They take aim at the backbone of the connected economy and, when they strike, can jeopardize the success, or even the existence, of companies of every size and sector. Business interruption (#1 with 42 percent of responses / #1 in 2017) and Cyber incidents (#2 with 40 percent of responses, up from #3 in 2017) are this year’s top business risks globally, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2018.
Larger losses from natural catastrophes (#3 with 30 percent of responses, up from #4 in 2017) are also a rising concern for businesses, with the record-breaking 2017 disaster year also ensuring Climate change and increasing volatility of weather (#10) appears in the top 10 most important risks for the first time. Meanwhile, the risk impact of New technologies (#7 2018 / #10 2017) is one of the biggest climbers, as companies recognize innovations such as artificial intelligence or autonomous mobility could create new liabilities and larger-scale losses, as well as opportunities, in future. Conversely, businesses are less worried about Market developments (#4 2018 / #2 2017) than 12 months ago.