IRMI Update—Issue #13
An E-mail Newsletter for Risk and Insurance Professionals
ISSN: 1530-7948
March 20, 2001
In This Issue
Colleague,
Who was the most influential person in the insurance industry in the past
25 years? In risk management? Not so long ago I posed those questions to some
friends and received very interesting replies.
With respect to the insurance industry, five insurance company executives
were mentioned frequently: Hank Greenberg of AIG, Claude Bebear, who built AXA,
John Cox, who left INA to head up the then fledgling ACE, Gerald Stephens who
built RLI, and Rolf Huppi of Zurich. One attorney was suggested—Gene Anderson,
who brought us the continuous injury coverage trigger theory via Keene v INA
and introduced the concept of the policyholder attorney. An educator, Edwin
S. Overman of the IIA and AICPCU, was recommended because of his tireless efforts
to raise the level of professionalism in the industry. And, of course, some
agents and brokers were named, primarily Pat Ryan of Aon.
There were fewer nominees of people who have influenced risk management.
George Head was mentioned most frequently because of his work as a risk management
researcher, writer, and educator. Bob Hedges and Bob Mehr, authors of the first
risk management textbook, were also suggested. Lastly, a consultant's name was
thrown into the hat: Felix Kloman, founder of Risk Planning Group.
This is an impressive list, but there are many more influential people who
are not mentioned. With a couple of exceptions, it is also focused on the United
States. With your help, I would like to develop a more comprehensive (and international)
list.
Who do you believe has most influenced the insurance industry and risk management
profession in the past 25 years? [See reader comments].
Thank you for your support. Have a great day!
Jack
Jack P. Gibson
President
IRMI
Broaden the Scope of Your Wrongful Termination Coverage. Virtually every employment practices liability (EPL) policy form covers wrongful
termination claims. However, a number of circumstances that are functional "first
cousins" of such claims may not be included within an EPL policy's definition
of "wrongful termination." These perils include:
- Constructive discharge (a commercial airline pilot is relegated to a
desk job)
- Wrongful deprivation of a career opportunity (a qualified employee is
not permitted into a training program that typically leads to advancement
within the company)
- Failure to grant tenure (a highly-qualified college professor is continually
passed over for tenure)
- Wrongful demotion (a supervisor in a factory is demoted to a lower-paying
production job without supervisory responsibilities)
- Wrongful evaluation (an above-average performer receives a performance
evaluation indicating only "marginal" performance)
In some instances, one (or more) of these perils may be enumerated as one
of an EPL policy's covered "workplace torts." However, it is rare for all five
to be encompassed by such definitions. When negotiating with insurers, consider
requesting that either the policy's definition of "wrongful termination" or
its list of covered "workplace torts" be amended to include all of these perils.
By: Robert A. Bregman, CPCU, CLU, ARM
Senior Research Analyst
International Risk Management Institute, Inc.
Suggest a Risk Tip. Future issues of IRMI Update will include more risk tips from our readers. Send
us a practical tip (less than 300 words) for identifying and managing risks,
buying insurance, managing claims, or filling gaps in insurance coverages. We'll
acknowledge your contribution.
We add new Expert Commentary to IRMI.com every week. There are now 119 articles
on IRMI.com, and many more are in production. Below you'll find summaries of
some recent additions with links to the articles.
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Beyond the Policy:
Documenting a Business Interruption Claim—Business interruption
policies define the nature of the indemnity but do not define the exact
documents required to support a claim. This article addresses common and
best practices in one of the most important steps toward a smooth settlement—documenting
your business interruption claim.
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The New World of
Wireless—The promise of the myriad of wireless options now available
and those yet to come is to allow anyone to access network and Internet
resources without resorting to plugging in cables. This article explains
some recent technology and its management applications.
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New Stand-Alone E-Commerce
Insurance Policies for First-Party Risks—This article discusses
some of the issues to consider when reviewing e-commerce policies offering
coverage for the following "first-party" risks: natural peril property damage,
employee dishonesty, third-party crime/malicious conduct, extortion, computer
programming error, and business interruption/extra expense.
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The Telephone Bug—Telephobia—the
fear of using the telephone—is 1 of 12 types of Sales Call Reluctance. This
article explains how telephobia can paralyze the most determined salesperson
and explains how Threat Desensitization can be used to cure it.
The Registered Professional
Liability Underwriter (RPLU) Program—This article explains the RPLU
professional designation program sponsored by the Professional Liability Underwriting
Society (PLUS), including the purpose, content, and history of the program.
Personal Risk Management
and Insurance Now Available—In the past, IRMI always focused
on commercial lines policy interpretation and risk management. After receiving
many customer requests, we decided to apply the same meticulous approach to
personal lines insurance, and we are proud to introduce a new reference manual
devoted to this topic. The initial release focuses on the latest homeowners
and personal auto policy forms. It provides annotated policies and explanations
of all the countrywide endorsements. The supplement service will soon add information
on other coverage lines and personal risk management.
Commercial Liability Insurance Is a Winner in Federal Court—Commercial
Liability Insurance, IRMI's comprehensive manual on CGL and umbrella
liability insurance, is being cited with increasing frequency in federal and
state court decisions. Shouldn't you arm your people with the same information
the Eighth Circuit relies on? View a table of contents and order online today.
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