The 2024 Travelers Risk Index released by property and casualty insurer, The Travelers Companies, Inc. has disclosed cyber threats as the top concern amongst businesses, for the fourth time in six years.
Established in 2014, the annual survey asks business insurance decision-makers of US-domiciled companies of various sizes and industries about their major concerns. A record number of 62% of the participants quoted cyber risks as their main concern.
This was followed by medical cost inflation at 59%, which held the top spot in 2023; increasing employee benefits costs at 59%; broad economic uncertainty reported at 59%; and finally, the ability to attract and retain talent at 54%.
According to Travelers, one of the notable factors that can counter this phenomenon is increasing cyber coverage, as nearly 30% of the more than 1,200 respondents said their company did not have a cyber insurance policy.
However, the number of businesses with cyber coverage at 65% is up from last year’s 60%, considerably higher than in 2018, when only 39% said they had a cyber insurance policy.
The year-over-year increase was seen across businesses of all sizes: small businesses jumped to 41% from 34%; mid-sized companies increased to 77% from 74%; and large businesses rose to 78% from 72%.
This also comes at a time when there are increases in cyber incidents, which stood at 24% compared to 23% in 2023. This is also the eighth time in nine years that the percentage of respondents who said their company has suffered a data breach or cyber event increased from the previous year.
The top cyber concerns for businesses that remained tied in the first place were security breaches and someone gaining unauthorized access to financial accounts or control systems with a 57% response from participants.
The other three that made it to the top five were ransomware at 54%, which saw the largest jump, up from the ninth cyber-related concern in 2023. Followed by employees putting information or systems at risk through unauthorized or unsafe computing practices at 53% and finally system glitches at 53%.
Tim Francis, Enterprise Cyber Lead at Travelers, commented, “The findings speak to the business community’s greater awareness of cyber threats and the catastrophic damage, both operational and financial, a cyberattack can have on a company.
“What’s troubling is that while more businesses are securing cyber insurance as a tool to mitigate vulnerabilities, many still elect not to – despite knowing the risks.”
