Re/insurers are still finding that climate risk and cyber concerns are the top emerging risks, according to an annual survey of risk managers.
Climate change was at the top of the survey’s emerging risks, with 26% of respondents anonymously noting it as their main concern, cyber came in at second with 13% noting it as theirs.
Financial Volatility was noted as third with 10% of respondents
The 15th Annual Emerging Risk Survey is sponsored by the Joint Risk Management Section (JRMS) of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the Society of Actuaries (SOA).
The survey, which was completed in November 2021, included 153 participants and was mostly North America-based with 91% of its respondents reporting from there, with additional responses from Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.
Its results benefit risk managers by giving them a way to network anonymously with peers and share the new ways they are thinking about risk.
Report author Max Rudolph commented: “This survey report provides deep insight into what risk experts see as ones to watch in the near-term, including climate risk.”
Focusing on a single emerging risk, the survey found that climate risk ranks highest at 26%, followed by cyber risks, financial volatility, demographic shifts and disruptive technologies.
Risk managers also indicated that current risks on their minds include pandemics (27%), followed by climate risk and financial volatility.
Rudolph added: “It’s important to keep in mind this is a list of ‘emerging risks.’ Many risk managers were actively involved in creating pandemic plans from the business continuity perspective, and others participated in strong reactive plans that managed the impact and risks of the current COVID-19 pandemic.”
