The volume of cyber claims made by small and medium-sized enterprises during 2025 fell to a five-year low, according to insurer Chubb’s 2026 Cyber Claims Report. But the research also says the value of a claim has tripled between 2020 and 2025.

The research points to AI as a factor in helping businesses identify cyber vulnerabilities, but adds that the technology is also helping threat actors to develop more sophisticated attacks of greater scope and scale.

Chubb says Ransomware attacks pose significant risks for SMEs and can lead to complex and costly data breaches that require significant notification and remediation actions.

Jimaan Sané, head of growth, global cyber at Chubb, said: “Mid-sized businesses increasingly face the same level of cyber disruption as large corporates, but often without the same operational resilience. As well as identifying and preventing a business's own cyber failures, there is the challenge of financial and operational fallouts when interconnected systems, suppliers and partners are compromised.

“Consider when a technology provider is struck by ransomware, the consequences rarely stay contained. For the retailers, manufacturers, and service businesses that depend on that provider's systems, the impact can be immediate and severe.”