print magazine.