How Risk Management Has Changed in an Era of Complexity, Speed, and Noise

Risk management has transformed into a high-stakes balancing act defined by three intertwined dynamics: complexity, speed, and noise. These now shape structure, priorities, partnerships, and leadership behaviors.

“There is no playbook for risk managers who are forced to adapt to this new environment, but there are consistent approaches that are used among the highest-performing risk programs,” said Mark Walls, Chief Marketing Officer at Safety National. “Programs that succeed in 2026 and beyond may be rebuilt for cross-functional collaboration, real-time decision-making, disciplined communication, and people-first leadership, while staying agile to constant pivots.”

Here, we review how the function has changed and what lies ahead for risk management programs.

Complexity: The Expanded Risk Universe

Risks such as global market volatility, cyber exposures, fragile supply chains, nuclear verdicts, mass tort activity, AI, climate pressures, geopolitics, and social movements now overlap and cascade, creating a complex web of interconnected risks. As organizations expand into new markets and regions, they encounter unfamiliar jurisdictions, ownership structures, and customer behaviors, which can alter loss patterns and expectations. The liability environment is also in flux as claim severity and litigation dynamics escalate, changing historical loss expectations and budgeting norms.

To reduce surprises, insurers are asking deeper, more frequent questions and maintaining continuous underwriting conversations. With black swans moving into active consideration, organizations should prioritize planning around them. Breaking silos may improve outcomes because these exposures touch HR, finance, security, legal, and operations.

Speed: From Cycles to Real Time

Expectations from the C-suite have changed, as executives and the board expect near real-time assessments, decisions, and briefings. Quarterly risk reports have shifted to rolling dashboards that are refreshed weekly. The volume of reporting has also changed. Digital intake, global operations, and increased stakeholder visibility result in more incidents, queries, and data streams being sent to teams instantly. Rapid workforce contractions and expansions, particularly for the claims adjuster role, have led to newer teams handling more complex exposures, which can result in more frequent errors and inconsistent experiences for the injured workers.

Stability in adapting to this pace requires automation, elimination, and delegation of tasks that are tethered to a mission. This mission may focus on people, processes, and the total cost of risks. Integrating AI into processes can be pivotal in keeping up with demands, such as document and bill processing, while preserving human contact where trust and empathy drive outcomes.

Noise: Cutting Through the Clutter

Risk managers face more noise than ever before, with increasing levels of stakeholder involvement and often unorganized information. Customers, partners, colleagues, society, and social media are all contributing to the conversation, with increased expectations, scrutiny, and cadence of requests. Before responding to rapid data asks, confirm intent, audience, and context to help avoid misinterpretation and rework.There is also a turbulence of information as social media platforms have compressed attention spans and continue to amplify partial or inaccurate narratives. This can lead to brand-influencing stories outweighing the facts at hand, which makes it harder to control how the public perceives a brand. This makes it imperative for organizations to understand their crisis management plan, aligning what is known, what to do next, who will speak to the public, and in what order everything will happen.Leaning on insurance carriers as year-round partners can create a flow of continuous context-sharing and may help ease friction when it is time for renewal. Proactive management of the relationship can limit surprises.

Preparing for 2026

Looking ahead for 2026 and beyond, many of the same challenges will persist. However, preparation may reduce the overall impact. Risk managers may consider these trends as they forecast:

• Litigation climate: Expect continued scrutiny on costs and financing mechanisms. Industry advocacy and transparency efforts will remain pivotal.
• Board-level permanence: Maintain your seat with relevant, timely insights and consistent storytelling.
• Value-anchored choices: Let values and tangible impact guide time allocation. Do not let hard days set the agenda.
• Kindness and mental health: Treat both as operational fundamentals for teams and injured parties.
• Reframing talent: Core roles (claims, clinical, legal) face new expectations. Involve them in crisis planning and equip them for modern workflows.