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Unterföhring (dpa) - The corona crisis has obviously fundamentally changed the awareness of dangers of many managers around the globe: In the new Allianz risk barometer, pandemics have shot up from 17th to 2nd place compared to the previous year.

This is what the experts from the Munich-based industrial insurer AGCS determined in their annual survey of 2,769 experts on all kinds of corporate risks from 92 countries.

The poll was published on Tuesday.

In first place are business interruptions and third in hacker attacks, which were considered the greatest risk for companies in the previous year.

Managing directors and board members, risk managers, brokers and insurance experts were interviewed.

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"Business interruption, pandemic and cyber are closely linked and show the growing vulnerability of our highly globalized and networked world," said AGCS boss Joachim Müller.

In the spring, the Corona crisis led to factories coming to a standstill in many countries and the interruption of global supply chains.

Cyber ​​criminals also used the crisis to intensify their attacks.

The AGCS experts therefore speak of the "Covid-19 trio" at the top of corporate risks.

Otherwise, the global situation, which is generally perceived as uncertain, is also reflected in the survey: Among other things, «market changes» climbed up (4th place), behind which, among other things, lies concerns about a wave of bankruptcies.

Macroeconomic developments (8) and political violence (10) have also advanced.

Concern about the consequences of climate change for companies slipped a bit down from seventh to ninth.

AGCS boss Müller does not assume that the world situation will be much better again in the future: "While the pandemic continues to have a firm grip on many countries around the world, we have to adapt to more frequent extreme scenarios."

As examples, Müller cited “a global cloud failure or cyber attack, natural disasters due to climate change or even another epidemic outbreak”.

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The AGCS asks both internationally and in Germany.

The domestic risk ranking differs slightly from the international picture: In Germany, the security experts surveyed considered the risks of cyber attacks to be greater than the risk of a pandemic.

The Munich industrial insurers do not believe that climate change will permanently lose importance in the safety consciousness of companies: "With the implementation of the vaccination programs, the pandemic will become more manageable, and climate change will be a priority on the management agenda again in 2021," said Michael Bruch, Global Head of Sustainability Issues at AGCS.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210119-99-80877 / 2