Cyber’s reckoning year: Zurich joins the SME race as rates wobble and ransoms climb

A market at an inflection point

Specialist underwriter DUAL has warned that international cyber rates have fallen 43% since the fourth quarter of 2023, even as claim severity climbs. This slide, said DUAL, is pushing the sector toward an inflection point in 2026. S&P Global Ratings has forecast premium increases of 15% to 20% in 2026 as severity catches up, while Coalition data placed the average ransom demand above US$1 million last year — a 47% jump.