Geopolitical volatility ranked number nine on the list of top-10 current risks concerning global businesses in 2025—a 30-place climb since 2019—according to Aon’s 2025 Global Risk Management Survey, to which nearly 3,000 business leaders across 63 countries responded. Climate change and natural disasters have also reached their highest-ever ranking, reflecting a significant shift in organizational risk priorities influenced primarily by four megatrends transforming the landscape: technology, trade, weather, and workforce changes.
The top risks are systemic and closely interconnected, the report notes. “Technology risks intersect with workforce dynamics and challenges in adopting artificial intelligence (AI). Geopolitical instability affects supply chains, influences the regulatory landscape, and has an impact on balance sheets. Climate change is a force that intensifies all of these and more.”
Despite the stakes and magnitude of these risks, the survey found that only 14% of respondents quantify their exposure to the top-10 risks, and 19% use analytics to evaluate the value of their insurance program, limiting their ability to respond to threats. The report emphasizes a focus on resilience among business leaders, as “traditional risk strategies and frameworks, designed for more predictable environments and isolated risks, are insufficient.” As a result, organizations must instead adopt “dynamic, integrated, and scenario-driven planning” that considers how these risks interconnect to affect areas of the business simultaneously and help leaders prioritize and invest accordingly.
Although the risks pose threats, the report notes, they also open the door to opportunities to focus on strategy, data and analytics, and resiliency in decision making.
Geopolitical Risk
Geopolitical volatility’s dramatic change in place reflects ongoing conflicts across regions, political fragmentation, and shifting trade alliances, “with direct implications for supply chains, regulatory environments, and financial performance,” states the report.
The right strategy, however, can turn volatility into strategic advantage. The report recommends turning disruption into growth, building supply chain resilience, and building financial resilience to turn this risk into an opportunity. According to Aon, forward-thinking business leaders are moving from reactive measures to proactive strategies, including “embedding real-time analytics, scenario planning, and systemic thinking into every function; monitoring global events to identify new markets, form strategic partnerships, and diversify operations; strengthening supply chain agility and preparing for regulatory changes and unplanned supplier interruption; and using risk capital solutions to offset balance sheet exposure, including coverage for property and risk transit, parametric solutions and credit solutions for increased cost of replacement supply.”
Technology Risk
“Organizations that integrate cyber awareness into their culture and strategic planning use AI for both cyber defense and innovation and implement comprehensive business continuity plans that are better equipped to create value and sustain resilience,” states the report. “Many organizations are reassessing the function of risk capital to protect their investments in technology to remain competitive in the evolving landscape of AI.”
All in all, cyber incidents have risen 22% in 2025, according to Aon’s Cyber Risk Report. “The swift adoption of generative AI, automation, and digital platforms is disrupting business models and amplifying both the scale and complexity of threats beyond IT departments to every part of the enterprise,” states the report. The organizations that view AI as a current issue rather than a future one have the advantage if they are forward-thinking about risk management, the report suggests; however, it is crucial to avoid rushing to implement untested solutions to avoid vulnerability to cyberattacks.
Aon advises using AI technology to drive innovation and efficiency; position cyber resilience as a strategic advantage; and leverage risk quantification for informed capital allocation.
Climate Risk
Climate change and weather and natural disasters have reached their highest-ever survey rankings at 16 and 13, respectively. As natural disasters and severe weather events continue to drive up costs due to supply chain disruption, property damage, and business interruption, organizations are recognizing that climate change is a present issue rather than a future one. “Escalating weather-related losses, estimated at $100 billion in insured damages in the first half of 2025—the highest since 2011—are straining balance sheets and exposing vulnerabilities in supply chains, operations, and infrastructure,” states the report.
Aon notes that many organizations continue to rely on outdated models that fail to capture future probabilities, leaving them vulnerable. As a result, integrating climate resilience into strategy, investment, and operations is essential to mitigate risk.
Opportunity avails in moving beyond compliance to strategic value; treating climate as a risk amplifier, not just a category; and breaking down silos to elevate risk and sustainability, according to the report.
Workforce: An Overlooked Risk
Despite being one of the most common sources of financial loss for insurance companies, workforce-related risks were underrated in the survey—not even making the top 20 on the list of concerns. However, absenteeism, rising healthcare costs, succession planning, and competition for AI talent are all pressing issues. “Business uncertainty has led to cautious hiring and slowed recruitment cycles, while rising healthcare costs are placing pressure on [human resources (HR)] budgets.” For insurers, as workforce pressures continue to mount, these risks affect areas such as workers’ comp, disability, and health claims.
The report advises that opportunity lies in optimizing workforce investment; future-proofing talent strategy; and embedding culture into risk strategy.
What Sets High-Resilience Organizations Apart?
There are several factors that set high-resilience risk organizations apart from the others, according to the report. “Their risk maturity has grown from operational to strategic; they see risk as a function that can drive strategic value by optimizing the allocation of capital through risk transfer, risk retention, and risk management, rather than treating it simply as a cost of doing business; they manage risk holistically. Interconnected risks—geopolitical, financial, digital, environment—can’t be managed in isolation; they value insight not hindsight.” Investment in analytics, scenario modeling, correlation analysis and real-time intelligence to predict rather than just react are crucial for optimizing resilience.
Aon recommends investing in actionable analytics and scenario modeling; monitoring trends with Horizon Scanning and Key Risk Indicators; and aligning insurance strategy with enterprise risk priorities; and quantifying exposures. As a result, claims leaders can turn risk into a competitive advantage that sets organizations apart from others that are still relying on older models of operation.