Vision 2020: Airmic’s analysis on future of risk management

The business environment is moving at an extraordinary pace, giving rise to more complex liabilities and leaving organisations uncertain about how to approach key issues such as threat monitoring, governance and cybersecurity, a five-part analysis of Airmic’s 2019 member survey has revealed.

The reports stress that the interconnected nature of today’s risks make greater collaboration—both internally and externally—a necessity. The series is part of Airmic’s study on the future of risk management, titled Risk Management: Vision 2020.

The reports were produced by Airmic in collaboration with Control Risks, Willis Towers Watson, AIG, QBE and KPMG.

A report titled Threat monitoring, produced by Airmic in collaboration with Control Risks, examined how the external threats facing organisations over the next three years are becoming more complex, increasingly intangible, and harder to manage.

However, there is a gap in how these risks are being addressed: only a third of respondents believe threat monitoring is integrated and valued in their organisation. This report argues that a good threat intelligence programme will not only help manage these risks but generate new opportunities by identifying areas for strategic innovation.

Another report, produced by Airmic in collaboration with Willis Towers Watson, looked at the threat geopolitics presents to organisations. Boards report that geopolitics is their number one concern and, more than any other megatrend, Airmic members believe geopolitical tensions will become harder to manage over the next three years.

Tackling this risk, however, is proving daunting: less than half of respondents expressed confidence in their own understanding.

Another report, produced in collaboration with AIG, looked at governance and the value of boardroom engagement. The risks to, and scrutiny of, directors and officers are intensifying, making strong governance more important than ever.

Despite this, only 14 percent of Airmic members are confident that their directors have read and understood their D&O policy, and the report lays bare some of the common myths about D&O policies.

Airmic worked with QBE to produce a report called Turning data into information, which looked at the fact that, while the risk and insurance industry is embracing new data and analytical tools, the approach is largely sporadic and rarely joined up, and few standards are being developed.

With KPMG Airmic produced a report on emerging risks, which argues that closer collaboration and deeper ties between insurer and insured are urgently needed to transform insurance for tomorrow’s risks.

This report paints a stark picture about the challenges faced by insurers and policyholders in a world dominated by intangible assets. Risk professionals and insurers must focus on protecting such assets or risk a decline in relevance, it warns.

Insurers will need to provide more bespoke services, it notes, while businesses must do more to understand and share information about their own risk profile.