The risk of harm to the opinion third parties hold of a company, an intangible asset that insurance cannot indemnify directly.
Reputational risk is the risk of a degradation of the trust that customers, employees, investors and the public grant a company. It resists insurance for three reasons, reputation is intangible, it is not owned by the company but resides in the minds of third parties, and it is barely measurable. One does not indemnify an opinion as one rebuilds a warehouse, for no sum forces the public to believe again. The largely endogenous character of the risk, which often arises from the company's behaviour or its reaction to a crisis, moreover collides with moral hazard. Existing policies therefore cover only the echo of the harm, crisis-management costs or the fall in the share price via a parametric index, and their real value lies more in prevention and service than in risk transfer.
A doctored video targeting an executive triggers a viral crisis; the reputation policy finances communicators and advisers, but cannot guarantee the return of lost trust.
risque de réputation, atteinte réputationnelle