More than half (54%) of U.S. business leaders expect their companies to survive and thrive in 2026, yet 60% say they’re more stressed than they were last year, according to mutual insurer Sentry’s 2026 C-Suite Stress Index survey.
Sentry’s survey of 1,250 business leaders revealed a significant disconnect between the risks leaders worry about most and the ones that could put their companies out of business in a single event.
Executives named supply chain or logistics challenges (45%), economic pressures (44%), uncertainty around tariffs and trade (39%), rising employee healthcare costs (38%), and labor shortages (38%) as the biggest threats to their companies in 2026.
While many executives are focused on perceived threats, many might be overlooking key risks that could close their businesses for good, Sentry found.
Fewer than one in five (17%) executives included lawsuits among their top risks heading into 2026, despite 69% saying they believe that a single multimillion-dollar verdict would likely put their company out of business.
More than two-thirds (67%) of the executives said recent increases in litigation and multimillion-dollar verdicts are a growing problem in their industry, while 66% view third-party litigation funding as a problem.
Nearly all of those surveyed (93%) have seen their own companies impacted by lawsuits in the past five years, with about half reporting higher insurance premiums or rising legal costs directly related to litigation. Thirty-seven percent said they had to hire additional employees to manage litigation demands.
Sentry noticed a similar disconnect when it comes to severe weather and other natural catastrophes. Half of the executives surveyed (50%) believe the next major weather event or natural catastrophe could force their company to close entirely, but only 32% put natural catastrophes among their top threats for 2026.
Nearly all the executives (92%) said they have experienced some kind of weather-related disruption in the past five years, with 43% reporting that weather-related outages left their company systems temporarily unable to operate. Supply chain delays were nearly as common, affecting 40% of companies overall and 50% of businesses with more than 1,000 employees. Seventy percent of those surveyed experienced property damage due to severe weather, and 84% said they are concerned property insurance will become harder to obtain in the places they operate.
“Increasingly, policyholders are making the connection between weather and business continuity,” said Brett Hoopingarner, National Sales Director – Direct Writer and Life & Annuities at Sentry. “Our policyholders are starting to look at whether new suppliers—and even competitors—can fulfill orders if they go down due to a major weather event. We also are seeing executives extend business income and expense coverage to 12-24 months rather than only 6-12 months to help them survive should a catastrophe hit.”
Nearly all executives surveyed (98%) plan to re-evaluate their company’s insurance policies this year, and only 17% said they are fully confident their insurance coverage is adequate.
About the study:
The Sentry Insurance Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,250 U.S. executives between December 4 and December 16, 2025, using an email invitation and an online survey. In order to participate in the study, respondents had to belong to an organization with at least 10 full-time employees and to be either the owner of the company or hold one of the following titles: CEO, CFO, or CRO (Chief Risk Officer).
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