Chubb report reveals cybersecurity as leading risk threatening business growth

A report from Chubb identifies cybersecurity and technology disruption—often caused by malicious AI manipulation—as the top threats to business growth, as revealed in a Harris Poll survey of 500 risk decision-making business leaders commissioned by Chubb for Risk Decisions 360°: Emerging Risks That Can Impede Sustainable Company Growth.

Cyber breaches and data leaks—cited by 40% of executive respondents—far outpaced other man-made growth disruptors, including accidents, regulations, social unrest, and hazmat exposures, as a concern, while no other risk factor was mentioned by more than 25%. Similarly, cybersecurity was the leading geopolitical risk, cited by 60% of executives, while resource scarcity, climate change, political instability, and other risks all scored near or below 40%. 

"Chubb's 'Risk Decisions 360°' report provides critical insights into the evolving risk landscape, empowering businesses of all sizes to make informed decisions and achieve sustainable growth," said Juan Luis Ortega, President, North America Insurance at Chubb.

Chubb's report established that 86% of companies already have or will soon adopt business interruption coverage for events like cyberattacks, natural disasters, or supply chain disruptions, with 53% having coverage in place and another third planning to add it in the next 12 months.

Executives surveyed acknowledge the challenge of effectively managing the breadth of emerging and evolving risks, with more than one-third believing that their company isn't either extremely or very effective at mitigating risk.

Additional Key Findings

Cybersecurity:

• 74% of executives at large companies cite cybersecurity as the top risk to growth, with 40% reporting that cyber breaches and data leaks have been the most disruptive and financially burdensome man-made threats.
• Monitoring cyber incidents and events is the most commonly deployed risk mitigation tool in the arsenal of businesses, with 84% of executives telling Chubb it is either a fully integrated/essential function in their organization (41%) or used regularly (43%), with another 14% using it in some situations.

Technological Disruption:

• 79% of companies are implementing AI within their risk management, though most express concern about AI-related risks, such as deepfakes, with over 50% stating their company has been impacted.
• For executives prioritizing technology, data integrity (56%) and digital transformation challenges (53%) were the top concerns, especially among middle-market businesses (60%).

Financial Risks:

• 59% of executives point to cash flow and (56%) cite inflation and interest rates as significant obstacles to growth, with cash flow problems (70%) particularly impacting small businesses.

The Role of Insurance:

• The report underscores the growing importance of insurance in mitigating today's business risks. Over 89% of executives plan to expand their cyber insurance coverage to address the increasing threat of technological vulnerabilities.

Emerging Threats:

• Risks that are reported on regularly today—especially those related to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, climate change, and reputational damage as a result of viral social media events—were either previously non-existent or have intensified greatly over the last 10 years.

Methodology

The Risk Decisions 360°: Emerging Risks That Can Impede Sustainable Company Growth report is based on a Harris Poll of 517 executives across various industries and a cross-section of three business sizes—small businesses ($50K-$30M in revenue), middle market businesses ($30M-$1B), and large companies ($1B or greater)—in the U.S. and Canada. The margin of error is +/- 4.3%.