Insurance Leaders Convene in Seoul on AI Risk

The Korea International Insurance Conference (KIIC) 2026, sponsored by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, ran June 10-11 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. Now in its third year, the event marked its largest edition yet: 1,300-plus professionals from 175 companies across 27 countries, spanning insurers, reinsurers, brokerages, insurtech groups, and risk consultancies. Attendees included global majors Munich Re, Swiss Re, Aon, Marsh, and Korean Re, alongside technology companies focused on cybersecurity and autonomous driving. The theme - "Insuring the Future in a Changing Risk Landscape" - framed two days of sessions on AI, climate change, cyber threats, and geopolitical volatility.

The first day was anchored by the general assembly of The LINK (Leader's Innovation Network in Korea), a public-private-academic platform created by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance for climate adaptation and safety governance. Hanyang University professor Kim Tae-yun presented the K-Risk Barometer, a framework that translates social and environmental hazards into standardized indicators for early risk identification by insurers. Ha Jong-mok, director general at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, outlined a proposed disaster resilience certification program where businesses demonstrating stronger prevention capabilities could see those efforts reflected in insurance pricing. Seoul National University professor Jeong Su-jong presented research quantifying South Korea's growing protection gap as natural catastrophes intensify and more risks become difficult to underwrite. A second session examined translating these insights into practical business models, with Tokio Marine Holdings sharing lessons from Japan's Bosai Consortium CORE disaster-prevention initiative as a potential blueprint.

Thursday sessions were opened by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance CEO Lee Mun-hwa and Financial Services Commission Standing Commissioner Ahn Chang-kuk. Aon EMEA co-CEO Tracy-Lee Kus assessed how insurance markets are responding to a more complex global risk environment. McKinsey Global Institute senior fellow Kevin Russell discussed AI-driven industrial transformation and which sectors are best positioned as long-term beneficiaries. Munich Re chief underwriting officer Beatrix Hartinger examined how demographic and technological trends are reshaping property and casualty reinsurance markets. A dedicated autonomous driving track covered Seoul's policy framework, regulatory evolution for Level 4 vehicles, and data infrastructure requirements, with autonomous driving developer Autonomous A2Z outlining the insurance and data ecosystem needed for responsible commercial deployment.

A parallel AI track examined how the technology is changing the insurance value chain from underwriting through claims. Hannover Re's Hugo Mouton offered a reinsurer's view of AI-powered insurtech innovation. Cyberwrite CEO Nir Perry discussed AI-driven underwriting as a tool to expand the cyber insurance market. Bolttech head of product Jimmy Au addressed agentic AI and its potential to improve efficiency and service delivery across insurance operations. Samsung Reinsurance's Sie Liang Lau and Marsh's Scott Stransky addressed the cyber threat landscape and increasingly sophisticated analytics for modeling cyber exposures in Korea. A Partners Zone connected insurers with autonomous driving and cybersecurity firms, including domestic developer RideFlux, to facilitate commercial partnerships around emerging underwriting challenges.