CAS/SOA Release Mid-Year 2025 Emerging Risks Survey Snapshot

The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the Society of Actuaries (SOA) jointly published findings from their mid-year emerging risks survey of risk managers. To keep current with the pace of change, this May 2025 flash survey supplements the 18th Annual Emerging Risks Survey conducted in November 2024. You can read the CAS Executive Summary of Key Findings of the November survey on the CAS website.

Top current risks shifted between the initial and flash surveys. Risk managers chose financial volatility as a current risk 24.1% more often than in November, raising it to the top of the list. Globalization shift was chosen 7.4% more often, lifting this risk to the third spot. Wars (including civil wars) remained the second most cited current risk, but its rate of being chosen decreased by 11.2%. Meanwhile, technology risks dropped significantly, and climate change remained in the top five current risks

Though respondents’ concerns about current risks have changed significantly since November 2024, their views of emerging risks remain relatively stable. However, the mid-year survey did uncover changes in the perceptions of some emerging risks. For example, Wars (including civil wars) declined by 3.9% from the top of the emerging risk list to seventh and financial volatility rose by 4.2% from sixth to second.

When asked about the most concerning risk scenarios, respondents listed economic slowdown most often, which is a significant change from previous years. On the other hand, the rate at which inflation was cited as a concern remains very similar to the previous surveys.

Sponsored by the CAS and SOA, the May 2025 flash survey was an online questionnaire and included 150 participants. Respondents’ area of practice included life, property and casualty and health insurance as well as pensions and risk management. The online questionnaire asked risk managers to rank current and emerging risks. The survey uses four categories to measure risks as perceived by risk managers: top current risk, top five emerging risks, top emerging risk and top emerging risk combinations.

Read the key findings report for more details and graphs.