The New Shape of Risk — Insights From the Third EY/IIF Insurance Risk Survey
In this episode of the Global Regulatory Update podcast, host Melanie Idler, Policy Advisor at the IIF, speaks with EY's Stuart Doyle, U.S. Insurance Risk and Regulation Leader, and Rasika Karnik, U.S. Insurance Risk Senior Manager, about the findings of the third annual EY–IIF Global Insurance Risk Management Survey, which examines how insurance chief risk officers are navigating a rapidly evolving global risk landscape. Drawing on insights from more than 100 CROs and senior risk executives, the discussion explores how insurers are operating in a nonlinear, accelerated, volatile, and interconnected (NAVI) risk environment, where risks materialize faster, spread more widely, and interact in increasingly complex ways. The guests examine how this is reshaping the role of the CRO, with greater expectations for real-time insights, forward-looking analysis, and deeper integration into business decision-making. They highlight the continued dominance of cyber risk as the top near-term concern, alongside the growing importance of strategic risk, reflecting the expanding remit of risk leaders as organizations respond to geopolitical shifts, technological disruption, and market change. The conversation also focuses on how insurers are adapting their operating models and capabilities. AI and advanced analytics are moving from experimentation into core risk functions, driving both efficiency gains and new governance challenges, while prompting a shift toward capability-driven risk teams rather than simple headcount growth. At the same time, CROs are balancing near-term pressures with longer-term risks such as climate transition, data privacy and ethics, and evolving global financial dynamics, requiring more adaptive skill sets and a broader, more strategic approach to risk management. Together, these themes underscore a fundamental transition: from managing risk as a control function to positioning it as a central driver of resilience, insight, and decision-making across the insurance enterprise.




