Howard Kunreuther

Ten or 15 years ago, no companies had a chief risk officer. Risk was barely mentioned. Today, risk has to be on every board's agenda.

The environment has become a major issue, and global risks are now highly interdependent, creating the prospect of cascading problems.

Considering fairness in redesigning health and flood insurance programs is not merely an exercise to aid the old and needy.

To overcome our natural biases, the usual approach to risk management must be reversed.

While our ability to foresee and protect against natural catastrophes has increased dramatically, it has done little to reduce material losses.

A combination of government vouchers and risk-based pricing shows promise.

Insurers should once again require those at risk to undertake cost-effective loss-reduction measures. Back to our roots!

Katrina shows we must reduce exposure, especially by helping residents in low-income areas invest in measures to lower their losses.

Imagine this combination: less damage to property from extreme events, lower costs to insurers and lower costs to the government.