A pandemic or other major health crisis was not a top-10 risk for 82% of firms globally before the COVID-19 outbreak, while the Asia-Pacific region was the most prepared, an Aon survey has found.

Prior to COVID-19, 52% of Asia-Pacific respondents had a pandemic plan in place, compared with 31% in North America and less than 30% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.

The report, Reprioritising Risk and Resilience for a Post COVID-19 Future, says the outbreak has shown that it will be vital for businesses to reprioritise risk and to innovate and explore new strategies.

“There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic will permanently change the way companies operate,” Aon Australia Specialties MD Jennifer Richards says.

“Our research shows that protecting people and assets emerged as a top concern, with many companies focused on well-being, operational resilience and the retention of key people.”

More than half of companies report that they expect COVID-19 will continue to impact their business a year from now.

“There is a long way to go before we are in the ‘post-COVID era’, but as we move towards a recovery phase, companies must now ask what risk management and resilience should look like going forward,” Aon Global Risk Consulting CEO Rory Moloney says.

Among top priorities are the new and accelerated use of technology, redeploying resources, workforce planning and rethinking the future of work, the report says.

The web-based survey was conducted in the last quarter of 2020 and completed by more than 500 participants from organisations of various sizes in 41 countries.