Large corporations have become so complex that many are dangerously underinsured for key business risks. It's a problem no one, either inside corporate leadership circles or in the insurance sector, knows how to fully solve. In some cases, corporate risk managers do not even realize the problem exists until a large loss occurs.

Businesses have become more and more complex for decades, as they have expanded globally, engaged in extensive merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, and built cross-border sales and supply chains. This complexity has been exacerbated in recent years by operational responses to the global financial crisis, technological innovations, the rollout of new regulations and corporate governance initiatives in many jurisdictions, and internal cost-cutting programs.