Cyber still leads, but geopolitical volatility ranks as a top 10 risk for the first time: Aon

By Erin Ayers, Front Page News

While cyber risks, business interruption, and economic slowdowns still top the list of business leaders’ concerns, geopolitical volatility jumped into the top 10 for the first time, according to Aon’s annual Global Risk Management Survey.

Aon surveyed nearly 3,000 risk managers and C-level executives in 63 countries and found geopolitical volatility skyrocketed in significance, rising 12 places since 2023 (and nearly 30 since 2019) to land at number nine on the 2025 list of pressing concerns.

“The dramatic rise of trade and geopolitical risk in our rankings highlights a new reality – global volatility and uncertainty are now constants in business. These forces have tangible consequences for clients’ balance sheets,” said Joe Peiser, CEO of commercial risk for Aon, in a statement. “These forces have tangible consequences for clients’ financial performance. From new tariffs to shifting alliances, businesses must recognize that volatility is here to stay—treating risk as a strategic advantage means embedding real-time analytics, scenario planning, and systemic thinking into every function to transform resilience from a siloed response into an enterprise-wide capability.”

Rounding out the current top 10 are regulatory/legislative changes; increasing competition; commodity price risk/scarcity of materials; supply chain failure; reputational damage; and cash flow/liquidity risk. Aon also compiled the top 10 “future risks” as part of the survey. By 2028, respondents expect geopolitical volatility to be an even more prevalent risk, along with artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change.

“With 2024 marking the hottest year on record and global insured catastrophe losses exceeding $145 billion, leaders are increasingly treating climate as a systemic business risk,” Aon said.

Cyber threats held the top risk spot in this year’s survey and are expected to remain the most prominent risk in the future, with the adoption of AI technologies and digital platforms serving to enhance the overall risk.

“The scale and complexity of cyber risk today is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Brent Rieth, global cyber leader for Aon. “Our clients are increasingly using AI both defensively and offensively, to enhance resilience and unlock growth. The key is embedding cyber into board-level strategy, investing in quantification, and viewing resilience as a competitive differentiator.”

Just 13% say they have fully quantified their cyber exposure. Aon warned this gap in understanding could lead to underinsurance.

Aon flagged one concerning trend – risks tied to attracting talent dropped from the top 10 entirely, falling from fourth place in 2023.

“It’s worrying to see workforce risks slip down the rankings when human capital challenges remain deeply connected to every aspect of business resilience,” said Lisa Stevens, chief administrative officer for Aon. “When you look at the top ten risks in this year’s survey – cyber threats, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical volatility – they all have a direct impact on the workforce. Treating these risks as isolated issues is risk itself.”

Managing Editor Erin Ayers can be reached at erin.ayers@zywave.com