Welcome to the Q3 2021 edition of the Willis Research Network (WRN) Newsletter.
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment report made clear that natural catastrophes, including tropical cyclones, heavy rainfall, heat waves and droughts, are likely to become more frequent and widespread in the future and, in some cases, more intense. It also concluded that the scale of human-induced climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying, with some impacts potentially irreversible. The far-reaching impacts of climate related risk continues to dominate thoughts and discussions, and in our latest newsletter we focus on a number of articles that highlight the role collaborative approaches can play in trying to develop an understanding and resilience to these extremes.
Alongside our natural catastrophe research we have been developing an increasing number of projects in people, technology and emerging risks. In the summer we launched a new report focussing on how interconnected trends have developed, and have been accelerated, for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector and highlighted the issues that need tackling in a post-pandemic world. We are also delighted to announce the launch of an Emerging Risks report based on an extensive survey of insurance and corporate executives, researchers and academic partners to gauge uncertainty and provide a starting point on thinking about risk interconnectivity.
As always, we hope that this update is useful, and welcome your feedback on this and the wider work of the Willis Research Network.
Hélène Galy
Managing Director
Willis Research Network
01
One of the most asked questions in the catastrophe modelling community right now is “how does climate change impact flood risk?”. With a further push from the regulators, everybody is looking for guidance.
02
Breakthrough technology by Willis Research Network member Cloud to Street enables insurers to better analyse flood risk and offer new types of flood coverage.
03
The link between the planet's warming and changing weather patterns is widely accepted. However, soaring arctic temperatures threaten more extreme shocks to the world’s weather sooner than thought.
04
Dr Tina Thomson sets out how the re/insurance sector already has the tools to help businesses identify, quantify and manage climate risk, and how they can be extended to climate resilience transition.
05
A new report from WRN and Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania reveal how essential technology and digital/digitalization requirements have become to the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sector central nervous system and how new and emerging technologies are rapidly altering the risk reality for companies across most industries.
06
Climate change, Cyber risks / Cyber business interruption, and Antimicrobial resistance are the top three emerging risks that are most underappreciated and in need of greater understanding, according to a new Willis Towers Watson survey of more than 140 risk professionals as part of the WRN 15 year anniversary conference.
07
Following the launch of the Mesoamerican Reef Insurance Program, this article shows how the tools and techniques of insurance can contribute practical solutions to protect our critical ecosystems.
08
The threat of pandemics has never been more visible. Now is the time to raise awareness of Avian Influenza (AI) and how scenario-based thinking and expert partnerships can be used to explore the impacts.
The Willis Research Network: 15 years of Science for Resilience
Slides and presentations from our recent 15 year anniversary conference remain available on our campaign site available here In particular, our spotlight series of short interviews with our Academic partners offers fascinating insights to understand their motivations working with Willis Towers Watson. A collection of these interviews is available via the link below.
Spotlight Series keyboard_arrow_right
