The insurance industry said cyber attacks, terrorism and climate change are the biggest emerging risks in 2015, while new products and geographic markets present the best opportunities, according to a survey by risk and reinsurance specialist Guy Carpenter.
“Cyber attacks are one of the most serious economic and national security challenges facing not only the insurance industry, but governments and businesses around the world,” said Andrew Marcell, managing director and CEO of Guy Carpenter’s US operations, in a statement.
Forty percent of professionals polled ranked cyber attacks as the most threatening emerging risk, while 31 percent identified terrorism and 29 percent said climate change.
The poll of 111 industry professionals in late October also found the biggest perceived threats to plans for growth are undisciplined and unprofitable underwriting, regulatory and rating agency changes and global economic uncertainty.
Forty percent of those surveyed also said they believed the biggest opportunity to expand their business will be through new products, up from 24 percent in 2013. This is followed by new geographic markets (23 percent), which last year was ranked as the top response, new distribution channels (17 percent) and mergers and acquisitions (14 percent).
Similar to last year, 38 percent said that if given a blank check to invest in their firm, they would spend the additional resources on talent and retention. Bolstering information technology also remains a top priority for the industry with 37 percent of respondents commenting that they would allocate a blank check to this area of their business.
With relatively low insured catastrophe losses coming at the end of the Atlantic Hurricane season, only 19 percent of those surveyed cited catastrophe/non-cat losses as the leading threat to their plans for growth.
And, 82 percent said they saw “space risk” as the least threatening to the industry, the survey showed. This includes space debris hitting a satellite or solar fires affecting technologies.
