Report: EU business less prepared for disasters than in US
American companies are more prepared for catastrophe than those in Europe or Asia-Pacific, a new Economist Intelligence Unit report has found.
The study, Catastrophe Risk Management: Preparing for Potential Storms Ahead, was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, surveying 225 risk managers throughout the world.
Although preparation for catastrophes, including terrorism, pandemic outbreak or extreme weather events, is becoming an increasingly important aspect of risk management, levels of preparedness vary significantly from region to region.
Overall, 67% of respondents said they had increased the amount of time and resources they dedicate to catastrophe risk management in the past three years.
However, US respondents were more likely than those from either Europe or the Asia-Pacific region to have considered specific threats such as terrorism, extreme weather events and avian flu.
Sixty-four percent of US respondents had considered avian flu as part of their risk management processes, compared with 43% in Europe and 62% in Asia-Pacific.
For terrorism, the figures were 71% in the US, 50% in Europe and 62% in Asia-Pacific.
For extreme weather events, the results were 73% in the US, 44% in Europe and 49% in Asia-Pacific.
“Most of the executives we questioned recognise the need to prepare for catastrophe as part of their risk management processes," said Rob Mitchell, editor of the report.
“But North American companies appear to have the edge over those from both Asia-Pacific and Europe when it comes to considering specific threats.”
