Risk Management

How insurers can prepare for unexpected, unmodelled shock losses

As the world faces an onslaught of perils – from potential food and energy crises to inflation and political instability – much of the blame is being traced back to Ukraine.

Geospatial innovations are a game changer for the industry

This year’s Airmic conference was held between 6-8 June at the Arena Convention Centre in Liverpool under the theme ‘Moving Forward Together,’ with one of the key panel sessions addressing the impact of cyber risks on organizations and how they can better protect themselves.

As companies adjusted to employees working from home, and the experience of natural catastrophe striking new areas, the insurance industry is rethinking their claims processes, said Dave Chmiel, SVP, National Director of Claims North America, HUB International.

Risk managers need to continue to review and appraise the insured value of their properties to keep up with changing conditions, said Patrick Collins, managing director at Kroll.

As construction costs continue to rise, as many as 75% of properties may be underinsured, said Lori Flemming, managing director of fixed asset advisory services for Kroll.

Companies that fail to properly manage their diversity, equity and inclusion may face litigation and regulatory risk, said Julia Oltmanns, director of DEI Services for Zurich North America.

Lloyd's is expecting claims from the Ukraine/Russia war to be an earnings event, not a capital event, said Hank Watkins, regional director of the Americas for Lloyd’s. He spoke with Insider Engage at the RIMS conference in San Francisco.

Cyber insurers are working to marry risk management with cyber insurance to prevent losses before it happens, said executives at RIMS 2022 in San Francisco.

Insurers now know what the 'minimum' requirements are to make companies safer from cyber attacks, but still face systemic risks, said Dan Trueman, global head of cyber, AXIS Insurance. Trueman spoke with Insider Engage at the RIMS 2022 conference in San Francisco.

It may be impossible to stop cyber attacks altogether, but companies can take steps to become cyber resilient, said David Shluger, vice president, Cyber Risk Engineering, Zurich North America. Shluger spoke with Insider Engage at RIMS 2022 in San Francisco.

It is little wonder that brokers report that demand for political risk insurance has been on the rise in Latin America, and that underwriters have become wary of the risk.

Insurers must always lift their eyes towards the horizon and scan it carefully for emerging risks. The events of the last two years have reminded every insurer of the need to pay careful attention to the future -- pandemics, the impact of climate change, automation, technology and artificial intelligence, and now war in Europe -- all hold potentially devastating implications for insurers.

In September 2013, Chicago’s city council and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel adopted a building energy benchmarking ordinance that aimed to raise awareness of energy performance as well as unlock energy and cost saving opportunities for businesses and residents. The ordinance, which was fully phased in by 2016, calls on commercial, institutional, and residential buildings larger than 50,000 sf to track whole-building energy, defined as the usage of electricity; natural gas; and any other fuels to operate both common and tenant-occupied spaces. The ordinance requires information to be reported to the city annually and verified every three years by a licensed in-house or third-party professional. The law covers less than 1% of Chicago’s buildings according to Chicago.gov, but roughly 20% of total energy consumed across the city. While the ordinance does not currently require building owners to make mandatory investments, a 2019 energy benchmarking report published in April 2021 revealed $24.6 million in annual energy reduction savings between 2016 and 2019 (approximately $74 million in total) and a 15% decline in carbon emissions per building sf over the period.

Before insurers can choose to retain, reduce or transfer cyber risk on their balance sheet, they need to understand the complexity and interconnectivity of the cyber risk, said Lori Bailey, chief insurance officer, Corvus.

What is the difference in perception and resilience amongst business leaders to environmental risks, and are businesses fully prepared for the associated risks – such as pandemic, climate change, environmental damage, food security and energy transition?

The best-attended and the most thought-provoking strategic event for (re)insurance professionals, executives and advisers involved with the London market was back on the 24th of November 2021.

When looking to employ risk engineering expertise to help them strengthen property protection and other risk mitigation strategies for equipment, fleets and more, business have a considered two options: to bundle or unbundle. But according to AXA XL Risk Consulting’s Jonathan Salter, there’s a third option.

This Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) report is a follow-up to a research publication on KBRA’s general approach to incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in our credit rating process across corporate, financial and government (CFG) ratings, which we describe as ESG Management.

Foresight, a leading workers' compensation insurtech, puts the spotlight on why Hispanic workers are more likely to be injured on the job, and how insurers can respond.