Sedgwick Eyes Trends and Risks in 2025 Forecast

Next year will bring more changes and risk to companies, including continually evolving work environments, product recalls, natural catastrophes, and risks from new technologies, according to a new report that looks the landscape for companies in 2025.

Sedgwick’s Forecasting 2025 thought leadership report involved research and engagement with clients for insights to forecast trends across key sectors and topics. The content in the report focuses on making organizations aware of new risks and evolving trends to help them navigate the unexpected in the year ahead.

Workplace: Workplace headwinds will rise in 2025, as technological advancements, shifting values among younger generations, and the return to office movement will require a larger premium placed on retention strategies, training and development, and fostering a nurturing environment. With more emphasis being placed on mental health, company leaders will expand their benefits in 2025 to include employee assistance programs, virtual counseling, better health insurance coverage and leave of absence policies. They’ll also rely on employee surveys to gauge sentiment and satisfaction.

Recalls: There were nearly 2,500 product recalls across five key industries this year. If the pace of recalls continues, a six-year high will be reached by the end of this year. Recalls continue to occur at an above-average rate. This is expected to continue next year, as well as more demand on companies to drive recall effectiveness.

Catastrophes: Companies will need to prepare for severe weather. This year produced nearly 350 catastrophic weather events globally with economic losses above $310 billion and insured losses reaching $135 billion, according to data from the Swiss Re Institute. Next year is expected to bring similar weather patterns, with a slow developing La Niña in the U.S. potentially leading to adverse conditions. New strategies for recovery will emerge in 2025, specifically ones that optimize property building repairs by providing immediate responses, proper documentation and a focus on safety. Property owners and insurers will increasingly rely on managed repair, restoration and mitigation services next year, including repair concierge, contractor credentialing and mitigation bill review.

AI and new technology: In 2025, companies will continue to place emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence at the core of their business strategies. These changes will be accompanied by new risks, and leaders should have guardrails in place to ensure the technology drives successful business outcomes without creating new and unwanted risks and liabilities.

“2024 was a seismic year across industry sectors as companies navigated the unexpected, and 2025 will be no different,” stated Kimberly George, Sedgwick’s global chief brand officer. “These predictions serve as a barometer for what’s to come, so leaders around the world can prepare accordingly.”