Severe weather events have a bigger impact on Australian businesses than on those in other parts of the world, a new survey has revealed.

It says 85% of Australian-based companies had a supply chain disruption in the past year, with the most common cause – in 73% of cases – being adverse weather.

IT or communications breakdowns accounted for 41% of business disruptions, and outsourcing failures 32%.

The global survey by the UK-based Business Continuity Institute was conducted for Zurich to measure threats to business continuity and supply chain management.

It found only 7% of respondents globally can confidently state that all their key suppliers have business continuity arrangements.

Zurich Australia General Insurance EGM Corporate Daniel Fogarty says Australian businesses are increasingly susceptible to supply chain disruptions, with last year’s Queensland floods highlighting the issue.

“Disruption to the supply chain lasted well past the time in which the floodwaters receded,” he said.

He says the interconnected nature of world supply chains means that Australian businesses are not immune to the fallout from disasters thousands of kilometres away.

“With the increasing frequency and intensity of major catastrophes worldwide, these events are becoming more globally significant as their impact spreads,” Mr Fogarty said.

The survey says that more than two-thirds of the Australian businesses questioned need to activate their business contingency plans at least once last year.