IRMI Update—Issue #27
An E-mail Newsletter for Risk and Insurance Professionals
ISSN: 1530-7948
October 16, 2001
In This Issue
Colleague,
Our contacts confirm that the events of September 11 have caused the insurance
marketplace to harden even faster than expected. This means risk managers and
their agents/brokers must take a very proactive approach to insurance renewals.
A common problem in hard markets is not receiving your renewal indication
until the very last minute—after it's too late to react to unacceptable terms.
This can be due to underwriters' workloads increasing so dramatically that they
cannot keep up or simply be a way of taking advantage of the hardening market.
Regardless the reason, it's important to be prepared for this possibility.
One strategy to handle this problem is to meet with your underwriter long
before policy expiration to discuss your account and the upcoming renewal. If
you want to stick with your current insurer, consider making a deal: if they
agree to provide renewal terms 90 days before expiration, you agree not shop
your program. Get it in writing with the condition that if the underwriter doesn't
keep the commitment, an automatic 90-day extension will be provided for the
current program at its current terms.
If your underwriter won't commit to this, it might be time to seek competitive
proposals from other markets in case your renewal terms are unacceptable. Push
hard to get competitive quotes 15 to 30 days before renewal.
Have you experienced an 11th hour renewal proposal? What do you think of
this approach to avoiding them? Have you seen this or something similar work
(or fail)? Do you have another strategy? [See reader
comments].
Lastly, please go to the IRMI.com home page and register your opinion on
whether the government should become involved in a terrorism reinsurance pool.
We'll leave the poll up until Friday. [See reader
comments].
I hope to see you at the IRMI Construction Risk Conference in New Orleans
in 2 weeks. Have a great day.
Jack
Jack P. Gibson
President
IRMI
Use EAPs To Restore Productivity After Disasters. Disaster response plans should include a list, with addresses and phone numbers,
of reliable Employee Assistance Professionals that can be used to provide grief
counseling following disasters or tragedies. Consider offering them whenever
a major tragedy occurs. Even workers who are not involved in the event can suffer
debilitating psychological effects from learning about coworkers' or business
contacts' injuries or deaths.
By: Lynn B. White
Corporate Insurance & Safety Administrator
Air Conditioning Co. Inc.
Glendale, CA
E-mail: LWhite@accoair.com
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 as we did for Lynn.
We add new Expert Commentary to IRMI.com every week. There are now 212 articles
on IRMI.com, and many more are in production. Below you'll find summaries of
some recent additions with links to the articles.
In the Aftermath of September
11, 2001—Workers Compensation—This article expands on the one above,
highlighting some online resources that might be useful in addressing WC claims
resulting from the events of September 11, 2001, reviewing the current state
of the WC market, and presenting some thoughts about renewal strategies.
An
Incredible Educational Value! We are still taking registrations for
the 21st IRMI Construction Risk Conference (October 29-November 1 in New Orleans).
The Sheraton Hotel has substantially reduced the room rates, from $215 per night
to $189 for a single room or $199 for a double. If you arrange to stay over
a Saturday night (tough duty in New Orleans!), there are also some great airfares
available.
At no other symposium does your dollar buy more!
- 20 hours of focused learning
- Breakfast and lunch daily
- Workbook of speakers' handouts
- Free audiotape of the workshop of your choice
- Networking opportunities at several receptions
- CE, CLE, or CPE credit in practically any state
While we're experiencing a slight enrollment reduction compared to last year,
we do have more than 900 risk and insurance professionals enrolled. Why don't
you join us in New Orleans for this unparalleled educational and networking
event?
Follow the link to the Conference agenda for details about all the sessions and the presenters. To register, just complete
the registration form or call (800) 827–4242.
Manual Helps Shore-Up
Risk Transfer Programs. Risk transfer through indemnity clauses and
insurance requirements remains one of the least understood and most controversial
risk management techniques. The award-winning IRMI Contractual Risk Transfer reference service
clears the fog around this important topic with summaries of state anti-indemnity
laws and analyses of subrogation waiver, additional insured, and limitation
of liability tactics. It even includes boilerplate insurance provisions you
can use in contracts. For more information, check out the table of contents.
A subscription to IRMI Update is absolutely free. Use the e-mail registration form to initiate or terminate
your subscription.