Enterprise risk management refers to a company's comprehensive risk exposure, which includes operational and strategic risks as well as traditional hazards and financial risks.

The study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, titled "Enterprise-wide Risk Management for the Insurance Industry," surveyed 44 major insurers in Asia, Europe and North America, PwC said.

Mr. Venkat said the research confirmed a "lack of clarity around what ERM means to different companies in the insurance sector and which specific aspects of the program they might want to emphasize over others."

An interesting finding, he said, is that some insurers' view the industry "as not being quite as far along in ERM as others in the financial services sector, such as banking."

He said that when asked to compare their own progress relative to that of other companies in the industry, insurers "seem to always think they are further along."

He added that the reality is that "not a single respondent has implemented many or all of the aspects of what constitutes a well-defined, comprehensive enterprise-wide risk management program. Data suggests that each individual respondent has a fair bit of work to do."

The study found that leading companies look to ERM as a framework under which they can manage all the categories of risk, optimize their portfolios and enhance product development. Some, however, continue to struggle with the necessary infrastructure, people, processes and technology essential to fully reap the benefits.

Forward-thinking insurers have been developing ERM for some years, but it has only lately come to wider prominence in the wake of record losses, solvency scares and governance scandals, the survey found. Insurance companies surveyed acknowledged ERM as one of the key enablers to managing uncertainty.

Almost half of survey respondents viewed protection of shareholder value as the main advantage of ERM, but just five percent felt that ERM was fully integrated with their strategic business decisions, according to PwC.