By definition, insurance exists to repair what’s been lost. But if artificial intelligence can prevent loss altogether, everything gets redefined. According to HDI Seguros and Zuru Logistics—who have partnered to mitigate cargo transport risks—predictive route analytics and real-time tracking can reduce the probability of theft in insured operations by up to 80%. This doesn’t just change insurance: it changes the map, the risk, the logistics, and—if allowed—the very geography of industrial infrastructure.

Mexico is one of the world’s most dynamic logistics markets, but its road transport faces a chronic vulnerability: theft. In 2024 alone, more than 15,000 cargo thefts were reported—9% more than in 2023—resulting in losses exceeding $500 million. And yet, fewer than 40% of trucks carry specific cargo insurance. In the U.S. or Germany, that rate is roughly double.

Certainty is essential to attracting capital. That’s why integrating insurance with AI-driven risk management could accelerate nearshoring by offering stronger logistics security to both domestic and foreign companies. It reduces claims, clarifies hidden costs, improves operational control, and ensures supply chain continuity. In this way, insurance stops being a financial formality and becomes infrastructure, fueling industrial parks, logistics corridors, and distribution hubs, explains Ignacio González, CEO of HDI Seguros México, in an interview with SiiLA.

Looking ahead, this kind of risk intelligence could serve not only to protect cargo, but to design a better country. With millions of data points on routes and incidents, insurers can generate critical maps to guide investment, tax incentives, regional support, and infrastructure decisions. But for this information to have a real impact, genuine collaboration between the government and the private sector is needed, González warns. The upside is not trivial: safer routes mean more affordable premiums and a broader market where even small and mid-sized companies can operate without fear.

Still, before redrawing the country, its fractures must be understood. Cargo theft is not random—it follows patterns. It’s concentrated in key corridors—Puebla-Veracruz, Estado de México, Jalisco, Guanajuato—where industry intersects with vulnerability. According to González, theft rings specialize by type of merchandise and take advantage of weak monitoring, infrastructure gaps, and limited oversight. Some stretches have become blind spots in the logistics system.

There’s also a less visible weakness: the difficulty of getting insured. Many policies remain expensive or inflexible, and among SMEs, the perception persists that insurance is an expense, not a safeguard. The result is clear: thousands of routes are exposed, and thousands of businesses are sidelined. More concerning still is that six out of ten tons of cargo in Mexico move by truck, and seven out of ten businesses are SMEs, according to official data.

While insurance does come at a cost, the real price is having no one to rely on. Logistics needs more than just technology—it needs a system that supports, anticipates, and protects. Not to eliminate all risk, but to ensure no journey is left to luck. This matters because as long as risk remains more economical than protection, any attempt to modernize the sector—from industrial parks to global supply chains—will rest on shaky foundations. The issue is clear: there’s no investment without operational continuity, and no competitiveness without confidence in the journey. That’s the dilemma the logistics sector must solve—if it wants not just to move, but to move forward.

To learn more about this and other key topics in the industrial real estate market, visit SiiLA REsource or email us at contacto@siila.com.mx.

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¹ Data from the National Private Transportation Association (ANTP) and the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS), cited by HMI.

² Estimates from AMIS and the National Chamber of Freight Transport (CANACAR), cited by HMI.