Airmic Annual Survey 2021: Our world has changed forever

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Risks associated with the pandemic have changed the risk profile of the world.

While the disease and pandemics don’t make it into the top five risks of the 2021 Airmic survey, risk connectivity means that every risk in the Airmic top ten has been and continues to be touched by the pandemic and its systemic effect.

Fuelled by technology, the speed of the shift to a virtual economy during 2020 and into 2021 has encouraged organisations to examine their purpose and their core business model, and how they deliver their products and services. We already knew that walking the digital road was not an option – now we are sprinting.

Given the fact that material consequences continue to emerge after Brexit, should we be surprised that supply chain features at number four? The answer is no – as with the ‘pandemic effect’, the ‘Brexit effect’ continues to touch many other risks, albeit its visibility is lower until the immediacy of these risks fly in our face. Mix the pandemic with Brexit, and there is a heady cocktail of connected risks.

The top front-of-mind risks continue to focus on the resilience of infrastructure and the value of reputation. There is the tip of a people risk iceberg, as concerns about mental health risks and musculoskeletal risks surface.