Many businesses consider themselves to be well prepared to survive a crisis when actually they are not at all, an expert has told a conference.

Dennis Murphy, spokesman for Allianz Global Corporate, a risk consultancy, made his comments to the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (Airmic) yearly conference, the Post Online reports.

Mr Murphy warned that eight in ten businesses which suffer a major disaster actually go out of business and urged firms to look beyond the "first 48 hours" when planning to cope with a disruptive disaster.

"If you lose a customer through business interruption, there's no guarantee you'll get them back. We can replace your buildings and your hardware but it's less easy to rebuild your reputation," he added.

Earlier at the conference, Peter Shaw of Crawford & Company told delegates risk managers should understand the way their insurers work and build good relationships with adjusters.

This, he explained, will allow all parties to work together should a serious incident occur.