The International Actuarial Association (IAA) is pleased to announce the release of a paper entitled Sink or Swim: An Actuary’s Primer to Water Risks, developed by the IAA Water Risk Task Force.

As the first in a planned series, this paper provides a foundational overview of water-related risks from an actuarial lens. As water emerges as a central issue in climate, economic, health, and geopolitical discourse, this paper helps actuaries and risk professionals to understand the complex interrelationships among water-related risks including water scarcity, flooding, pollution, and infrastructure degradation — and the systemic impacts on financial systems and society.

Highlighting key areas such as the impacts on food security, urban development, biodiversity, insurance markets, and investment strategies, the paper also outlines the growing opportunities for actuaries to use our skillset to contribute to sustainable financing, risk modelling, and policy planning. It underscores the need for actuaries to consider incorporating water risks into pricing, reserving, risk management, and financial reporting frameworks.

The publication supports the IAA’s mission to advance scientific knowledge and provide actuarial insight to supranational bodies and global stakeholders. Future papers in this series will explore water risk scenario modelling, regulatory commitments, and risk mitigation tools in greater depth.

The full paper is available on the IAA website under KNOWLEDGE / PAPERS. A webinar introducing this foundational work will be scheduled in June. Registration will be announced in the coming weeks. To learn more about the IAA’s work on water-related risks, contact the Director of Technical Activities at the IAA Secretariat.