The types of risks challenging middle-market insurance buyers are evolving as the economy recovers and these business owners pursue growth opportunities, according to speakers at a press conference Tuesday during the 2013 Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. conference in Los Angeles.

“Economics is the No. 1 issue that middle-market companies are facing today,” said Julie Zimmer, vice president of sales and middle-market segment leader, at Hub International Ltd. in Chicago.

Middle-market companies are pressured by international competition but concerned about the risks associated with international expansion, Ms. Zimmer said. Moreover, they often have insufficient access to capital markets, making it difficult for them to obtain the financing necessary to expand overseas, she said.

The rising cost of health care and regulatory uncertainty associated with complying with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are top issues for most middle-market companies, Ms. Zimmer said. They also worry that employee health benefit costs will spill over into the workers compensation sphere if they are not properly managed by the health care system, she said.

When it comes to property risks, fire is no longer the No. 1 exposure, according to Ms. Zimmer.

“Fire is not the issue. Now it's catastrophes, something they may not be able to control by installing sprinklers or alarms,” she said.

Oftentimes “there is a lack of true planning around catastrophic events” at middle-market companies, according to Todd Macumber, Chicago-based president of Hub's risk services division, who also spoke during Tuesday's press conference. The businesses losses in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and the Boston Marathon bombing demonstrate this, he said.

“The plan may be old or untested,” he said.

Auto fleet safety and combustible dust explosions are two emerging areas of risk for many middle-market companies, according to Mr. Macumber.

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Distracted driving now accounts for more than 18% of crashes, Ms. Zimmer said, and there is a shortage of “good, safe drivers.”

In addition, the use and development of clean energy presents challenges, such as “roof loading” caused by the weight of heavy solar collectors, blade failures in wind turbines, and vehicle servicing safety when alternative fuels like natural gas are used, Mr. Macumber said.

As more middle-market companies use the Internet for commerce, their vulnerability to potential cyber attacks from both external and internal hackers increases, according to Mr. Macumber. Moreover, such companies often have fewer internal staff to identify gaps in protection and to put internal controls in place to prevent intruders, he said.

“Cyber risks are just as important as property risks, but only a third of companies insure this risk,” Ms. Zimmer noted. By contrast, “they would never not insure their property,” she said.

Reputational risk is also a growing concern for middle-market companies, both Ms. Zimmer and Mr. Macumber said.

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in Omaha, Neb., once said “it takes 20 years to build a business, but just five minutes to destroy one,” Mr. Macumber said.

But with the proliferating use of social media such destruction could happen even faster, said Ms. Zimmer.

Since most middle-market insurance buyers have made up their minds about what insurance they're interested in buying before they contact their brokers, intermediaries need to be proactive in providing education, innovation and resources to those buyers long before such decisions are made, according to Ms. Zimmer.

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The insurance buying process for middle-market firms has changed significantly in recent years, Ms. Zimmer said, since “60% to 70% of buying decisions are made before they contact us.”

And because the individuals responsible for such buying decisions often wear many hats in most middle-market companies, they need that information to be packaged succinctly and delivered in multiple formats via technology as well as in person, Mr. Macumber said.