2026 Executive Outlook | Louis Gagnon, Intact Financial Corporation

Our industry’s biggest challenge and biggest opportunity in 2026 stems from the inevitable creep of artificial intelligence (AI) into the daily lives of Canadians.

That shift is already affecting how people get information, think about key issues, and make decisions. To meet the challenge, insurers and brokers must centre the customer experience and couple the efficiencies of AI with genuine human connections and relationships.

AI may look like the newer kid on the block, but it has been transforming our industry for several years. In 2026, in addition to its deeper penetration into customers’ lives, we’ll see rapid advances in how insurers use agentic AI – currently the new frontier of generative AI – and we will see early adopters continue to widen their competitive advantage.

Developments in AI will impact another evolving trend: cyber threats. Cyber risk exposure is the price tag for our increasing connectivity. As we continue to improve the ease with which we access and share information, we need to increase our cybersecurity efforts. As AI continues to revolutionize how we do business – and how we live –we need to stay on top of some key long-term trends.

Geopolitical tensions — more specifically, their impact on national economies and individual Canadian companies — are not going away. Businesses and people will adapt to living with geopolitical discomfort, tariffs, and the resultant higher cost of doing business. Success will depend on proactively reacting to the world as it is, not as we would like it to be.

Finally, climate will remain one of the defining risks of our time and our sector’s single biggest challenge. We’ve been sounding the alarm on climate for over a decade. In 2026, we must continue to double down on adaptation to build resilient communities and help Canadians reduce the impacts of severe weather events.

Fortunately, our entire business model as an industry is based on quantifying risk. Whatever developments AI and other trends bring, and however the world changes, we know that being there for customers when they need us will keep us relevant.