Top three predictions for risk management in 2019

What are the opportunities and threats for risk managers in the year ahead and how big are they going to be?

Unlike in past decades, mitigating risks in 2019 is going to be a different ball game, according to Anviti Insurance Brokers CEO Rakesh Malik. The landscape of risk, he noted, is changing at a pace that far supersedes previous times.

The insurance boss, in an article with Business World, outlined his top three predictions impacting the insurance industry based on the changing landscape of 2018:

Rise in frequency and magnitude of risks. Malik wrote: “We witnessed catastrophic floods that hit Kerala, which displaced so many more people than any other disaster did in 2018. This year, we saw high-impact hurricanes, extreme temperatures, and the drastic rise in CO2 emissions. Human beings have been pushing the planet to the brink and the damage is becoming evident and is projected to rise in the coming years.

“In the last 13-year history of the ‘Global Risks Report’ published by World Economic Forum, environmental risks have grown in prominence, and this trend continued in the latest GRPS 13th edition.”

Insuring data will become mainstream. He stated: “One of the greatest threats that has surfaced as a result of technology disruption is the vulnerability to cyberattacks. Cybersecurity risks are growing both in their prevalence and in their disruptive potential with attacks against businesses having almost doubled in five years, according to the World Economic Forum.”

The CEO highlighted the need for cyber liability insurance as he pointed to increased and more serious consequences including breach of critical infrastructure, strategic industrial sectors, and national security.

CItizen-centric initiatives under review. Malik noted: “According to a survey conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms based on a larger cross-country sample in 2017, healthcare is among the top priorities for… voters.

“On the surface, it may look familiar to risk managers, but when one takes a closer look, many new driving factors will be revealed like those that are transforming traditional risks, adding urgency and complexity to old challenges,” he added. “In conclusion, it is certain that we live in uncertain times and the value of managing and transferring risk is higher.”