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Digital EditionActive Cyber Risk Management Drives 7% Decrease in Claims Frequency: Coalition
Email-based attacks dominated the cyber threat landscape in 2024, with business email compromise (BEC) and funds transfer fraud (FTF) accounting for a combined 60% of all cyber insurance claims, according to Coalition’s analysis of its 2024 claims data.
Ransomware events, though representing only 20% of claims, inflicted the most financial damage with average losses of $292,000 per incident—significantly higher than FTF ($185,000) and BEC ($35,000) events, Coalition found.
Businesses taking a more active approach to managing cyber risk are experiencing greater success in reducing both the frequency and severity of threats, according to Coalition.
“Over the past year, our claims data clearly demonstrates one thing: active insurance works,” said Robert Jones, Global Head of Claims at Coalition. “Combining Coalition’s Active Data Graph, which provides a massive amount of data insights, with security tools and incident response helps Coalition prevent claims from happening in the first place.”
Overall, global cyber insurance claims frequency decreased 7% year-over-year in 2024 to 1.48%, with U.S. clients experiencing a higher rate (1.54%) than the global average, Coalition reported. By contrast, policyholders in Canada (1.13%) and the UK (1.09%) demonstrated notably lower frequency rates.
Global claims severity remained stable, with the average cyber loss amount at $115,000 in 2024, which the report noted is “a significant amount for organizations of all sizes.”
Claims Analysis Shows Evolving Attack Patterns
Business email compromise (BEC) remains a consistent threat, with global frequency holding steady at 0.44% in 2024. BEC severity increased 23% to an average loss of $35,000, driven primarily by a spike in the second half of the year. Regional variations show Coalition policyholders in the UK experiencing higher BEC frequency (0.51%) than the U.S. (0.44%) or Canada (0.32%), though U.S. businesses faced higher average losses ($36,000) compared to Canadian and UK organizations ($22,000).
Funds transfer fraud (FTF) claims decreased slightly (2%) to 0.44% globally, with U.S. businesses experiencing higher rates (0.47%) than Canada (0.32%) or the U.K. (0.27%). The financial impact of FTF decreased dramatically, with initial claims severity dropping 46% to $185,000 – down from an all-time high of $340,000 in 2023.
Ransomware continues to represent the most damaging threat category despite a 3% frequency decrease to 0.31%. Average ransomware losses declined 7% to $292,000 globally, well below 2023’s peak of $393,000. Canada faced particularly severe ransomware impacts, with losses averaging $665,000 – more than double the global figure – while UK organizations experienced significantly lower costs ($82,000).
Miscellaneous first-party loss claims decreased 19% to 0.17% with severity increasing 10% to $49,000. Third-party allegations saw substantial decreases in both frequency (down 50% to 0.02%) and severity (down 86% to $23,000).
“While overall claims have stabilized, cyber attackers, and ransomware actors in particular, still pose a tremendous threat to businesses, with the average demand still in the millions of dollars. Unfortunately, ransomware is already back with a vengeance in 2025, as March held the highest volume of public ransomware cases of all time,” continued Jones.
“Coalition continues to be an active partner in the fight against bad actors. We alert our policyholders to vulnerabilities in their networks, risky security practices, and the best ways to mitigate threats to reduce the impacts of cyber attacks.”
Industry and Size Determine Cyber Risk Exposure
The nature of a business significantly influences its cyber risk profile. Organizations handling sensitive financial data, personal health information, or valuable intellectual property face increased targeting by cyber criminals, Coalition noted. Those connected to critical infrastructure contend with heightened risks from state-sponsored attacks and disruptive ransomware campaigns.
Claims data reveals that consumer staples (2.6%), materials (2.2%), and industrials (1.64%) sectors experienced the highest frequency of cyber incidents in 2024. When measuring financial impact of these events, the energy ($262,193), real estate ($179,237), and health care ($144,662) sectors suffered the most severe losses.
The size of a business also reveals interesting patterns in vulnerability, the report found. Smaller businesses (under $25 million revenue) saw claims frequency decrease 4% to 1.07% with average losses of $79,000. Mid-size companies ($25-$100 million) experienced a 5% frequency decrease to 3.99% with losses averaging $139,000. The largest organizations (over $100 million) saw a 6% frequency drop to 5.97% but a significant 21% increase in severity to $228,000 per claim.
Obtain the full report here. &
