For many organizations, war risk has long been treated as a niche concern, relevant to defense contractors and energy companies, but not to most corporate risk and compliance teams. That assumption no longer holds.
In a recent opinion piece published in Compliance Week, Mike Kelly, Senior Partner and Head of the International Center of Excellence at The Baldwin Group, makes the case that geopolitical volatility has fundamentally changed what organizations need to know and do about conflict risk. Today, exposure isn’t solely shaped by where a company operates. It extends to where employees travel, where suppliers sit, how goods move, and how quickly leadership can respond when a situation deteriorates.
Mike outlines the practical implications for compliance and risk leaders: underwriters raising the bar on preparedness documentation, duty of care shifting from policy language to an operational obligation, and the broker’s role evolving from placement to strategic partnership. His central point is direct: in a persistent conflict environment, preparedness doesn’t support insurance—it determines it.
PROTECTING THE POSSIBLE