The average cost of cybersecurity insurance claims made by large and middle-market companies surged in 2025, despite a significant drop in the volume of claims, according to Chubb’s 2026 Cyber Claims Report.
The insurer said the growing severity of claims in the US has been largely driven by the increasing cost of both data breach and privacy-related litigation, alongside rising business interruption expenses.
In the US, the average cost of claims rose by 22% for middle-market firms in 2025 compared to 2024, while for large companies, an enormous 100% rise was observed.
In the UK and Europe, the same was observed in terms of claim numbers falling but average costs per claim going up in 2025 compared to 2024. In this region, the severity of insurance claims for middle-market companies went up by 34% and for large firms, by 98%.
However, the average cost was far higher in the US compared to the UK and Europe in 2025. This can be explained by the absence of any material third-party litigation expenses from either data breach or non-data breach privacy claims in the latter region, Chubb noted.
For SMEs, the frequency of claims went up in both regions across the same period. The average cost of claims fell in the US from $215,297 to $141,931 among these companies but rose from $51,095 to $82,621 in the UK and Europe.
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Privacy Legislation Imposes Extra Burdens on Businesses
Chubb’s report, published on August 25, stated that a growing body of privacy laws in the US and the EU are imposing complex, layered obligations for companies that store and/or transfer personal data.
These included the right to opt out of profiling or automated decision-making and disclosure requirements for AI-driven processing.
The insurer also noted that ransomware actors’ tactic of intentionally leaking data alongside encrypting it following a successful attack is increasing the risk of litigation for victim firms under data protection laws.
In the US, companies are often forced to pay substantial upfront administrative fees for each individual filing, regardless of the merit of the claim.
“In a suit involving 10,000 claimants, for example, these non-refundable fees can exceed $10m before the merits of the case are even heard,” Chubb wrote.
