Why did coastal homeowners lose insurance while UK energy bills spiked after Russia’s invasion? Because risks started moving together. In this lecture, Professor Raghavendra Rau shows how climate extremes and geopolitics create synchronised shocks that overwhelm insurers and energy suppliers, pushing up premiums and bills. He discusses the basics of risk pooling, why it breaks under correlation, and what realistic fixes look like—from parametric policies and better building standards to smarter hedging and targeted support.