Insights From The Allianz Risk Barometer
Global risk doesn’t live in a report. It shows up in delayed projects, cyber incidents, regulatory scrutiny and, too often, insurance claims that don’t respond the way a business expects.
Each year, the Allianz Risk Barometer surveys thousands of risk professionals worldwide to identify the threats businesses are most concerned about in the year ahead. While the findings are global and cross-industry, the implications are very real for Australian organisations navigating an increasingly complex risk environment.
What matters most isn’t the ranking itself — it’s how these global risk trends translate into practical exposures, insurance decisions and, ultimately, financial outcomes.
Global risk trends are becoming more interconnected
One of the clearest takeaways from this year’s findings is that risks are no longer isolated.
Cyber incidents, business interruption, regulatory change, climate events and geopolitical instability don’t sit neatly in separate categories. A single event can trigger multiple consequences across operations, contracts, reputation and cash flow.
For many businesses, this interconnectedness is where problems begin — particularly when insurance programs are built around individual risks rather than how those risks interact in the real world.
Technology risk is no longer niche
Cyber incidents continue to rank as the leading global business risk, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence-related concerns highlights just how quickly the technology landscape is shifting.
From an insurance perspective, this presents two common challenges:
- Businesses assume cyber exposure is fully addressed by a standalone cyber policy, without understanding limitations, exclusions or sub-limits.
- Emerging technology risks are layered onto existing operations without reassessing whether current policies still respond as intended.
As global risk trends evolve, insurers are scrutinising governance, controls and risk management practices more closely. Coverage is no longer just about purchasing a policy — it’s about demonstrating that risk is understood and actively managed.
Business interruption remains one of the most misunderstood risks
Despite years of disruption caused by pandemics, natural catastrophes and supply chain breakdowns, business interruption remains one of the most misunderstood areas of insurance.
The Allianz findings reinforce that operational disruption continues to be a top concern globally. In practice, many claims issues arise because:
- Trigger events don’t align with policy definitions
- Waiting periods are longer than businesses expect
- Indemnity periods don’t reflect real recovery time
- Supply chain dependencies haven’t been fully declared
Global risk trends point to more frequent, more complex disruptions — making it increasingly important that business interruption cover reflects how revenue is actually generated and where vulnerabilities sit.
Regulatory and geopolitical risk is creeping closer to home
Changes in legislation, regulation and political stability continue to climb the risk rankings. While these risks can feel abstract, their impacts are tangible:
- Contractual obligations shift
- Compliance costs increase
- Projects are delayed or re-scoped
- Cross-border exposures become harder to manage
Insurance policies don’t always automatically adapt to these changes. Without regular review, businesses can find themselves exposed to gaps that only become apparent when a claim arises.
Understanding global risk trends helps businesses anticipate where insurer appetite may tighten and where additional clarity in policy wordings may be required.
Climate and physical risk remain persistent — even when attention shifts
Although natural catastrophes and climate risks fluctuate in the rankings year to year, they remain a constant driver of loss globally.
In Australia, this often shows up through:
- Flood, storm and bushfire losses
- Underinsurance driven by outdated asset valuations
- Increased deductibles and stricter terms imposed by insurers
One of the most common issues seen at claim time is not the event itself, but whether the policy was structured to reflect current asset values, operational dependencies and rebuilding realities.
Global risk trends reinforce the importance of keeping insurance aligned with physical exposure — not historical assumptions.
The insurance reality behind the data
What sits beneath many of these global risk trends is a simple issue: insurance programs that haven’t kept pace with how businesses have evolved.
Over time, operations change, revenue streams diversify and risk profiles shift. Yet insurance structures often remain largely unchanged, renewed year after year with minimal adjustment.
This misalignment can lead to:
- Unexpected coverage gaps
- Disputes over interpretation
- Delays in claim resolution
- Financial stress at the worst possible time
A broker’s role is not just to place cover, but to help ensure insurance remains relevant as risk evolves.
What Australian businesses should take from this
The Allianz Risk Barometer is not a forecast — it’s a signal.
For Australian businesses, global risk trends highlight the need to:
- Review risk more frequently than once a year
- Ensure insurance reflects how the business actually operates
- Understand how different risks intersect, rather than treating them in isolation
- Stress-test coverage before a loss occurs, not after
As risks become more complex and interconnected, the cost of assumptions grows.
Final thought
Global risk trends don’t cause losses — misalignment does.
Businesses that take the time to translate emerging risks into practical insurance decisions are better placed to respond when disruption occurs. In a landscape where uncertainty is the norm, clarity around risk and cover is one of the most valuable protections a business can have.
This article draws on insights from the Allianz Risk Barometer 2026, published by Allianz Commercial, and reflects Barrack’s interpretation of these findings through an insurance and risk management lens for Australian businesses.
