Hailstorms in Australia, tornadoes in the southeastern U.S. and windstorms in northern Europe: We're in the second month of the year and already receiving hints that 2012 may be shaping up to equal the meteorological mayhem of 2011. It's not a good sign for the insurance industry, which paid more than $100 billion in 2011 on natural disasters.

But cats of the future may not arise from the usual suspects like hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes. A recent report by the World Economic Forum indicates we could be looking at even bigger problems that will affect the ever-connected globe.

For the past 7 years, WEF's 1,000 member global companies have ranked the top five global risks in terms of both likelihood and impact. The group has been spot on in the past. For example, in 2008 through 2010, the No. 1 top global risk for likelihood was "asset price collapse," while for 2011 the top most likely threat was "meterological catastrophes," and the risk with the highest impact was "fiscal crises."

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