Bermuda’s strong captive insurance sector could stand to benefit as more British-based companies seek alternative ways to manage mounting risk, according to Aon’s 2025 Global Risk Management Survey: United Kingdom Country Report.

The biennial survey found that three quarters of organisations in Britain either have or plan to establish a captive insurer or cell within a protected cell company, a trend that points to growing demand for flexible, cost-efficient risk financing — long a cornerstone of Bermuda’s international business market.

“Access to alternative sources of capital, such as captives and parametric solutions, is becoming a strategic priority,” Aon wrote. “Resilience must now be embedded into every decision.”

A report this year from the Bermuda Monetary Authority showed that Bermuda’s captive sector continued to grow, with 17 new captives set up in 2025. The BMA said more than 600 captives were based in Bermuda as of 2022, writing more than $31 billion in gross premiums.

Cyberattacks and data breaches were ranked the No 1 risk facing British organisations, followed by business interruption, economic slowdown, geopolitical volatility and regulatory changes. For the first time, geopolitical volatility entered Britain ’s top ten.

Martin Burke, MS Amlin’s chief underwriting officer, said recent cyber events have shown how quickly digital threats can escalate into real-world crises.

“Cybercrime today is as much a real-world risk as extreme weather and political unrest, and is just as fluid and unpredictable,” he said. “While the financial cost of a cyberattack can be staggering, the implications are even more complex, reaching far beyond the company that has been targeted into the community and the wider economy.”

Aon noted that only 18 per cent of British firms use quantitative analytic tools when evaluating insurance programmes, which it said can limit their ability to optimise capital. This gap, the report said, is driving greater interest in alternative capital solutions, including captives and parametric products.

Property and business interruption remain the most common risks underwritten by UK captives, followed by professional indemnity, cyber and employee benefits. The growing use of captives for non-traditional risks aligns closely with Bermuda’s expertise in emerging lines such as environmental, social and governance; health and cyber.

Rob Kemp, Aon UK’s head of commercial risk, said the findings show a shift towards more sophisticated, data-driven oversight.

“Many boards are using analytics and specialist insight to better understand emerging risks — particularly around technologies such as AI — while balancing innovation with regulatory and ethical considerations,” he said. “The risks businesses face today demand more than incremental change.”

Bermuda accounted for 0.1 per cent of global respondents in Aon’s survey, which gathered insights from nearly 3,000 executives across 63 countries.