Final answer:
The statement is true; a risk response plan is a proactive strategy to prepare for a risk, as showcased by the concept of asymmetric risk. It involves planning for potential threats whose impact could be severe even if their likelihood is low, akin to the rationale behind purchasing insurance.
Step-by-step explanation:
A risk response plan is indeed a proactive effort to anticipate a risk and outline an action plan to address it, so the statement is true. The concept of asymmetric risk highlights the importance of such planning. With asymmetric risk, the potential losses from not addressing a threat can be much greater than the costs of preparing for it, even if the threat has a low probability of occurring. This approach is comparable to purchasing insurance; we invest in protection against low-probability, yet potentially catastrophic, events.
An example of this can be seen in Figure 20.1 concerning a possible devastating threat. Here, Plan A represents inaction in disbelief of the threat, while Plan B is the cautious approach to mitigate the threat. The consequences of sticking with Plan A if the threat is real can be dire, whereas the downside of executing Plan B needlessly is far less severe. It advocates for making conservative choices even when the odds seem low, because the outcome of ignoring a significant threat can be drastic.