Marsh report underlines importance of resilience
European organisations are taking steps to strengthen resilience, but many struggle to translate risk insight into action, according to new research by Marsh.
The findings suggest that risk management and business strategy often operate in parallel rather than fully integrated, with a disconnect in AI and analytics, where ambition often outpaces current capabilities.
Marsh’s Strategic Imperatives and Risk Management Survey forms the basis of the new report, Strategy under uncertainty: Embedding risk in decision-making. Developed by Marsh’s European risk consulting practice and published ahead of FERMA Forum 2026 in Rotterdam, the report draws on responses from 146 organisations across Europe and examines how risk management is supporting business decisions across scenario planning, supply chain resilience, AI and analytics, workforce preparedness, and infrastructure resilience.
Typhaine Beauperin, client leader, risk management, Europe, Marsh, said: “Organisations increasingly recognise where resilience needs to be strengthened, but the challenge is turning insight into action. Risk management has an opportunity to move beyond identification and monitoring and play a more active role in business decision-making. Organisations that better connect governance and strategy with data driven risk management will be better positioned to make faster informed decisions, build greater resilience, and plan more effectively for the future.”
According to the survey, 39% of respondents do not currently use AI or analytics tools in risk management, while a further 32% use them only in selected areas. At the same time, AI and analytics rank as the leading near-term priority for action by 30% of respondents, underscoring the gap between priority and preparedness.
The same pattern is evident in supply chain resilience, Marsh said. Nearly 40% of respondents have full visibility only of their direct suppliers, while around one-third have visibility into tier two and tier three suppliers in critical supply chains. However, monitoring remains largely manual, with 57% relying on human-led review of alerts.
While scenario analysis and stress testing are more established, their findings do not always translate into business decisions. More than 50% of respondents embed scenario analysis in strategic planning and 43% integrate stress testing into strategic and financial planning, yet only around one-third use the findings against defined risk limits to confirm or adjust decisions.
Climate-related resilience also shows a difference between assessment and implementation. More than 60% of respondents have conducted quantitative climate scenario analysis, but only around one-third have defined adaptation and mitigation plans. Only 11% report investment in adapting owned assets to physical climate risks, and 8% report investment in supply chain adaptation.
To strengthen the connection between risk and strategy, the report recommends improving the link between risk insight and decision-making, extending supply chain visibility, applying AI and analytics more effectively, taking a more forward-looking approach to workforce planning, and integrating climate adaptation and mitigation more systematically into strategy and investment decisions.
Maurizio Quintavalle, head of risk consulting, Europe, Marsh, added: “The report highlights gaps between risk management ambitions and current practices. Addressing these requires risk managers to strengthen their role as decision architects, combining data and quantitative analytics, foresight capabilities, and AI to identify emerging risks earlier and better understand their potential impact. In doing so, they can provide business leaders with a stronger basis for strategic decisions and increase the value risk management brings to the organisation.”
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