Business interruption is one of the major concerns for companies in Namibia for the next 12 months, followed by changes in legislation and regulation, and another Covid-19 outbreak, the latest Allianz Risk Barometer has revealed.
However, globally, cyber perils are the biggest concern ahead of business interruption and natural disasters. According to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2022, which is based on insights from 2,650 risk management experts across 89 countries and territories, cyber incidents top the annual risk ranking for only the second time in its history, driven by a recent surge in ransomware attacks.
Indeed, the most feared cause of business interruption is cyber incidents, reflecting the impact of companies’ growing reliance on digitalisation and shift to remote working.
“The most feared cause of BI is cyber incidents, reflecting the rise in ransomware attacks but also the impact of companies’ growing reliance on digitalization and the shift to remote working,” AGCS CEO Joachim Mueller said.
“For most companies the biggest fear is not being able to produce their products or deliver their services. 2021 saw unprecedented levels of disruption, caused by various triggers. Crippling cyber-attacks, the supply chain impact from many climate change-related weather events, as well as pandemic-related manufacturing problems and transport bottlenecks wreaked havoc. This year only promises a gradual easing of the situation, although further Covid-19-related problems cannot be ruled out. Building resilience against the many causes of business interruption is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage for companies,” he added.
Although cyber perils are ranked top three in most countries and regions surveyed including South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria as well as Africa and Middle East, they were ranked at number four in Namibia, in its inaugural participation in the survey.
Scott Sayce, Global Head of Cyber at AGCS, said ransomware has become a big business for cyber criminals, who are refining their tactics, lowering the barriers to entry for as little as a $40 subscription and little technological knowledge.
“The commercialization of cybercrime makes it easier to exploit vulnerabilities on a massive scale. We will see more attacks against technology supply chains and critical infrastructure,” he explained.
Pandemic outbreak, according to survey findings, remains a major concern for companies but in Namibia it is joined second with changes in regulation and legislation, although the COVID-19 crisis continues to overshadow the economic outlook in many industries, encouragingly, businesses do feel they have adapted well.
The rise of Natural catastrophes and Climate change to third and sixth position globally respectively according to survey findings, is telling, although in Namibia natural catastrophes is in the tenth position and climate change is ranked ninth.
“The pressure on businesses to act on climate change has increased noticeably over the past year, with a growing focus on net-zero contributions. There is a clear trend for companies towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions in operations or exploring business opportunities for climate-friendly technologies and sustainable products. In the coming years, many corporate decision-makers will be looking even more closely at the impact of climate risks in their value chain and taking appropriate precautions. Many companies are building up dedicated competencies around climate risk mitigation, bringing together both risk management and sustainability experts,” Line Hestvik, Chief Sustainability Officer at Allianz SE said.
The survey found that changes in legislation and regulation remains fifth globally and ranks second in Namibia.
Fire and explosion, a perennial risk for companies, ranked seventh as in last year’s survey globally and came in at sixth in Namibia, with market developments coming in at five, while macroeconomic developments ranked seventh in Namibia with theft, fraud, and corruption.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is a leading global corporate insurance carrier and a key business unit of Allianz Group.
It provides risk consultancy, property-casualty insurance solutions and alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and specialty risks across 10 dedicated lines of business.
