AON UK LIMITED

Their core work

Aon is one of the world's largest insurance broking and risk management firms, headquartered in London. Within H2020 projects, they contribute deep industry expertise in risk quantification, catastrophe modelling, and insurance-sector perspectives on disaster and cyber threats. Their role is to bridge academic risk research with real-world insurance and reinsurance applications, helping consortia ground their frameworks in how risk is actually priced and managed commercially. They bring market data, proprietary risk models, and end-user validation from the insurance industry into research collaborations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Aon's H2020 involvement began with cyber security risk (WISER, 2015-2017), then shifted decisively toward natural hazard and disaster risk management. From 2018 onward, their projects focused on seismic risk (URBASIS) and multi-hazard systemic risk frameworks (MYRIAD-EU), suggesting a strategic pivot toward climate and disaster resilience. The common thread across all periods is risk quantification — what changed is the domain of application, moving from digital threats to physical and compound natural hazards.

Aon is moving toward compound and cascading natural hazard risk modelling, positioning them as an industry partner for climate adaptation and disaster resilience research.

How they like to work

Aon never leads H2020 consortia — they join as a participant or third party, contributing industry expertise rather than driving research agendas. With 40 unique partners across 14 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia where their role is to provide real-world validation and commercial risk perspectives. This makes them a low-maintenance, high-value partner: they bring domain credibility and end-user insight without competing for scientific leadership.

Despite only 3 projects, Aon has connected with 40 unique partners across 14 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of climate and security research. Their network spans broadly across Europe with no obvious geographic concentration beyond their UK base.

What sets them apart

Aon is one of very few global insurance and reinsurance firms participating directly in H2020 research. This gives them a unique position: they can validate risk frameworks against actual insurance market data and commercial catastrophe models that academic partners cannot access. For any consortium needing an industry end-user in risk management, disaster modelling, or climate adaptation, Aon brings immediate credibility and a direct pathway to market adoption through the insurance sector.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MYRIAD-EU
  Large-scale multi-hazard risk framework project (2021-2025) where Aon received all of its recorded H2020 funding, indicating their deepest engagement.
• WISER
  Early entry into H2020 through cyber security risk, showing Aon's breadth beyond natural catastrophe modelling.
• URBASIS
  Marie Skłodowska-Curie training network on urban seismology — unusual for a private company to participate in researcher training, signalling commitment to the field.