Kate Markham, Hiscox London Market CEO, said: “Our research highlights a growing resilience gap. While organisations are investing more in risk management, many still lack the structures, visibility and capabilities needed to understand how disruption spreads across their operations. Closing that gap is not simply about spending more. It requires moving beyond viewing risks in isolation and developing a clearer understanding of how threats interact, amplify one another and create wider business impacts.”
London: Businesses are investing more in risk management in response to a more complex and unpredictable risk environment, but many remain unconvinced that their organisations are prepared for the interconnected nature of today’s risks, according to new research from global specialty insurer Hiscox.
The newly launched Hiscox Risk Report 2026: Risk in motion found that 69% of organisations expect to increase risk management investment over the next 12 months. However, less than half (48%) believe their current models adequately capture how risks are connected, exposing a clear gap between investment and capability.
The disconnect comes as risks become more closely linked – from cyber attacks and AI-enabled fraud to economic instability and workforce disruption. More than half (51%) of risk managers said they now regularly face multiple risk simultaneously, while 27% frequently see one event trigger another.
Almost two thirds (65%) believe risks are more closely linked than five years ago, and 94% believe businesses still underestimate the impact of cascading risks.
Kate Markham, Hiscox London Market CEO, said: “Our research highlights a growing resilience gap. While organisations are investing more in risk management, many still lack the structures, visibility and capabilities needed to understand how disruption spreads across their operations. Closing that gap is not simply about spending more. It requires moving beyond viewing risks in isolation and developing a clearer understanding of how threats interact, amplify one another and create wider business impacts.”
Insurance companies therefore have a critical role to play, not only by providing financial protection after a loss, but also by helping organisations strengthen resilience and manage interconnected risks before disruption occurs,Markham added.
As the most influential risk within the wider ecosystem, cyber risk sits at the centre of many of these chain reactions, acting as a catalyst for wider disruption across workforce, operational, economic and technology risks. While more than half (56%) of risk managers say interconnected risks are more disruptive than recurring individual threats, cyber resilience is becoming increasingly important because cyber incidents can trigger disruption across multiple areas of a business.
The challenge is not simply understanding interconnected risks but responding to them. Half (50%) of risk managers said coordinating across teams, functions and insurance policies is their biggest challenge when multiple risks emerge simultaneously, while 84% believe siloed business units slow response times during periods of interconnected disruption. This suggests that organisational structures may be struggling to keep pace with the increasingly connected nature of risk.