Cyber, business interruption and natural catastrophes are the top three risks that concern global businesses, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025.
Cyber incidents, such as ransomware attacks, data breaches and IT outages, is the top global risk for 2025, marking its fourth consecutive year at the top, said Allianz, noting that 10 years ago, cyber risk ranked only at number eight globally with just 12% of responses, compared with 38% in 2025.
Notably, Allianz said, the risk impact of new technologies and developments in artificial intelligence (AI) is a new entrant in the top 10 global risks at number 10. Closely interlinked to cyber, business interruption is ranked at number two by 31% of respondents, just ahead of another related risk, natural catastrophes at number three (29%).
Cyber Risks
“The past year has seen continuing ransomware attacks, which are increasingly targeting sensitive data to increase the financial leverage on companies,” Allianz said.
Ransomware continues to be the top cause of cyber insurance loss. During the first six months of 2024, ransomware accounted for 58% of the value of large cyber claims, or those that are greater than €1 million (US$1.03 million), Allianz Commercial analysis shows.
A data breach is the cyber exposure companies fear most. “A rise in ransomware attacks including data exfiltration is a consequence of changing attacker tactics and the growing interdependencies between organizations sharing ever more volumes of personal records. At the same time, the evolving regulatory and legal environment has brought an uptick in so-called ‘non-attack’ data privacy-related class action litigation, resulting from incidents such as wrongful collection and processing of personal data – the share of these claims has tripled in value in two years alone,” said Michael Daum, global head of Cyber Claims, Allianz Commercial, in the report.
The top five cyber exposures that concern businesses the most are: data breaches (61%); cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and physical assets (57%); increase in malware/ransomware attacks (49%); disruption from failure of digital supply chains, cloud / service platforms (29%), and increase in business email spoofing attacks (18%).
While large corporates, mid-size, and smaller businesses all perceive cyber incidents as their number one business risk, there are significant differences with the risk perceptions of smaller companies, which are “more concerned about more localized and immediate risks, such as regulatory compliance, macroeconomic developments and skill shortages…,” the report said.
“[B]ut there are also signs that some of the risks that have preoccupied larger companies are now starting to bite smaller firms too, with climate change and political risks and violence climbing the ranking,” it added.
Business Interruption
Diving into the business interruption (BI) risk, Allianz said, it has ranked either number one or number two in every Allianz Risk Barometer for the past decade. Its persistence at the top reflects the severe supply chain disruption seen during and after the pandemic.
“Cyber incidents and natural catastrophes are the two BI exposures companies fear most, according to respondents, followed by fire, machinery breakdown and supplier failure,” Allianz said, explaining that the push for technological advancement and efficiency is affecting the resilience of supply chains.
Nowadays, a failure or disruption in any segment of a supply chain tends to be more severe, leaving minimal time to respond, said Michael Bruch, global head of Risk Advisory Services, Allianz Commercial.
The report noted that there were several large supply chain disruption events in 2024, including the CrowdStrike IT outage in July, one of the largest to date. “A faulty update to CrowdStrike’s security software affected computers running Microsoft Windows, reportedly costing Fortune 500 companies over US$5.4 billion, with insured losses of $540 million to $1 billion,” Allianz added, quoting Parametrix.
Natural Catastrophes
Turning to number three on the list in 2025 – natural catastrophes – Allianz said, it’s not a surprise that this risk ranks highly (listed by 29% of respondents), given the fact that insured losses due to natural catastrophes surpassed the US$100 billion mark in 2024 for the fifth consecutive year.
In 2024, natural catastrophes were also at number three (26%), compared to number six in 2023. It is the top risk in nine countries/territories: Austria, Croatia, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey – and heads the construction and shipping rankings.
Risk Interconnectivity
Amid high levels of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, and a shifting risk environment, the top three risks of cyber, business interruption, and natural catastrophes, “are particularly complex, unpredictable and interdependent,” the report said, noting that interconnectivity drives BI concerns.
