Activists have a new target in their fight to effect change on social issues: insurers. How can risk management help the industry turn outrage into opportunity?

The insurance industry has come a long way when it comes to its approach to diversity and inclusion (D&I). Gone are the days when companies focused on D&I solely because of the social responsibility they felt.

Adjuster turnover is a persistent and pernicious problem across the insurance industry. When claims professionals switch accounts, leave companies, or exit the sector altogether, it leaves their employers, policyholders and carriers scrambling to reconnect the dots.

Data is a tricky balancing act: You need it to make sound decisions, but if the numbers become the be-all and end-all, it can lead to some pretty questionable corporate behaviors and leadership decisions.

The dumping of five candidates from Australia’s 2019 federal election for offensive social media posts served as a reminder of the damage that a poorly managed social media profile can do to a person’s career. An ill-timed comment, a thoughtless response, an opinion that you might change or an action you may come to regret later can’t be erased in a digital era, and so your social media profile can haunt and derail your career.

Many global companies from hotels and airlines to industrial houses are expected to have to foot the bill for disruptions caused by a new coronavirus in China, with epidemics usually excluded from insurance cover, experts said.

Much has been made in recent years of the need to attract more professionals and particularly those in their early career years to the insurance industry. Efforts that have coalesced around an annual #insurancecareersmonth in February are commendable, but they are hampered by a simple fact that should be acknowledged and addressed: “insurance” is a boring word.

The Institute of Risk Management (IRM) has announced the formation of the Climate Change Special Interest Group (CC SIG) for its members to better understand the risks associated with climate change.

2019 was a year of great opportunities and challenges in the insurance industry. While several significant trends impacted insurance in 2019, three in particular are likely to gain even more traction in 2020.

Each episode of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” opens with warnings of graphic adult material, violence, sexual content and nudity. If these items are not sufficient encouragement to view the full eight seasons, the 73 episodes also offer lessons about risk.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., citing rising worries about climate change, is limiting its insurance coverage of companies in the fossil fuel business.

Like the mountain climber who got stuck in the avalanche, reputational risk is often an area of risk management where trouble isn’t spotted until it’s already too late.

The US insurance industry posted M&A deals worth a total of $4.17 billion in the third quarter, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. That’s a 51.2% increase over Q2 and a 34.2% increase compared with the last four-quarter average of $3.11 billion.

For years, organizations have employed remote sensing technologies that obtain information about objects or areas from a distance—typically from aircraft or satellites—to assess impacts from natural disasters like hurricanes. But today, thanks to a convergence of factors, including a dramatic drop in remote sensing costs, greater availability of more detailed and abundant data, and advances in artificial intelligence, the technology is increasingly being used to mitigate property risks.

Victoria Robinson, head of marketing & communications at the Institute of Risk Management, discusses the importance for businesses to protect reputations as regulations and the social climate evolve.