Looking Back on 2025 – A Year of Change and Resilience

As 2025 comes to an end, many businesses have had to adapt in several ways at the same time. There wasn’t one single challenge. Instead, organisations faced a mix of economic uncertainty, changing risks, disruptive weather, and fast-moving digital threats.

For the businesses we work with, the priority was not just reacting to events. It was staying resilient while keeping day‑to‑day operations running.

 

Commercial Vehicle Insurance – Premiums Easing Overall, but Unevenly

After several years of steady increases, 2025 brought a change in the commercial vehicle insurance market. In general, pricing began to settle. Data suggested that some parts of the motor and commercial market eased, and some premiums fell over the year.

For example, UK van insurance premiums continued to fall in 2025, with average prices lower than the previous year (Insurance Business Mag). The ABI also reported multiple quarters of falling motor premiums in 2025, which reflects a wider softening in parts of the market (The ABI).

For some commercial operators, especially those with good claims history, stable drivers, and clear risk management , this meant renewals were flat, or sometimes lower. But this did not apply to everyone. Higher‑risk fleets, including HGVs and specialist vehicles, still faced pressure, as insurers remained concerned about large claims, repair costs, parts availability, and vehicle downtime.

Throughout 2025, reports kept saying the same thing: prices were moving in different directions depending on the risk, not all up or all down. In simple terms: businesses with good claims records and strong risk controls often did better, while fleets with higher losses or more complex risks often paid more (aon).

 

Environmental Disruption Becomes a Practical Issue

In 2025, the world continued to see a pattern of extreme weather. Many regions experienced heatwaves, wildfires, storms and flooding, rather than steady seasonal conditions (wikipedia).

The UK also saw short, intense weather events rather than long periods of steady conditions (Met Office UK). This created practical problems for businesses that rely on transport, logistics and physical operations.

Early January brought severe cold, snow and ice. Amber warnings and widespread alerts covered much of the UK, leading to icy roads, vehicle breakdowns and travel disruption (Met Office UK).

At the same time, persistent rain and already saturated ground increased flood risk in several places. On 1 January, more than 100 flood warnings were issued across England after heavy rain. On 6 January, a major incident was declared in Leicestershire and Rutland, with roads and industrial areas cut off, and people rescued from vehicles and properties (BBC).

Severe wind also caused disruption. Storm Bram recently brought strong winds and heavy rain to northern and western parts of the UK, with amber wind warnings and advice to delay non‑essential travel due to debris, surface water flooding and hazardous driving (The Guardian).

The Met Office’s December 2025 deep‑dive noted that UK rainfall so far in 2025 has not been exceptionally high overall, but that the impacts were driven by where and how intensely rain fell. From a business and insurance point of view, that matters. Short cold spells, flooding and storm events can lead to more severe claims, more vehicle damage, and longer repair times, even if yearly averages look moderate (Met Office UK).

 

Global Uncertainty and Trade Pressures

Global politics also affected business planning in 2025, with renewed uncertainty around international trade policy. With Donald Trump back as US president, there was widespread coverage of possible new or expanded tariffs as part of a more protectionist approach. Media reports highlighted concerns about how tariffs could affect manufacturing costs, global supply chains and cross‑border trade.

These discussions are often linked to large exporters, but knock‑on effects can be wider. UK businesses saw pressure on parts availability, longer lead times, fluctuating fuel costs and delivery scheduling challenges, all of which can affect transport, logistics and operational risk (transformationjourneys.com).

For many organisations, this reinforced the value of planning for uncertainty, and building flexibility into operations where possible.

 

Cyber Risk Moves to the Foreground

Cyber attacks felt more immediate for UK businesses in 2025. This was reinforced by both high‑profile incidents and national statistics.

According to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, nearly 43% of UK businesses reported a cyber breach or attack in the previous 12 months, which equates to around 612,000 businesses (UK Government Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, cited in Ratcliffes insight). Ransomware, phishing and stolen‑password attacks remained common. A growing share of incidents affected small and medium‑sized organisations, not just large enterprises.

High‑profile cases showed how vulnerable supply chains can be. A major cyber attack on Jaguar land Rover began in late August and caused significant disruption. Reporting later estimated the wider economic impact could reach £1.9 billion, linked to lost production, supply‑chain disruption and knock‑on effects across the UK automotive sector (wikipedia, Independent). The case is often used as a reminder that cyber risk can spread beyond one organisation.

For many affected businesses, the damage went beyond the immediate cost. Disruption, reputational harm, regulatory obligations and long recovery times were often just as serious, especially where digital systems were central to bookings, payments or day‑to‑day work. In short, 2025 reinforced that cyber risk is not just an IT issue. It is part of overall business resilience.

 

Media Industry

The UK media industry had a mixed and difficult year in 2025. In our previous insight article, we highlighted that the UK remained a major global media market, but day‑to‑day conditions were challenging for many businesses and freelancers.

Domestic TV production was under particular pressure. Broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky had already reduced spending on drama and factual programming, and those cuts continued to be felt in 2025. With advertising revenues under strain and costs rising, commissioning levels fell to their lowest since the pandemic. This meant fewer UK‑made programmes, financial pressure on independent production companies, and long gaps in work for freelancers such as camera operators, editors and sound engineers (Ratcliffes).

At the same time, large international productions continued to come to the UK. Major studios such as Pinewood, Leavesden and Shepperton hosted big film and streaming projects, bringing inward investment and keeping studios busy. However, this work was often short‑term and concentrated in a small number of very large productions. For many workers, it created a “feast or famine” pattern rather than steady employment.

Digital and social media advertising was one of the clearer growth areas in 2025. UK ad spend rose, and brands shifted budgets towards online platforms. This created opportunities in short‑form video, branded content and corporate production. But budgets per project were often smaller, and timelines tighter, than traditional TV advertising. For many media businesses, digital growth did not fully replace the loss of higher‑budget domestic commissions.

In short, 2025 was a year of contrasts: strong global demand and digital growth on one side, but reduced domestic commissioning and financial pressure on the other. With tighter margins, delays, cancellations or equipment losses carried greater financial risk than in more stable years. That made risk management and suitable insurance cover even more important.

 

Looking Ahead

Across sectors, one theme came up again and again in 2025: risks are more connected than before. Weather disruption, global uncertainty, cyber incidents and operational pressure often overlap.

As we move towards 2026, there is little sense of complacency. Many businesses are focused on adapting, reviewing risk, strengthening resilience, and planning carefully rather than assuming stability. With next year marking 50 years for Ratcliffes Insurance Brokers, it feels like a good moment to reflect on the value of continuity: supporting clients through change, year after year.

As the year comes to a close, we would like to thank all our clients, partners and colleagues for their continued trust. We wish everyone a happy holiday period and a successful, healthy start to the New Year.

If you would like to review your cover, discuss how changing risks may affect your business, or simply have a conversation about the year ahead, our team is always happy to help. You can get in touch with us to arrange a discussion at a time that suits you.