The Future of Insurance Summit, hosted by the Institute for Risk Management and Insurance Innovation (IRMII), brought together students, faculty, researchers, and industry leaders in October 2025 for a dynamic, forward-looking exploration of how risk management and insurance are evolving to meet society’s most complex challenges.
Over the course of the event, hosted at the Alumni Center, IRMII welcomed an audience of over 125 people, creating an environment where scholarship, innovation, and real-world application intersected. The summit included talks, panels, and poster presentations addressing a broad range of financial risks, including those related to: extreme weather (e.g., flood, drought, hail, wind), infectious disease outbreaks, renewable energy droughts, systemic cyber risk, wildfire events, environmental contamination, and liability exposures.
The summit reflected IRMII’s critical role, as described by Tony Ursano, managing partner and co-founder of Insurance Advisory Partners and now chair of IRMII’s industry advisory board: “IRMII has a unique role within the risk management and insurance sector in that it is designed to be responsive to industry needs, training both graduate and undergraduate students in the types of cutting-edge data science and analytical techniques required to better quantify, price and manage the increasingly complex risks that society faces.”
Throughout the Future of Insurance Summit, participants gained a first-hand view of the talent, creativity, and motivation of IRMII students, and the strong connections that they have built with IRMII’s industry partners. This has collectively created a rapidly growing and impactful institute at UNC-Chapel Hill, led by Director Greg Characklis, William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and offered a moment to reflect on IRMII’s rapid growth during its first year, which includes:
- Launching a Minor in Risk Management, including six new courses, that will teach over 250 students in its first full academic year
- Engaging more than 400 students through IRMII’s activities including its Career Fair, guest speakers, and on-site visits to industry partners
- Developing partnerships with 45+ industry leaders, with over 130 having already visited campus
- Engaging more than 85 students, both graduates and undergraduates, in applied research
These milestones underscore IRMII’s accelerated development as a pan-campus institute, one that has attracted students from a wide range of fields, including business, data science, environmental science, economics, engineering, finance, public health, and beyond, who are eager to apply their skills to solve real-world risk challenges. As highlighted throughout the summit, risk management and insurance are increasingly critical to building a resilient society, enabling innovation in areas such as infrastructure development, energy, health care, and disaster response.
These collaborative events involving academia and industry serve as a reminder that developing new talent, fostering innovation, and creating meaningful change go hand in hand. The Future of Insurance Summit was not only a celebration of progress, but a clear signal of what lies ahead: continued momentum, deeper collaboration, and a growing pipeline of multidisciplinary talent ready to shape the future of risk management and insurance.
Moving forward, IRMII seeks to continue to establish itself as a model for how universities and industry can work together, creating value for students, firms, and society alike.