The Insurance Response to Growing Geopolitical Risk

Business leaders in the U.S. and the U.K. are increasingly insecure about their organizations' ability to respond to geopolitical risks such as war or inflation, according to a 2022 survey. What are some of their top geopolitical concerns? The ongoing war in Ukraine, NATO relations, cyberattacks, U.S.-China relations, climate risk, and energy insecurity are among the issues that continue to have widespread economic implications. And here is some more sobering news for insurance and risk advisors: Mass shootings in the U.S. have become "downright commonplace," according to one of the country's major news outlets. The U.S. saw 690 mass shootings in 2021; 647 of them in 2022; and 476 active shooter events as of Aug. 29, 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This is the environment in which Andrew Umphress was recently appointed head of terrorism for North America at Markel. There, he will help an already seasoned global underwriting team as well as the firm's clients assess and navigate risks in the evolving war, terrorism, and political violence landscape. Umphress recently appeared on the Insurance Speak podcast to talk about the evolving geopolitical landscape and how it touches the insurance world.