New York, November 14, 2026: Microsoft's global service outage disrupted businesses, government agencies and millions of users worldwide for more than 24 hours, with estimated insurance losses potentially reaching $500 million.
Outlook, Teams and Copilot Affected
The disruption, which began on November 12, affected Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook email, Teams meetings and the Copilot AI assistant. Users experienced difficulties accessing emails, calendars and online meetings. Banks, healthcare providers, airlines and government organisations were among those reporting operational problems. Outage tracker Downdetector recorded more than 7.4 million disruption reports worldwide.
Insurance Losses Could Reach $500 Million
Morningstar DBRS estimated global insured losses between $300 million and $500 million. However, actual payouts could be lower because some cyber insurance policies exclude technical failures or require lengthy service interruptions before coverage begins. Insurance broker Marsh Re also expects a relatively limited impact on insurers.
Microsoft Explains Technical Failure
Microsoft attributed the disruption to server problems associated with a network change and software upgrade. The company ruled out artificial intelligence and malicious cyberactivity as causes. Services gradually recovered on November 13, although Microsoft had not announced a definitive timeline for complete restoration. The incident raised renewed concerns about global dependence on major cloud technology providers.
