“Only a slim majority of family offices conduct risk assessments on a regular basis, struggling to mitigate risks when necessary.”
– Dentons, The Evolving Risk Landscape for Family Offices – Survey Report
Family offices increasingly find themselves exposed to risks that could jeopardize legacies built over generations. And, while portfolio risk often gets the spotlight, real threats lie hidden in places like partnerships, vendor relationships, and even philanthropy.
From cyberattacks to shifting regulations and geopolitical uncertainty, today’s risk landscape is more complex than ever. Yet many family offices, preferring to keep operations in-house, rely heavily on internal teams for risk management, leaving them vulnerable in critical areas.
Risk Strategy Gaps: What the Data Shows
A recent survey by Dentons, the world’s largest global law firm and wealth management industry leader, highlights the concerning gaps in how family offices approach risk:
- Only 31% have a sophisticated risk management program in place.
- Just 29% feel their training programs are adequate.
- Around 70% have seen an increase in cyber threats – yet less than half carry cyber insurance.
- More than half are worried about geopolitical instability, but only 17% have formal procedures in place.
- Roughly 30% report staffing shortages in key functions like IT, cybersecurity, and general risk management.
These numbers paint a clear picture: many family offices are concerned, but not equipped, to manage today’s evolving threats.
The Case for a Risk Management Partner
This is where an insurance partner, not just a provider, can make a critical difference .
At AssetSure, we work as an extension of your internal team, helping you identify, assess, and manage a wide range of risks. While internal teams may be generalists or focused in one area, our role is to bring depth and expertise across the full risk spectrum.
Here’s how we support family offices:
- Annual holistic coverage review: We assess all lines of insurance, both for investments and personal assets, to ensure coverage is up to date and aligned with your evolving portfolio.
- Bi-annual risk strategy reviews: This includes evaluating policies, reviewing investment schedules to confirm current ownership structures (like trust titling or property holdings). Assets often shift throughout the year, and insurance needs to keep up to avoid gaps.
- Cyber and market awareness: We stay ahead of emerging trends in cybersecurity, privacy, and the insurance market, translating this knowledge into tailored advice for your family office.
- Pre-claim and crisis planning: We prepare you before a crisis happens. That means maintaining an updated risk management document that includes broker contacts, insurers, crisis consultants, legal and security experts, so if a cyber incident or kidnap situation arises, you’re ready to respond quickly and effectively with the assigned confidential resources to help.
Aligning Risk Strategy with Family Goals
Each year, we sit down with family office representatives to ensure the risk management strategy is still aligned with the family’s evolving goals. We look at changes in risk exposure, new investments, shifts in leadership, and more to keep the strategy current and effective.
Family offices can no longer afford to treat risk management as a once-a-year checkbox or keep it confined to one department. A trusted insurance partner can bring the experience, insight, and resources needed to protect what matters most – your legacy.