Pandemics – Addressing a Growing Threat to Businesses in Asia

Published on the 20th January 2020

For much of the past few weeks, headlines around the region have been dominated by the novel coronavirus, also known as Wuhan pneumonia. Despite advances in medicine and improved infection control practices, this developing outbreak along with the swine flu and Zika pandemics in the last decade stand as stark reminders of the dangers posed by rapidly spreading disease.

Although public health officials must lead much of the preventive and curative work needed to limit the effects of infectious diseases, organizations can manage their own risk by planning their response to protect their people and fiscal integrity. To effectively respond to these threats, businesses should take a two-pronged approach: establishing preparedness strategies and reviewing their insurance coverage.

Our report identifies the main challenges that organizations will face during a health crisis and looks at the different actions that risk professionals should take to mitigate these risks. The report looks at industry-specific impacts on health care, education, hospitality and restaurants, and marine industries and highlights the need to develop clearly defined pandemic response escalation thresholds and resilient business continuity programs.

Please contact your Marsh representative to discuss how your organization can prepare for and respond to the impact of the still developing outbreak.