Aon survey reveals UK businesses lead global peers in risk oversight

Aon has revealed that UK businesses are outpacing their global peers in risk management and governance.

In its 2025 Global Risk Management Survey, published on 28 October, 78.6% of UK respondents reported their boards to be directly involved in risk management and governance, while only 61.4% of boards globally were reported to be directly involved. 

Further, three-quarters of UK firms (75.4%) have dedicated risk or insurance departments, compared with just over two-thirds of companies globally (68.4%).

Rob Kemp, head of commercial risk at Aon UK, said: “The findings show that UK boards are adopting a more structured and data-driven approach to risk oversight.

”Many are using analytics and specialist insight to better understand emerging risks – particularly around technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) – as well as to balance innovation with regulatory and ethical considerations.”

Risk demands more 

The findings also revealed that UK organisations are also demonstrating a more mature approach to quantifying and managing risk.

It showed that nearly seven in 10 (68.8%) measure their total cost of insurable risk – compared to 54% globally – while 75% currently operate or plan to establish a captive insurance vehicle.

UK businesses are also more likely to rely on brokers to identify major risks, with 78.3% doing so in comparison to 55.7% globally.

Kemp added: “The risks businesses face today demand more than incremental change.

”They call for leaders to view resilience as a source of competitive advantage – harnessing data and analytics to anticipate disruption and enabling them to act decisively in protecting and growing their organisations.” 

The survey gathered insights from nearly 3,000 executives across 63 countries and 16 industries to provide a comprehensive view of the world’s shifting risk landscape.