This year’s emerging risk insights reflect the uncertainty currently shaping the global risk landscape of the insurance industry, including geopolitical tensions, volatile financial markets and technological innovations such as generative AI.

The world undergoes constant change, and this gives rise to what we term “emerging risks”. These are new and changing risks that are difficult to quantify, yet can have significant impact on the insurance industry.

Swiss Re identifies emerging risks by gathering signals and feedback from underwriters, client managers, risk experts and others across the organisation, and also from external specialists and research institutions. With the annual SONAR report, published since 2013, we aim to foster dialogue with all stakeholders to better understand and manage emerging risks.

The 2023 SONAR report features 13 new emerging risk themes and four emerging trend spotlights. The emerging risk themes are potential new or changing risks, with both downside risks and upside potential for the insurance industry. The “trend spotlight” items highlight contextual developments…