Source: DC Velocity
Date: 10th August 2026 

An industry poll shows supply chain insurance emerging as the leading form of protection expected to see increased demand as businesses confront trade disruption, geopolitical conflict and increasingly unpredictable global supply networks.

Growing geopolitical instability is pushing businesses to pay greater attention to insurance protection against supply chain disruption, as conflicts, trade restrictions and changing transportation routes increase uncertainty across global commerce.

An industry poll conducted in the second quarter of 2026 found that 41.1% of respondents expect supply chain insurance to experience the highest demand as a result of geopolitical tensions — substantially ahead of other categories of commercial insurance.

Cyber insurance ranked second at 20.6%, followed by business interruption insurance at 15.0%, marine insurance at 14.0% and political risk insurance at 9.3%.

The poll, which received 107 responses, points to growing concern about the indirect operational consequences of geopolitical events rather than only the immediate physical risks to cargo and assets.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important as companies face disruptions capable of spreading through several layers of their supply chains.

From geopolitical risk to operational disruption. Current geopolitical tensions are affecting international trade in multiple ways.

Conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe have created uncertainty around major maritime corridors, including the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz, contributing to vessel rerouting and changes in established shipping patterns.

At the same time, changes in U.S. trade policy, including tariffs, export restrictions and sanctions, are adding another layer of complexity for companies operating international supply networks.

For businesses, the consequences can extend well beyond the location where the original disruption occurs.

A blocked shipping corridor can result in longer transit times. A rerouted vessel can affect inventory availability. New sanctions or trade restrictions can change sourcing decisions, while disruption at one supplier can subsequently affect production and customer deliveries elsewhere.

The growing interest in supply chain insurance therefore reflects a broader concern with business continuity and cascading operational risk.

Supply Chain Protection Leads Insurance Demand. The survey results show a considerable difference between supply chain insurance and more specialised categories.

Insurance Product	Expected Demand
Supply chain insurance	41.1%
Cyber insurance	20.6%
Business interruption insurance	15.0%
Marine insurance	14.0%
Political risk insurance	9.3%

The results suggest businesses are increasingly concerned about risks that can interrupt the movement of goods and continuity of operations across multiple markets.

Marine insurance remains important for protecting cargo and maritime exposures, while political risk insurance addresses particular sovereign and political events. Supply chain disruption, however, can arise from a much wider combination of events and affect businesses even when their own physical assets remain undamaged.

Cyber risk also remains significant, ranking second in the poll at 20.6%, reflecting the growing dependence of logistics and supply-chain operations on interconnected digital systems.

Insurance capacity faces its own challenges. Growing demand does not necessarily mean businesses will find it easier to obtain comprehensive protection.

According to the analysis accompanying the survey, insurers themselves face difficulties assessing geopolitical risks because events can develop rapidly and produce losses across multiple businesses, industries and locations simultaneously.

This can make some exposures difficult to quantify and price. As a result, insurers may respond by tightening policy wording, introducing additional exclusions or placing greater scrutiny on exposures involving areas such as tariffs and sanctions.

For businesses, this makes it increasingly important to understand the precise scope of insurance coverage. Having insurance protection does not automatically mean every consequence of geopolitical or supply-chain disruption will be covered.

Implications for global supply chains. The findings highlight a broader shift in how companies approach supply-chain resilience.

For many years, businesses primarily addressed disruption through operational measures such as supplier diversification, alternative transportation routes and additional inventory.

Insurance is increasingly becoming another component of that risk-management strategy.

However, insurance cannot replace operational resilience. Businesses still need visibility across suppliers, transportation routes and inventory because the financial consequences of disruption may extend beyond what individual policies cover.

The combination of operational contingency planning and appropriate insurance protection is therefore becoming increasingly relevant as global supply chains face multiple overlapping risks.

Demand for supply chain-related protection could remain elevated while geopolitical uncertainty continues to influence global trade.

At the same time, insurers are likely to become increasingly selective about the risks they are prepared to cover and the conditions attached to those policies.

This could create a more complex insurance environment in which companies need to examine exclusions, geographic limitations and definitions of covered disruption more carefully.

For supply-chain leaders, the issue will increasingly be not simply whether insurance exists, but which risks are actually covered and how insurance fits within the company’s wider continuity strategy.

What This Means

• Review whether existing insurance policies adequately address supply-chain interruption rather than only physical cargo loss.
• Examine exclusions relating to war, sanctions, tariffs and geopolitical events carefully.
• Identify critical suppliers, transportation corridors and markets where disruption could have the greatest financial impact.
• Maintain alternative routing and sourcing strategies even where insurance coverage is available.
• Assess insurance alongside inventory, transportation and business-continuity planning rather than treating it as a standalone solution.
• Keep documentation and shipment visibility systems current, as accurate information can become particularly important when disruption results in an insurance claim.

The growing interest in supply chain insurance reflects a wider change in the way businesses view geopolitical risk.

A disruption thousands of kilometres away can affect vessel schedules, transportation costs, inventory availability and ultimately customer deliveries. Managing these risks therefore requires more than responding after an event has occurred.

For shippers, resilience increasingly depends on understanding where vulnerabilities exist across the supply chain and having options available when normal routes or processes are interrupted.

Insurance can provide an important layer of financial protection, but it works most effectively alongside strong supply-chain visibility, alternative transportation solutions and contingency planning.

As geopolitical uncertainty continues to reshape international trade, businesses that combine financial protection with operational flexibility will be better positioned to respond when disruption occurs.