LONDON, 30 October 2026 - Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has issued ‘Navigating Business Disruption in the UK: Strategies for a New Risk Reality 2026’. This report highlights that UK businesses are experiencing a fundamental shift in the risk landscape as business interruption, cyber and supply chain disruptions converge, compounding financial damage and extending recovery timelines in ways that traditional risk frameworks are not equipped to address.
The report focuses on the gaps between the level of preparedness that UK organisations believe they have and the level they require to withstand a significant disruption event. Aon’s 2025 Global Risk Management Survey found that 27.3% of UK organisations have suffered significant financial losses from business interruption, 30.8% from supply chain disruption and 9.3% from cyber incidents. Despite this level of exposure, only around one in five organisations have formal risk management plans.
Loss versus preparedness
The report highlights a persistent gap between the scale of disruption already experienced by UK organisations and the mitigation measures they have available. Across the three risk categories most likely to threaten business continuity, a significant proportion of UK organisations have already experienced financial loss, yet formal risk management plans remain limited:
- Business interruption: Only 21.6% have a formal risk management plan.
- Supply chain: Only 23.6% have a formal risk management plan.
- Cyber: Only 24.6% have a formal risk management plan.
Low levels of risk quantification
Across every risk category examined, UK organisations are managing risk, but they are doing so without adequately quantifying their actual exposure. Only 16% have quantified their exposure to business interruption, 12.4% to supply chain disruption and 13.1% to cyber.
This absence of robust financial quantification limits the ability of senior leaders to make informed investment decisions, structure appropriate insurance programmes and plan effectively for the true cost of prolonged disruption. Notably, where risk quantification exercises do take place, they frequently miss the mark if based on intuition and high-level assumptions rather than structured financial modelling.
Rob Kemp, CEO, Commercial Risk, UK, Aon, said:
“The current environment, while challenging, presents an opportunity for organisations to strengthen their resilience. Businesses can use advanced analytics and scenario planning to quantify what's at stake, while matching limits and structures more closely to realistic loss scenarios and clarifying the breadth of cover and policy.
“This approach not only helps them learn from past claims and better understand contractual limits but also allows them to strengthen coverage by reinvesting premium savings to close protection gaps. Overall, leaders who quantify their exposure with precision, challenge assumptions and invest early in the capabilities that keep their organisations moving amid disruption, will be better positioned to navigate the new risk reality.”
ENDS
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that protect and grow their businesses.
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