High-net-worth individuals and families are scaling back their risk appetite and rethinking how they use insurance and risk mitigation tools, according to the results from the 2026 HUB Private Client Outlook.
The findings point to a shift away from relying on broad standard policies and toward more targeted coverage and resilience measures.
"What's changing the most? Client behavior," said Katherine Frattarola (pictured above), executive vice president and head of HUB Private Client.
She said families are becoming more proactive about mitigation, “moving away from the assumption that a large standard policy will cover everything,” and relying on brokers to help them anticipate risk, strengthen resilience and make decisions around life events, property purchases and digital exposures.
According to the survey, only 25% of high-net-worth respondents now say they are willing to assume more risk in exchange for premium savings, down from 39% in 2023.
HUB reported that many clients are instead opting to raise deductibles, accept coverage carve-outs and take a more conservative approach to buying insurance while investing in measures such as wildfire-resistant materials, water-detection systems and cyber monitoring.
Those adjustments come as access to coverage is tightening across parts of the US high-net-worth market. A recent survey cited by the Private Risk Management Association found that about 20% of high-net-worth clients have struggled to get insurance, with the share rising to 30% in more vulnerable areas, reflecting how capacity pressures and pricing constraints are influencing purchasing decisions.
The HUB survey also found that while 70% of respondents conduct some form of risk review, only 55% consider those reviews effective. The firm linked that gap to growing use of tools such as aerial imaging and advanced peril scoring by insurers, indicating that wealth clients may need clearer documentation and more structured review processes to match how carriers assess exposure.
Capacity constraints remain a central issue for property coverage, particularly for homes in catastrophe-exposed regions. HUB said 77% of those surveyed reported ongoing difficulty securing adequate property insurance, with markets in California, New York, New Jersey and Texas facing limited capacity for wildfire, flood and coastal risks.
Market participants have warned that recent catastrophe experience is testing existing models, adding another layer to the capacity picture. Charley Insurance founder Charley Todd said that in some segments, “disasters are outpacing catastrophe risk models,” contributing to volatility in pricing and availability for high-value homes and raising questions about how accessible coverage will remain over time.
On the liability side, the HUB report highlights mounting digital and social risks for affluent households. Nearly three in four respondents reported data loss or theft, and more than one-quarter said they had experienced hacking of social media accounts, pointing to a broader exposure profile that extends beyond physical assets.
Cybercrime targeting high-net-worth individuals now exceeds $12 billion annually, according to figures from the Insurance Information Institute cited in the report. HUB said this trend is driving greater interest in cyber and reputation-management coverage, as well as in continuous monitoring and other preventive cyber tools.
