Global businesses are treating cyber resilience as a strategic must, with re/insurance now central to managing digital threats that show no sign of easing, Munich Re's fourth Global Cyber Risk and Insurance Survey found.
The German reinsurance giant put the global cyber insurance market at $15 billion and said there was ample room for profitable growth. Its findings drew on more than 9,500 respondents in 20 countries.
Citing Statista, the report warned that cybercrime would cost the world $14 trillion by 2028, more than the combined GDP of Germany, Japan and India.
Artificial intelligence has knocked cloud computing off the top spot as the technology executives believe matters most to their business. Some 71% of C-level respondents flagged AI as significantly relevant this year, up from 62% in 2024.
Cloud use remains near-universal at 98%, but AI adoption has jumped to 57%. Two in three executives expect AI to deliver gains; 23% fear the opposite. Almost two-thirds, 63%, want to buy insurance against AI-related risks.
The Munich Re and ERGO Tech Trend Radar 2026, a companion report, named AI, cyber resilience, climate analytics and emerging liability as the year's defining themes for reinsurers. Machine-learning underwriting tools, Munich Re said, have lifted straight-through processing by 30% to 35% in some life and health portfolios.
Executives flagged data privacy (52%), inaccurate outputs (42%), cyberattacks (42%) and skills shortages (36%) as their biggest AI worries.
Insurers are scrambling to meet that demand. Munich Re's aiSure offers performance warranties. Armilla, backed by Chaucer and Axis Capital, sells Lloyd's-underwritten cover for hallucinations, model drift and regulatory breaches up to $25 million.
Testudo, launched in January, targets generative AI litigation, including copyright disputes.
Exclusions are tightening just as quickly. Verisk's ISO rolled out three generative AI exclusion endorsements on January 1. With ISO forms behind roughly 82% of US property and casualty policies, take-up is likely to be swift. Gartner expects insurers to demand robust AI controls as a condition of cover by 2030.
On average, 60% of executives said they were worried about a cyberattack. Anxiety ran highest in India and South Africa at 80%, followed by France at 71% and Japan at 70%. The Netherlands (43%), the United Arab Emirates (47%) and mainland China (48%) were the least concerned.
Some 89% of executives said their defenses were inadequate, up from 87% in 2024. The Geneva Association has long put the cyber protection gap at about 90%, meaning barely a tenth of cyber risk is insured.
Stefan Golling (pictured above), Munich Re's board member for global clients and North America, called cyber cover critical in an AI-driven economy. Reinsurance chief Thomas Blunck said the product was "proven, relevant, and ready to expand."