“What stands out in this year’s Allianz Risk Barometer is the interconnectivity of the top risks. A change in one – or indeed a mitigating action – might have a knock-on effect on another, and another. Climate change, emerging technology, regulation and geopolitical risks are increasingly intertwined, resulting in a complex network of cause and effect,” said Bruch.
Climate Change
Allianz said that climate change is another standout result in 2025. It is the biggest mover in the top 10 risks globally, climbing two places to number five (19%), achieving its highest ever position in the 14 years of the survey. (In 2024, climate change was ranked at number seven by 18% of respondents).
“Businesses face many challenges. As climate- and nature-related risks continue to rise, the financial implications will become increasingly pronounced, whether it concerns managing climate change transition risk, mounting costs from regulatory compliance on disclosing physical climate risks or operational disruptions caused by more extreme weather events and ecosystem degradation,” the report said.
Changes in Legislation and Regulation
Reflecting regulatory developments for sustainability and emerging technologies, changes in legislation and regulation was ranked at number four for two years running but with a bigger response this year at 25%, compared with 19% of respondents in 2024.
While promises have been made on both sides of the Atlantic to reduce regulatory red tape by both the incoming Trump administration and the European Union, Allianz noted that a large proportion of new regulations in the EU revolve around sustainability, principally via the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
“Without question, these reporting requirements create new burdens for the companies concerned. However, the CSRD data helps to make climate risks transparent,” according to Ludovic Subran, chief investment officer and chief economist at Allianz. “For example, how are banks and institutional investors such as insurers supposed to align their portfolios with the Paris climate targets if they know little or nothing about their investees’ emissions and adaptation paths? How is biodiversity protection supposed to work without knowledge of the ecosystem services for companies and their impairment by the same?”
Subran suggested that 2025 could become a “moment of truth” as to “whether regulatory fatigue will enter into an unholy alliance with climate fatigue and follow the false narrative that this will serve Europe’s competitiveness.”
“In fact, for improving competitiveness, Europe must strengthen the green transformation instead of weakening it. In that sense, the CSRD should be seen as an essential and much-needed tool to steer capital allocation towards the right direction,” he affirmed.
“However, for another major sustainability regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), the situation is somewhat different. Here, the reporting requirements for the entire value chain are indeed excessive and could even lead to undesirable results: EU companies could withdraw from risky markets, jeopardizing development in poorer countries and leading to a more concentrated supplier base. CS3D needs an overhaul,” Subran continued.
Geopolitics and Protectionism
Despite ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty in the Middle East, Ukraine and Southeast Asia, Allianz said, political risks and violence drop one place to number nine from 2024, albeit with the same share of respondents (14%).
But it ranks as a more concerning risk for large companies, up to number seven, while it is also a new entry into the top 10 risks for smaller companies at number 10.
Report Methodology
The 14th Allianz Risk Barometer incorporates the views of 3,778 respondents from 106 countries and territories. The annual corporate risk survey was conducted among Allianz customers (businesses around the globe), brokers and industry trade organizations. It also surveyed risk consultants, underwriters, senior managers, claims experts, as well as other risk management professionals in the corporate insurance segment of Allianz Commercial and other Allianz entities.
Respondents were questioned during October and November 2024. The survey focused on large, smaller and mid-size companies. Respondents were asked to select the industry about which they were particularly knowledgeable and to name up to three risks they believed to be most important.
Most answers were for large-size companies (greater than US$500 million in annual revenue), or 1,747 respondents, accounting for 46% of those surveyed. Mid-size companies ($100 million to $500 million in revenue) contributed 936 respondents (25%), while smaller enterprises (less than $100 million in revenue) produced 1,095 respondents (29%). Risk experts from 24 industry sectors were featured.
Topics
Natural Disasters
Cyber
Commercial Lines
Business Insurance
Allianz
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