ITC Europe revives Challenge Lab with Generali on AI liability
ITC Europe has revived its Challenge Lab contest with Generali as partner, setting this year's brief as "AI Liability: Insuring Intelligence at Scale." The competition returns to Barcelona on May 28-29, targeting what the insurance market is already calling the next cyber exposure.
The platform connects early-stage and scaling firms with insurance executives to solve sector-wide problems. Applications opened April 24 and close May 5. Finalists will be announced May 11, with the top three pitching at ITC Europe 2026 at La Llotja de Mar. The winner, named May 28, receives a trophy, PR coverage and a speaking slot at ITC Europe 2027.
Entrants must build tools that help insurers spot, monitor, govern and manage risks from AI systems deployed at scale.
Why the urgency
Generali's brief identifies a core problem: as AI moves into pricing, operations and customer engagement, accountability shifts from humans to algorithms. The exposures are hard to identify and often absent from policy wordings.
HSB, part of Munich Re, found 74% of small businesses already use AI tools, with 91% planning to adopt them. Silent AI exposures are buried across professional liability, directors and officers, and general liability lines.
The numbers show where the market is heading. Deloitte projects global AI insurance premiums will reach $4.8 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual rate of 80%. An Insurance Information Institute survey found 71% of insurance executives rank AI as their top business issue, yet 17% say their firms are unprepared for its full impact.
Andrew Kelly, executive vice president at AJ Wayne & Associates, said the next five to 10 years will see a dedicated AI insurance sector emerge much as cyber did, complete with specialist managing general agents, claims teams and bespoke policy forms.
Generali's position
Generali built a Trustworthy AI framework centered on human oversight, fairness and explainable algorithms. The insurer pledged €1.1 billion to digital transformation between 2022 and 2024.
In January 2025, Generali partnered with MIT's Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems to integrate AI into risk modeling, claims and underwriting.
Danilo Raponi, group head of innovation at Assicurazioni Generali SpA, said AI liability "is arriving faster than our industry's frameworks can keep pace with." He added the firm wants to find startups already tackling the issue and help them scale.
Lee Cibis, head of content for ITC London and ITC Europe, said the renewed partnership gives organizers confidence the Barcelona edition "will surface genuinely transformative solutions."
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