Economic, political concerns top business leaders’ agendas
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Business leaders have shown an increased concern over the risks posed by economic uncertainty, inflation and geopolitical upheaval, according to a report Monday from Beazley PLC.
From political tensions in Europe to mass shootings in New York State and Texas, business leaders are faced with a multitude of potential unexpected events that pose risks to business resilience, according to Beazley.
Just over 21% of businesses across the U.K. and U.S. listed war and terror as their No. 1 concern, compared with nearly 15% in 2021.
The number of U.K. and U.S. businesses citing economic uncertainty as their primary concern increased from 21% to over 27% from 2021 to 2022. Meanwhile, 27% of U.K. and U.S. business leaders put inflation at the top of their risk list.
Some 55% of business leaders, which rises to 65% in the United States, believe they lack the necessary resilience to deal with inflation, which Beazley called a “dominant threat.”
“Even those territories far removed from the theatre of war in Eastern Europe are feeling the impact of global sanctions and commodity shortages across the board — from supply chain to the cyber threat, through to political risk and trade credit,” the report said.
The report also noted how risk factors can bear upon one another, with civil unrest seen as a “real possibility” due to factors including general inflation and rising prices of food and fuel in particular.
For its risk and resilience research, Beazley commissioned research company Opinion Matters in January 2022 to survey the opinions of over 1,000 business leaders and insurance buyers of businesses based in the U.K. and U.S. with international operations.
Respondents represented businesses operating in health care and life sciences; financial institutions and professional services; manufacturing; energy and utilities (including mining); retail, wholesale, food and beverage; and other sectors.
