In this episode of the Research Insights Podcast, Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, speaks with Rebecca Owen, FSA, MAAA, one of the authors of the SOA Research Institute report Beyond the Headlines: The 2025 Disaster Reshaping Risk.

Their conversation explores the 2025 Alaska floods, an event selected by the Catastrophe and Climate Research Program for its important implications for climate and catastrophe risk. The discussion highlights how this disaster affected remote Alaska Native villages, exposed infrastructure vulnerabilities, and raised important actuarial considerations around historical loss data, catastrophe modeling, pricing, reserving, capital frameworks and long-term climate risk projections.

Listeners will gain insight into why actuaries play a critical role in translating complex climate dynamics into actionable guidance for organizations, policymakers and communities preparing for emerging risks.

To learn more, read the report: https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2026/2025-disaster-reshaping-risk/