Poor employee health has overtaken IT and telecoms outages to become the most frequent cause of disruption to businesses globally, according to the latest global survey of 665 businesses by the British Standards Institution and the Business Continuity Institute in their ninth annual Horizon Scan Report.

According to research from Pool Re, 43% of businesses surveyed after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 did not have any continuity, disaster recovery or crisis plan in place.

The Financial Conduct Authority has said it expects all firms to have contingency plans in place to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, as it would any major event, and, along with the Bank of England and the Treasury, is working with a number of firms to assess operational risks and business continuity measures.

The government has today published its official coronavirus action plan. With the current focus on containing the spread, the next stage of the plan involves delaying the outbreak until warmer months to avoid overlapping with seasonal flu and other winter pressures on the NHS.

Crises Control has created a series of pandemic response toolkits to help its customers prepare their own businesses to mitigate and respond to the potential disruptions presented by the COVID-19 outbreak.

As the spread of the virus continues globally, interrupting supply chains along the way, Marsh has issued a four-step action plan to help organisations prevent, respond and recover.

The recent and quite rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) throughout China has become a cause for concern in global markets. Domestic demand in China, where the outbreak is at its most concentrated, has already been affected.

Chubb has launched a new insurance package aimed at bridging gaps in traditional terrorism business interruption policies. Non Damage Terrorism Solutions is a single policy offering non damage business interruption, with employee and customer care assistance as a result of a terrorism loss. The policy also provides event cancellation coverage following an act or threat of terrorism, including an extension for War.

How are changes in modern working practices impacting the need for, and demands of, work area recovery in the UK? Ant Gould examines the provision of WAR and the impact of recent developments on the market and its providers

The ongoing migrant crisis poses an array of potential problems for international businesses. Addressing weak links in a supply chain – and the looming additional threat of climate change migration – may require new approaches, writes Martin Allen

Business continuity and disaster recovery provider Databarracks has bid farewell to Windows 7 with a Viking funeral. After 10 years, Windows 7 support ends tomorrow, 14th January 2020.

Will 2020 remain a period of change and instability, and will that bring significant challenges? I believe it will, and there are many drivers for this.

My prediction for 2020 is that we will see a rise in the regularity and impact of climate change protests. This protest movement is here to stay and will only get more regular and more militant as the climate emergency deepens over time. From a resilience point of view, organisations will need to review their risk assessments. Recognise any threat of being targeted because of how your business might impact on climate change, and consider the possibility of being caught up in a protest occurring in your area (in particular if you have offices in a large city), or affecting a supplier. The internet and social media make protests easier to organise and easier to target specific organisations.

Confidence among business leaders in organisational resilience has fallen for the first time since 2017, according to figures from the BSI, which concludes that businesses are struggling to adapt to new technology amid political and economic uncertainty.

Dealing with unknowns is part of the territory as a risk manager – it is integral to the job. But the level of uncertainty surrounding the possible outcomes and timings of Brexit is proving a huge challenge for even the most seasoned risk professionals. The range of scenarios businesses must prepare for is vast. This is a huge operational challenge first and foremost, but it is also proving an obstacle to getting senior management buy-in. As such, some of our members report that the lack of clarity is making it hard to get businesses to engage with – and allocate budget for – the potential impact of Brexit on their firms.