Glossary
KRI (key risk indicator)
A KRI is a measurable metric with a threshold that gives early warning that a particular risk is increasing or a control is weakening.
KRI (key risk indicator) explained
A key risk indicator turns a risk into a number you can watch. Instead of waiting for a quarterly review to notice that something has changed, the institution picks a metric that moves before the risk materialises, sets a threshold, and acts when the threshold is crossed.
Good KRIs are leading rather than lagging, are sourced from data the institution already has, and have an owner who must respond to a breach. Too many indicators, or indicators with no owner, are ignored.
For example, the number of overdue KYC reviews is a KRI for customer-risk exposure; the proportion of alerts older than a set number of days is a KRI for case-management capacity.
Why it matters in life insurance
Zambian regulators expect institutions to monitor risk continuously rather than periodically, and KRIs with automatic escalation are the practical way to do that with small teams. ERMAML, the Ontech Risk & Compliance Suite, holds KRIs with thresholds and escalation paths and raises alerts to the owner when a threshold is breached.
Related terms
RCSA (risk and control self-assessment) · Risk appetite · Residual risk