Ransom demands jump but 86% of firms refuse to pay, report shows

According to The Actuary, Coalition’s 2026 cyber claims report found that while ransomware actors increased their demands in 2025, 86% of businesses refused to pay. The analysis covered more than 100,000 policyholders but narrowed to approximately 1,400 high-signal claims that resulted in a realised financial loss.

The study, based on policyholders in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Germany, reported that ransomware was the costliest attack type with an average loss of £202,000, and that business email compromise and funds transfer fraud accounted for 58% of incidents. The report notes that initial ransom demands surged by 47% last year, yet a record proportion of organisations did not pay, suggesting improved cyber resilience with viable data backups and incident response plans.

It also emphasises that this is not a survey of 100,000 firms, and raises questions about how many other policyholders experienced attacks and did not submit claims. date: 9 April 2026.