The UK’s small to medium sized business (SMB) sector is leaving itself wide open to serious crime risks according to new research from Aon Risk Solutions.
The top line finding revealed by the risk management company‘s UK-wide survey of 1,042 decision makers from the SMB sector was that there was a clear and present danger of cyber-risks that were are being overlooked by many firms.
The data showed that just 4% said they had insurance cover in place to help protect them from the implications of cyber-attacks, virtually no change from Spring 2015 (3%) even though security has been firmly in the spotlight since then. In addition it found that only one in 20 SMBs confirmed that they have cover in place for crisis management situations such as terrorism, ransom and product contamination.
Exploring which types of insurance, if any, had been taken out by SMB owners to protect their enterprises from unforeseen risks, Aon found that more than one in five (22%) had no insurance in place at all.
Concluding, Aon warned that research findings suggest businesses need to take a hard look at their exposure to a range of risks and assess whether they would be covered for potential risks such as damage to property or assets, product recalls, intellectual property theft, cyber-crime or data breaches.
“The SMB sector is currently dealing with change on two fronts. On the one hand, many are preparing to gear their businesses up for growth, with one in two (50%) claiming a positive outlook for the months ahead,” commented Chris Lee-Smith, MD, Aon Affinity. “Set against this there have been a range of high profile cyber-attacks and an increased feeling of insecurity in recent weeks underlining the uncertain world we live in. Cybercrime is a significant risk and security concerns should be top of mind for any business. Our research suggests that whilst general economic confidence in the SMB sector is improving, many are over-looking the need to protect their business from very real risks that could derail growth plans.”