While the economy appears to be showing signs of tentative improvement, research conducted by business insurance specialist, QBE, reveals that over a third (40%) of businesses in the telecoms and media sector consider their trading environment to be riskier now than six months ago.
The research, conducted among 400 businesses across the UK, found that the majority (52%) of businesses in the telecoms and media sector are taking risks now that they wouldn’t have taken two years ago in order to win new business. The increased tolerance to risk in the sector reflects an overall shift in attitude towards risk taking in the UK (54% of the 400 businesses surveyed revealed an increased acceptance of risk).
Encouragingly, the elevated level of risk taking amongst telecoms and media companies is accompanied by a high level of risk management performance. The vast majority of businesses surveyed in the sector indicated a planned approach to risk management with only 18% agreeing with the statement that their risk management performance over the last 2 – 3 years was ‘as much by chance as by judgement or design’.
Matthew Crane, Managing Director UK & Ireland at QBE commented “There is always a degree of risk involved in doing business. However our research shows that economic circumstances are forcing businesses in the telecoms and media sector to expose themselves to higher levels of risk. While fortune can favour the bold, businesses should be considering how to manage these increased levels of risk. I would urge companies to consult with their insurer to explore ways of mitigating the potential impact of these increased exposures.”