Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 10, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 10, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEuropean insurer stocks fell after US brokers sold off due to AI concerns. The STOXX 600 Insurance index dropped 1.9%, with major firms like Hiscox and AXA affected.
By Lucy Raitano and Danilo Masoni
LONDON/MILAN, Feb 10 - European insurance stocks fell on Tuesday, echoing a selloff in U.S. insurance brokers the day before on the back of renewed concern that new artificial intelligence tools could accelerate disruption in this sector too.
One trader said the U.S. market lagged the UK in using price‑comparison sites, but added that investors still underestimate the risks AI could pose to European insurers as well.
Europe’s STOXX 600 insurance was last down 1.3%, the biggest sector decliner in the region, while the broader STOXX 600 was flat.
Among the steepest fallers were Hiscox, down 3.7%, along with Mapfre, Admiral, Aviva and AXA which were down between 1.6%-3%. The S&P 500 Insurance index fell 3.9% on Monday, the biggest drop since October 2025. The index was up around 0.9% in opening trade on Tuesday.
Late last week, investors battered global software and data analytics stocks after an update to Anthropic's AI tools raised questions about many of these companies' vulnerability to disruption.
On Monday, it was the turn of the insurers, as shares in top U.S. brokers Willis Towers Watson, Aon and Arthur J. Gallagher slumped between 9% and 12%, after online insurance platform Insurify released an AI‑powered comparison tool built on ChatGPT. These shares recovered some of those losses in early trading on Tuesday.
Back in Europe, shares in UK financial comparison website operators also fell. Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, attributed the fall to the same AI disruption fears.
Moneysupermarket owner Mony Group fell 12% and shares in Future, which operates GoCompare, fell 3.6%.
"We’re seeing knee-jerk reactions from investors as they panic before obtaining all the facts and make rational decisions," Coatsworth said.
"The share price slump in the owners of Moneysupermarket and GoCompare suggests investors are worried their business could be severally damaged if people start to obtain insurance using the likes of ChatGPT," he wrote.
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni in Milan and Lucy Raitano in London, editing by Alun John and Amanda Cooper)
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think and learn like humans, enabling them to perform tasks such as problem-solving and decision-making.
Insurance stocks are shares of companies that provide insurance services. Investors buy these stocks to gain exposure to the insurance industry and potentially profit from its growth.
A stock market selloff occurs when a large number of investors sell their shares simultaneously, often leading to a significant drop in stock prices across the market.
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