The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) is launching a new group made up of young risk and insurance managers from across Europe. Called the Next Gen Risk Council, this team will include up to 15 professionals under the age of 35 from FERMA’s 23 member associations spanning 22 countries. Their job will be to study future risks and share their findings at the 2026 Forum in Rotterdam.
This new council will work under the idea of “NextGen Future Thinking and Foresight.” They will create a detailed project called “Foresight in Risk Management,” which aims to look ahead at the challenges risk managers may face. Council members will also help shape FERMA’s education certification by bringing in fresh perspectives from early-career professionals.
The formation of the Next Gen Risk Council comes amid growing challenges in the European insurance market. According to FERMA’s 2024 Global Risk Managers Survey with PwC, more than half of the participants have changed the way they buy insurance. Many risk takers feel that some essential business activities and locations might become impossible to insure. Climate-related risks, cyberattacks, and supply chain issues are leading the list of concerns.
FERMA represents over 6,000 risk managers who work in various sectors, including industry, commerce, finance, and the public sector. The federation has recently focused on long-term risk planning, evolving cyber insurance, and how public procurement rules affect the insurance market. In fact, FERMA has called on the European Commission to remove insurance policies from the EU Public Procurement Directives. They argue that these rules make it harder for insurers to compete and take part in tenders, which drives up costs and leaves coverage gaps.
A 2026 position paper from FERMA highlights examples from countries like Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. In some cases, insurance tenders attracted very few or even no bids. For example, in Norway, premiums increased by about 129% since 2020, even though the insured values went up only slightly. In France, a public agency with significant risks received just two offers for property damage insurance, with annual premiums ranging from €500,000 to €1 million.
Each national association in FERMA can nominate up to two candidates for the Next Gen Risk Council by March 10, 2026. Candidates will be selected based on their age, experience, membership status, and employer support. Diversity across countries and sectors is also a key goal.
Philippe Cotelle, FERMA’s president, said this new group aims to give younger members a chance to learn more about their profession and contribute to FERMA’s work. He hopes they will exchange ideas from different places and industries and come up with ways to improve the risk management field. The council’s work will be important for preparing future talent and sharing insights at the 2026 Forum in Rotterdam.
The council’s focus on foresight will also run alongside discussions about cyber insurance challenges, limits on public sector coverage, and what risks may become uninsurable in the future. The upcoming forum will offer a chance to see how young risk managers across Europe view these issues.