Climate change remains the public’s leading concern, according to Axa’s 13th annual Future Risks Report, while insurance industry respondents now place AI and big data in top spot.

The report highlights the interconnected nature of emerging threats, including relationships between geopolitical tensions, cyber risks, energy security and social fragmentation.

Financial stability risks are also gaining prominence in the rankings.

Demographic change is another area of focus, amid ageing populations, declining birth rates, longer life expectancy and changing family structures.

Axa says that for insurers, these demographic shifts “call for a rethink of protection throughout people’s lives: supporting family transitions, health and loss of autonomy, savings, retirement and wealth transfer, while ensuring that insurance solutions remain accessible for populations with increasingly diverse life paths”.

The report finds 95% of expert and public respondents believe the risks that concern them can be at least partly addressed through preventive measures; 68% of the public believe insurers have an important role protecting society against such risks.

“In a world where risks are evolving faster, multiplying and becoming increasingly interconnected, insurance is an essential factor of stability,” Axa CEO Thomas Buberl said.

See ANALYSIS.