Businesses are experiencing rising business interruption losses as concentrated production, fragile supply chains, geopolitical tensions, inflation and growing technology dependencies increase the impact of disruptions. This is according to Allianz Commercial, which based its analysis on 7,888 business interruption insurance claims worth about EUR6.74bn between 2021 and 2025. The analysis found that the average business interruption claim exceeded EUR850,000, around 70% higher than the average associated property damage claim of close to EUR500,000. While claim frequency remained relatively stable, average claim values increased by more than 30% annually over the past two years.
Fire and explosion were the costliest causes of business interruption losses, accounting for more than 40% of the total value analysed, or about EUR2.9bn. Fire was responsible for nine of the 10 costliest man-made business interruption events in the dataset, while natural catastrophes accounted for 34% of total claim value and 26% of claims. Overall, non-natural catastrophe events generated 74% of claims and 66% of their total value. “Business interruption and supply chain risk remains elevated and volatile,” said Allianz Commercial CEO Thomas Lillelund. “The scale of physical damage alone no longer determines the ultimate cost of a business interruption.”
Allianz said recovery periods are also becoming longer, with supply chain delays, labour shortages and volatile material costs extending the time needed for businesses to resume normal operations following major events. Concentrated production and dependence on specialist suppliers can further amplify losses, with the two costliest non-natural catastrophe events in the analysis involving fires at semiconductor factories. In Asia, Allianz Commercial Asia regional head of short-tail claims Charlotte Field said, “What we increasingly see in Asia is that the size of a business interruption loss is often determined less by the initial event and more by the speed at which an organization can recover.”
Cyber disruption is also broadening the business interruption risk landscape, with ransomware, cloud outages, software failures and incidents involving third-party technology providers contributing to losses. Allianz said more than 48,000 outages were tracked across cloud and software services in 2025, highlighting companies’ increasing dependence on digital supply chains. Allianz Commercial business interruption group leader, Risk Consulting, Alberto Barani, said, “In today’s interconnected economy, preventing business interruption is no longer just about protecting individual sites.” He added that investments in fire protection, natural catastrophe resilience, cyber preparedness and business continuity planning can reduce the duration and severity of losses.