The CRO Forum’s Emerging Risk Initiative continually scans the horizon to identify and communicate emerging risks facing the insurance industry which are expected to have a significant impact on the insurance sector within 1 to 10 years. Emerging Risks are risks which may newly develop or which already exist and are continuously evolving. They are characterised by a high degree of uncertainty in terms of impacts and likelihood and may have a substantial potential impact on underwriting, investments and/or operations of an insurance company.

The following new risks have been added to the Radar in 2023:

  • Energy Storage Systems: In the context of the green energy transition and attempts to decrease fossil fuel dependencies also in light of geopolitical conflict and tension, large-scale energy storage systems are taking central stage in the global economy.
  • Data Ethics: The legal landscape and related ethical implications around data privacy are complex and in constant evolution. Combined with growing customer awareness and the increased integration of technology into everyday life, this raises questions about equal access to digital resources, data security and ethics.
  • New Insurance Competition: The traditional role of insurers is impacted by value chain disintermediation, embedded insurance products and services offerings, and Big Tech companies providing advanced digital capabilities/ecosystems/interaction with customers. Besides being a threat, insurers may as well benefit from their digital and communication capabilities by entering into partnerships.

The following changes were made to risks that were already included in 2022:

  • Endocrine Disruptors merged into Hazardous Chemicals and Small Particles.
  • Monetary Policies, Socio-economic Inequalities and Growth of Leverage merged into Global Debt Crisis.
  • Passive Investments has been removed.

We hope you find the report useful and welcome your comments and feedback.

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