Everywhen has warned that British businesses face a growing risk from digital disruption, with interruptions capable of halting operations within minutes.
The assessment marks a shift in focus from physical damage to the systems and services that now underpin day-to-day trading.
Organisations are increasingly exposed to failures in cloud platforms, payment systems, broadband links and business software, as well as cyber incidents that cut access to critical tools. These problems can spread quickly across connected operations even when offices, shops or factories remain open.
That can leave premises functioning while revenue-generating activity stops. Retailers may be unable to take card payments, manufacturers may see automated production delayed, professional services firms may lose access to client files, and logistics operators may be unable to track deliveries.
Changing risk
The pattern reflects a broader change in how companies rely on technology. Cloud computing, digital payments, artificial intelligence tools, remote working systems and interconnected supply chains have become central to routine operations. But they have also created dependencies that are harder to spot and often sit outside a company's own premises.
Everywhen argued that business continuity planning now needs to account for those dependencies in the same way firms have long assessed risks to buildings, equipment and stock. In its view, interruption is no longer defined only by visible damage such as fire or flood, but also by the loss of access to digital services that keep trading, communication and fulfilment running.
An Everywhen spokesperson said: "Business continuity has traditionally focused on protecting physical assets, and that remains incredibly important. But today's organisations also rely on a vast digital ecosystem that many people simply assume will always be available.
"The reality is that businesses no longer need to experience a fire or flood to suffer major disruption. A single outage affecting a critical digital service can have an immediate impact on operations, customers, suppliers and revenue. That's changing the way organisations need to think about resilience."
Operational impact
Everywhen described the trend as a shift from physical disruption to operational disruption. The distinction matters because losses may now be triggered by a supplier outage, software failure or connectivity problem rather than an incident at the insured site itself.
That raises questions for companies that have built continuity plans around access to premises, backup locations and protection of tangible assets. If a firm depends on third-party software, cloud-based data storage or digital payment rails, a failure in one link can stop activity across several departments at once.
For sectors with tightly scheduled processes, even a short interruption can have immediate commercial effects. A manufacturer relying on automated production lines may face delays if systems go offline, while a services firm unable to access records may be prevented from serving clients despite staff being present and ready to work.
The insurer said organisations should identify the digital services, suppliers and technologies that support them hour by hour. In practice, that suggests a broader map of operational exposure than many businesses have traditionally maintained in continuity planning.
An Everywhen spokesperson said: "We're seeing a shift from physical disruption to operational disruption. Businesses are asking different questions today. It's no longer just, 'What happens if our building is damaged?' Increasingly, it's, 'What happens if the systems that connect everything suddenly disappear?'
"The organisations that will be most resilient over the coming years are likely to be those that understand their digital dependencies just as well as they understand their physical ones."
The warning comes as businesses across the UK continue to embed digital tools more deeply into sales, customer service, supply chains and internal workflows, increasing efficiency while also widening the range of potential single points of failure.