Organizations with greater risk maturity are turning awareness into action.
HUB surveyed senior business leaders across the middle market and found that most understand the risks facing their teams. The challenge for these organizations is determining what issues need action now.
Staying profitable and resilient in this environment means knowing what to address first, building plans to respond and having confidence in being protected.
Risk maturity is how organizations get there — a clearer read on where exposure runs deepest, where action pays off and whether protection is still keeping pace.
How to Strengthen Risk Maturity
In a crowded risk landscape, clear priorities matter.
Focus attention and resources on the risks that could have the greatest impact on the business.
Confidence can be rebuilt through clarity.
Reassess risks regularly, test assumptions and use stronger insight to know when action is needed.
Protection works best when you understand it fully.
Know what your insurance covers, where gaps remain, and what risk stays with the business.
Summary
The HUB 2026 Middle Market Profitability & Resiliency Report
HUB International annually surveys business leaders from across North America's leading industries. These respondents represent the voices shaping corporate leadership and risk management in public, private and nonprofit organizations. The HUB 2026 Middle Market Profitability & Resiliency Report brings these perspectives together, translating real market data and industry trends into a clear picture of where organizations stand and what the highest-performing businesses are doing to stay ahead.
Organized around a proprietary Risk Management Maturity Model, the report gives leaders a practical framework for evaluating their current risk maturity, identifying opportunities to strengthen it and delivering the insights needed to navigate today's complex risk environment with confidence.
Risk Maturity
The State of Risk Maturity is Shifting
More organizations are formalizing risk management. Most still have room to mature.
Leaders are investing in enterprise risk management (ERM), yet few have reached the point where risk insight consistently shapes major business decisions. Having an ERM program is an important step, but structure alone does not create resilience. Risk maturity grows when information is shared across the organization and accountability extends beyond a single team.
Takeaway
75%
37%
75% of organizations have a formal ERM program, while only 37% demonstrate mature risk management characteristics. Organizations strengthen risk maturity by bringing risk information into business planning and decision making.
Business Risks
There is No Longer a Number 1 Risk – Or Even a Clear Top 3
Business risks are converging, making prioritization more important.
Leaders recognize the issues facing the business. The challenge is deciding what requires action now and what could have the greatest impact on the business.
As exposures become more connected, a single issue can quickly create operational, financial and reputational consequences across an organization. Leaders who can prioritize those risks within broader business objectives are better positioned to keep growth plans moving.
Takeaway
Six issues now rank among organizations’ top risks impacting profitability: cybersecurity (45%), operational costs (43%), AI adoption (38%), macroeconomic pressures (37%), regulatory challenges (31%) and geopolitical challenges (31%).
With concern spread across multiple areas, organizations need to be clear about which risks require action first.
Risk Fatigue
Risk Fatigue Is Freezing Progress
Familiar risks can still be dangerous when confidence and action fall behind.
Years of disruption have made uncertainty feel routine, but familiarity does not mean organizations are better prepared to manage what comes next.
Confidence in mitigating risk fell across nearly every category measured. The uncertainty about what to prioritize and how to respond slows action.
Regular reassessment helps keep familiar risks from becoming overlooked risks.
Takeaway
16%
Only 16% of organizations report being fully confident in their current insurance position, creating real opportunity for leaders who are willing to explore new ways to leverage coverage.
Protection
There’s a Gap Between Having Protection and Understanding It
Protection is only as powerful as the understanding behind it
Making changes to insurance programs does not automatically mean that a business is better protected. Leaders need to understand how coverage responds to current exposures and where additional risk mitigation may be needed.
Takeaway
75% of leaders do not fully understand what current policies cover, underscoring the value of greater clarity around coverage and remaining exposures.
FAQs
What is risk maturity, and why does it matter for profitability?
What is risk maturity, and why does it matter for profitability?
Risk maturity is an organization’s ability to systematically identify, prioritize and act on risks while maintaining confidence in its existing protections. HUB International’s 2026 Middle Market Profitability & Resiliency Report found that most organizations, 65%, sit at an intermediate stage of risk maturity, with only 5% at an advanced stage. Organizations further along the curve are better positioned to decide what to address first and move forward with confidence.
Why don’t organizations have one clear top risk anymore?
Why don’t organizations have one clear top risk anymore?
What is risk fatigue?
What is risk fatigue?
Risk fatigue is what happens when repeated exposure to warnings and high-stress conditions leaves leaders less confident and slower to act, even though they still recognize the risks. Only 16% of organizations report confidence in their current insurance position, and fewer are exploring new ways to use insurance than they were a year ago. Risk maturity is what breaks that freeze.
Do most organizations understand what their insurance actually covers?
Do most organizations understand what their insurance actually covers?
How often should organizations be talking with their insurance advisor?
How often should organizations be talking with their insurance advisor?
Is AI changing how organizations approach insurance?
Is AI changing how organizations approach insurance?
What questions should leadership ask before their next advisor conversation?
What questions should leadership ask before their next advisor conversation?
How can an insurance advisor help build risk maturity, beyond day-to-day service?
How can an insurance advisor help build risk maturity, beyond day-to-day service?
What does the HUB 2026 Middle Market Profitability & Resiliency Report cover?
What does the HUB 2026 Middle Market Profitability & Resiliency Report cover?
About HUB
HUB is a leading full-service global insurance broker and financial services firm that helps you navigate the world on your terms, at your speed, toward your future.
From around the corner to across the globe, HUB is right there with you, delivering protection, insight and solutions you need to move forward with confidence and prepare for what’s next — no matter how your life, business or legacy might evolve.
Across risk, insurance, employee benefits, retirement and wealth, we bring clarity through specialized expertise, a human touch and forward-thinking solutions and technology, tailoring every strategy to who you are, what you value and where you’re going next.