ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from a risk management perspective. Risks are categorised under a number of headings, including natural hazards, diseases, major accidents and malicious attacks, and the register is used to assist both central and local government planning for a major emergency. Both of the financial services companies fail to mention such a risk in their report, even though the economic impact on business and personal customers could be huge. One possible way of managing the risk is to offload the uncertainty by taking out insurance against business interruption, but although the UK government declared it a notifiable disease and forced businesses to close from 16 March 2020, many policy holders have found their claims under COVID-19 rejected. The COVID-19 pandemic has proved extremely challenging for both individuals and organisations, not only because its effects have been so widespread and painful but also because it hit so unexpectedly and rapidly.
