Email-Based Cyberattacks Dominate 2024 Claims, Outpacing Ransomware in Frequency A new report from San Francisco-based Coalition Insurance reveals that business email compromise (BEC) and funds transfer fraud (FTF) accounted for 60% of cyber insurance claims in 2024—far surpassing ransomware as the most common threat. While ransomware remained the most costly attack type, email-related incidents drove the majority of policyholder losses, with 29% of BEC attacks leading to fraudulent transfers. The 2025 Cyber Claims Report, released this month, highlights a 23% increase in BEC severity year-over-year, with average losses rising to $35,000 per incident. Legal fees, incident response costs, and recovery efforts contributed to the spike. Meanwhile, FTF claims saw a 46% drop in severity, averaging $185,000 per case—down from a record $340,000 in 2023—as financial institutions improved fraud detection, flagging large transactions for review. Despite the decline, FTF losses remain volatile, with one 2024 case involving a $9.3 million fraudulent transfer that was later recovered. Coalition successfully recovered $31 million in stolen funds for clients in 2024, averaging $278,000 per case. The report underscores the role of social engineering in these attacks, with threat actors using AI-enhanced phishing and deepfake audio/video to impersonate executives or trusted entities. The FBI reported that BEC scams in 2023 affected all 50 U.S. states and 186 countries, with losses exceeding $55 million. While ransomware frequency declined by 3%, it remained the most damaging attack type, with average demands dropping 22% to $1.1 million—the first time in two years they fell below seven figures. Akira was the most prevalent ransomware variant, followed by Play, MedusaLocker, RansomHub, and Fog. The cyber insurance market continues to evolve amid rising threats, with global spending projected to grow from $20.88 billion in 2023 to $120.47 billion by 2032. Insurers and cybersecurity firms are introducing AI-driven tools to streamline policy analysis and risk assessment, aiming to improve access and clarity for businesses.