Cyber incidents created many headlines in 2025 and are still the biggest worry for companies globally in 2026, according to Allianz Commercial's annual Allianz Risk Barometer.
The past year has also been a significant one for accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), which is ranked as the biggest riser at No. 2 as a complex source of operational, legal, and reputational risk for businesses. Still, close to half of respondents believe AI is bringing more benefits to their industry than risks, even though one-fifth say the opposite.
“Following the volatility and uncertainty of 2025, businesses continue to face interconnected and highly complex risks in 2026’s fast-changing environment. Given the continuing rise of AI across society and industry, it is unsurprising that it is the big mover in the Allianz Risk Barometer. As well as bringing huge opportunities, its transformative potential and rapid evolution and adoption are also reshaping the risk landscape, making it a standout concern for firms of all sizes worldwide, alongside other more established threats,” says Allianz Commercial CEO Thomas Lillelund.
“Large companies’ investments in cyber security and resilience have been paying off, ensuring they can detect and respond to attacks early. However, cyber risk continues to evolve. Organizations are increasingly reliant on third party providers for critical data and services, while AI is supercharging threats, increasing the attack surface and adding to existing vulnerabilities,” adds Michael Bruch, global head of risk consulting advisory services, Allianz Commercial.
Key takeaways:
· For the first time ever, business interruption is not in the Top 2 risks, dropping to No. 3. Yet, this peril remains a significant concern given it can be a consequence of other risks in the global Top 10.
· Factors such as a quieter hurricane season in terms of losses during 2025, mean natural catastrophes drops to No. 5, year-on-year. Meanwhile, political risks and violence climbs from No. 9 to No. 7, driven by increasing concerns over geopolitical volatility and conflicts around the world.
· Cyber incidents continues to top the list of business risks followed by business interruption and changes in legislation and regulation. Rounding out the Top 5 risks are AI and natural catastrophes. A new addition to the Top 10 U.S. rankings is political risks and violence coming in at No. 10.
· In 2026, cyber incidents is the top global risk for the fifth year in a row, with its highest-ever score (42% of responses), and by a higher margin than ever before (+10%). It ranks as the main corporate concern in every region (Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and Middle East).
· AI has surged into the top tier of global business concerns, rising to No. 2 (32%) in 2026 from No. 10 in 2025, the biggest jump in this year’s ranking. It is a big mover in all regions – ranked No. 2 in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East, and No. 3 in Europe – and is a growing risk for companies of all sizes too, moving into the top three for large, mid-sized and smaller firms.
“Companies increasingly see AI not only as a powerful strategic opportunity but also as a complex source of operational, legal and reputational risk. In many cases, adoption is moving faster than governance, regulation, and workforce readiness can keep up,” says Ludovic Subran, chief economist, Allianz. “As more firms attempt to scale in 2026, they will face greater exposure to system-reliability issues, data-quality constraints, integration hurdles, and skilled talent shortages. Meanwhile, new liability exposures are emerging around automated decision-making, biased or discriminatory models, intellectual-property misuse, and uncertainty over who is responsible when AI-generated outputs cause harm.”
