Kathmandu. Weak supply chains, geopolitical tensions, inflation, and increasing reliance on technology are increasing the impact of disruptions.
This information was provided by Allianz Commercial. The company analyzed 7,888 business interruption insurance claims between 2021 and 2025. The value of which was approximately 6.74 billion euros.
The company’s analysis found that the average business interruption claim was more than 850,000 euros. This was about 70 percent higher than the average property damage claim (about 500,000 euros). While the number of claims has remained almost constant, the average claim value has increased by more than 30 percent annually in the last 2 years.
Fires and explosions were the most costly causes of business interruption losses. They accounted for more than 40 percent of the total value analyzed, or about $2.9 billion. Fires were responsible for 9 of the 10 most expensive man-made business interruption events in the dataset. Natural disasters accounted for 34 percent of the total claim value and 26 percent of claims.
Overall, non-natural disaster events accounted for 74 percent of claims and 66 percent of the total value. “Trade disruptions and supply chain risks remain high and volatile,” said Thomas Lillelund, CEO of Allianz Commercial. ’
According to Allianz, recovery times are also getting longer; supply chain delays, labor shortages, and volatile material costs are taking longer for businesses to resume normal operations after major events. Single-location production and reliance on specialist suppliers can further exacerbate losses; fires at semiconductor factories were one of the two most costly non-natural disaster events in the analysis.
Charlotte Field, regional head of short-tail claims at Allianz Commercial Asia in Asia, said: “In Asia, we are increasingly seeing that the size of business interruption losses is often determined by how small the initial event is and how quickly an organisation can recover. ’
The risk of business disruption due to cyber threats is also increasing; ransomware, cloud outages, software failures, and incidents involving third-party technology providers are contributing to the losses. The Allianz report states that cloud and software services will see more than 48,000 outages in 2025. “This reflects companies’ increasing reliance on digital supply chains,” the report said, “In today’s interconnected economy, preventing business disruptions is no longer limited to protecting individual sites.” ’
Alberto Barani, head of the business disruption group at Allianz Commercial, said, “Investing in fire protection, natural disaster resilience, cyber preparedness and business continuity planning can reduce the duration and severity of losses.” -Agency
