Cyberattacks and inflation are tops among concerns for business leaders, according to a recent survey from The Hartford.
The insurer’s 2026 Risk Monitor report is based on a survey of 500 U.S. midsize and large business. Results put both cyber risks and economic risks at the top for 77% of respondents.
Phishing, ransomware and data breaches are at the forefront of business concerns, according to the survey, and 67% of respondents said their business has an insurance policy and a response plan—leaving a third without one. More than half of business leaders said enhancements to cyber policies are planned in the coming year.
Artificial intelligence crept in to the top 5, with 53% of leaders citing the risk. Cybersecurity threats, data privacy, and misuse were among the worries of respondents.
Turning to economic risk, fluctuating economic uncertainty has leaders concerns as “trade policies and geopolitical pressures make it difficult for organizations to plan and operate with confidence,” The Hartford said.
One respondent quoted said inflation is the biggest concern because it can affect revenue and material costs. Sixty-three percent of respondents are concerned about tariffs.
Geopolitical pressure and the economy were also connected to another another top risk: supply chain disruption. This risk was named by 67% of respondents.
The same number of survey-takers (67%) said regulatory complexity was a primary risk. This number has increased, “reflecting a more challenging policy environment,” the insurer said.
European insurers and pension funds would likely be hit harder than banks by fallout from losses in the private credit industry, the European Central Bank said after simulating a “severe” shock to the market.
The “illustrative exercise” included three stages: direct private credit losses, further hits from loans to software firms in correlated leveraged debt markets and broader second-round market revaluations, the ECB said in an extract from its financial stability review published on Tuesday.
Insurers faced the biggest impact in absolute terms because of their larger, less senior exposures to private credit and equity holdings in the broader market revaluation, the ECB said. Pension funds were the most heavily affected by aggregate losses from all three stages in terms of total assets, the ECB said.