Here are the 21 trends that pose the biggest risks to global business in 2015

De-globalization and political conflict, large natural catastrophes, financial instability and the challenges posed by the “Internet of Things” are some of the risks identified in this year’s Swiss Re SONAR New emerging risk insights report. The in-depth analysis seeks to provide an early indication of what might lie ahead and could become relevant going forward in the global marketplace. While many of the issues presented might never materialize into significant risks, some definitely will.

“Swiss Re’s annual SONAR report updates the most important emerging risks for the global re/insurance industry,” according to Rolf Tanner, Senior Risk Manager at Swiss Re. “The study rates the risks according to their potential impact (high, medium, low), though it is in the nature of emerging risks that precise quantification in terms of impact and frequency are not possible yet (that is the reason why they are emerging risks). The report also tries to identify in which line of business the impact could possibly be strongest going forward.”