The COVID-19 pandemic has taught all of us lessons in risk and resilience. The pandemic shocked people around the world with a magnitude unparalleled in recent history. While the circumstances may be unique, the reality is there will be more unexpected disasters in the near future. To quote Mark Twain, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

What used to be once-in-a-hundred-year events, like record-setting hurricane and wildfire seasons, are now hitting us every five years or so. This is a critical moment to take a holistic view of risk to prepare for large-scale catastrophes ahead.

Companies will need to ask tough questions about their risk management strategies going forward. Are they overextended financially? Do they rely too heavily on one supplier? Is their technology and infrastructure up-to-date? Do they have solid business continuity plans for when disaster strikes? And most importantly, are they able to ensure the safety and well-being of their employees? In a service economy, a strong workforce is absolutely key to long-term success.

The pandemic has forced organizations to adapt and even to abide by a new playbook when it comes to risk management. Appian’s Jay Cherrie discusses what businesses can do to recalibrate their management of risk now with ease and speed.

We do so many things differently today versus a year ago: How we work, how we shop, how we get groceries, how we will inevitably vote. All this change is a nightmare for actuaries. Decades of experience assessing risks based on known behavior has gone out the window, requiring them to radically rethink how they assess risk.