Happy New Year 2016 Greeting card and Golden Sparkles Confetti. Good for Party Poster, Banner or Invitation Design. Numbers 2016, New Year 2016, Happy New Year Vector. Vector Background.Business interruption is the top concern of risk managers heading into 2016 for the fourth year in a row, but cyber is a fast-growing corporate worry, according to a new report from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.

Rounding out the top 10, the Allianz Risk Barometer 2016 also identified adverse market developments, natural catastrophes, regulatory and legislative changes, macroeconomic developments, loss of reputation, fire/explosions, political risks, and theft/fraud/corruption as major problems heading into the new year.

Why is business interruption such a big concern? It all amounts to globalization and the increasingly complex environment growing around the phenomenon.

“Business interruption continues to be the primary concern of risk managers and how well a company response will determine how well it survives to compete,” Hugh Burgess, Allianz global head of mid-corporate and head of corporate lines, North America , said in prepared remarks.

Burgess added: “As global supply chains continue to grow and increase in complexity, the threat of [business interruption] continues to incubate in numerous and increasing areas, which, in turn, continues to weigh on the minds of risk managers today.”

Here are the report’s top 10 global business risks:

  1. Business Interruption. This is the top peril for the fourth year, but the percentage has changed a bit. For the new survey, 38 percent of responses rated this as one of the three most important risks for companies, versus 46 percent for the 2015 survey.
  1. Market Developments. At second place, this is new in the top 10, with 34 percent rating the category as a major issue for companies. The topic includes market volatility, intensified competition and market stagnation.
  1. Cyber Incidents. Approximately 28 percent rated cyber as a worry, a category that includes cyber crime, data breach, and IT failures. The category placed 5th on the 2015 list, with just 17 percent ranking it as a concern at that time. Allianz said it is also the top long-term risk and “the peril most likely to increase the threat of ” business interruption. Just 1 percent of respondents identified this as a risk five years ago.
  1. Natural Catastrophes. At fourth place, 24 percent of respondents rated this a top risk, versus 30 percent and a second place ranking for the 2015 survey. Natural catastrophes of concern include storms, floods and earthquakes, a much bigger factor in an age of climate change.
  1. Changes in legislation and Regulation. This risk, which includes economic sanctions, protectionism and other government actions, got a vote from 24 percent of respondents. Last year, 18 percent ranked this as a big worry, placing it at number 4 on the list.
  1. Macroeconomic Developments. New to the top 10, 22 percent said this is a risk to wash. This category includes austerity programs, commodity price increases, inflation and deflation.
  1. Loss of Reputation or Brand Value. Eighteen percent voted this a big risk, giving making it the 7th biggest global business risk for 2016. Last year it was 6th on the list, with 16 percent responding that this was a major concern.
  1. Fire/Explosion. At 8th place, 16 percent said that these are major 2016 concerns. Approximately 27 percent of respondents said so for the 2015 survey, which placed it at number 3 back then. Fire/explosions can also be a major cause of business interruption, such as with the Port of Tianjin explosions in China last August. Allianz said that some larger companies, in an effort to minimize exposure, “have shifted from a predominantly procurement-driven view of supply chain risk, to one that brings together management disciplines to overcome the risks.” The report also notes that supply chain management and business continuity plans have become more thorough in order to minimize explosion.
  1. Political Risks. This includes war, terrorism and social upheaval, and 11 percent of respondents rated this as a major risk to watch. That’s the same as last year. Political risks can also lead to business interruption. While this scored lower overall than other risks, Allianz noted that multinational businesses rank this particularly high, because they “are most concerned about the disruptive impact any instability or incident can have on their supply chain.”
  1. Theft, Fraud and Corruption. Nine percent ranked this as a major worry, unchanged from the 2015 survey.

The Allianz Risk Barometer is based on responses of more than 800 risks experts from over 40 countries around the globe.

Source: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty