Welcome to our first Newsletter of 2023.
With the first three months of the year now in the rear view mirror, 2023 has yet to fully provide the fresh start many expected. Wider economic uncertainty persists, geopolitical tensions remain in many parts of the world and key supply chain questions remain unresolved. Following a winter of reinforcement and resupply, the crisis in Ukraine is potentially entering a new, crucial phase, of on-the-ground conflict and political brinkmanship. Alongside this, natural disasters continue across the globe with catastrophic impacts. The year started with heavy rains in New Zealand, Auckland receiving 75% of its typical summer rainfall in just 15 hours, followed by major earthquakes hitting Turkey and Syria in February. Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi have just been hit by Cyclone Freddy, maybe the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record.
Over the past few years, our research program has expanded and grown to respond to the challenges highlighted in the first few months of the year. As such, we are delighted to formally launch our 2023 WTW Research Network Annual Review, showcasing our wide portfolio of innovative and applied research and providing a chance for us to celebrate some of the work and partnerships underway. The 2023 version is our most comprehensive yet, providing insights and updates across our key areas of interest across Climate, Technology, People, Geopolitical and Organizational risk.
Over the next few weeks we are delighted to showcase a number of talks that illustrate how we continue to embed the research and insights derived with our partners into applied tools and analytics for our clients and colleagues. On Tuesday 4 April we build on work that has been done rethinking food and drink supply chains and exploring how food and drink business can mitigate water risks to explore the new political risks in the global food and beverage supply chain. On Tuesday 18 April we look at how the range of climate-related legal exposures facing companies has increased significantly in recent years, and provide insight on climate-related liability risk exposures and opportunities.
As always, please do get in touch with any questions or for more information on how we can support your conversations.
01
The WTW Research Network is an award-winning collaboration supporting and influencing science to improve the understanding and quantification of risk, with the aim to improve the resilience of our clients and society as a whole.
02
Climate change litigation presents a unique set of risks and opportunities to (re)insurers and they have struggled to assess climate litigation risk in the face of significant uncertainty.
Join WTW climate leaders alongside selected academia, civil society, analysts, insurers and sector experts on Tuesday 18 April at our Lime Street office in London for a cutting-edge discussion on climate-related liability risk exposures and opportunities
03
WTW’s latest Political Risk report spotlights the food and beverage sector, looking at how the global supply chain has been reshaped by the conflict in Ukraine and the potential impact of a resurgence in the world food crisis. On Tuesday 4 April we explore the new geopolitical challenges facing agribusiness, commodity traders, and manufacturers and predict what new risks might be on the horizon.
04
After a serious natural disaster, whilst hazard & risk advisory industries work to determine causes & understand scientific implications, it’s vital to assess human factors which contributed to physical destruction and loss of life.
05
The path to net zero for the aviation sector is a complex yet necessary challenge that no single stakeholder can solve on their own. A whole host of different measures are required to overhaul both the direct and indirect emissions produced by the entire aviation system (aircraft manufactures, airlines, and airports)
06
With an increase in the use of AI throughout multiple industries, the insurance industry today stands on the edge of large-scale adoption of the technology. This work with the University of Warwick provides an approach to understanding how emerging and state-of-the-art AI technologies can be used to reduce risks and better the security posture of an organization.
07
The complex, interrelated nature of extreme events has the potential to turn otherwise moderate events into disasters. How will climate change alter the (inter)dependency between individual and interrelated hazards?
08
Growth is not simply driven by population but also productivity and there are clear ways in which countries can continue to grow despite population challenges.
09
What would life be like if we knew exactly when an earthquake would take place, when a heatwave might send thermometers soaring or a hurricane or storm may surge?
1 WTW and MAR Fund reef insurance programme pays out to finance restoration after Hurricane Lisa
2 Renewable Energy Market Review 2023
3 Explaining the Fed’s climate test
4 Industry-academia collaboration: new ways of thinking about risk with Reuters Insight
5 The new political risks in the global food and beverage supply chain
6 Leisure and hospitality: Your roadmap to future growth
7 Political Risk Index: Winter 2022/23
8 2023 Global Supply Chain Risk Report
