IRMI Update—Issue #94
An E-mail Newsletter for Risk and Insurance Professionals
ISSN: 1530-7948
August 10, 2004
In This Issue
Colleague,
Bypassing the risk manager to get to senior management is one of the surest
ways to sour the agent/broker-risk manager relationship. For this reason, many
astute agents/brokers are careful to communicate everything through the risk
manager. However, having a relationship with senior management can do much to
improve an agent/broker's sales and retention rate. But doing so without crossing
the risk manager can prove to be quite the balancing act.
Then there's the question of what to do when the risk manager seems to be
out of line, making a mistake, or doing something unethical or illegal. At some
point, the agent/broker has a duty to go over the risk manager's head, and deciding
when to do so will always be a tough judgment call.
What are the keys to establishing good rapport with senior management while
maintaining a good working relationship with risk managers? When is it appropriate
to go to the risk manager's boss? When is it inappropriate? When necessary,
how should it be handled? [See reader comments].
On another matter, I'm delighted to announce that The Additional Insured Book has been updated
and the new, fifth edition, is ready. If you subscribe to the book on IRMI Online
or SilverPlume, you already have access. Alternatively, you may order a printed
copy from the products
section of IRMI.com.
Have a great day.
Jack
Jack P. Gibson
President
IRMI
IRMI Update reaches nearly 28,000 risk
managers, insurance agents, brokers, adjusters, lawyers, and underwriters who
look forward to reading the tips and articles offered in each issue. Since yours
will be the only ad in this space, it will be seen and acted on by key decision
makers. For more information, contact
us or go to this Web page.
Smooth the Risk Wrinkles That Come with an Aging Workforce—The
changing face of today's workforce is adding a few wrinkles to the way risk
managers handle escalating costs of medical, wage replacement, and lost productivity.
Chronic conditions, such as heart disease, arthritis, back problems, respiratory
disease, and diabetes, lead the way in medical care of the over-55 population.
One of the best ways to combat rising medical costs for these chronic conditions
is to address the lifestyle issues contributing to their onset and management
and to promote healthy life choices. What can you do?
- Encourage employees to become educated about their health issues.
- Offer Health Risk Appraisals to employees.
- Introduce Disease Management Programs to promote healthy behavior.
- Make healthy food options available.
- Encourage exercise.
- Discourage unhealthy habits by prohibiting workplace smoking.
- Employers with large employee concentrations may benefit from on-site
medical facilities.
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) programs can assist employees with
family and home issues that sometimes emerge when managing long-term chronic
conditions.
- Allow for breaks. Build limited mobility into work tasks. Being sedentary
or standing for long periods can be taxing on an employee with a health
condition.
- Conduct periodic ergonomic assessments.
- Allow for breaks in concentration and focus by dividing tasks into shorter
cognitive units.
- Establish a safety committee. Recognize and reward valuable safety suggestions.
- Build in accountability for safety at the front-end supervisor level.
By: Wendy Manners, Assistant Vice President
Specialty Risk Services
Hartford, CT
wendy.manners@thehartford.com
www.specialtyriskservices.com
Suggest a Risk Tip. 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 Wendy.
There are now 567 risk management and insurance articles on IRMI.com. Below
you'll find summaries of some recent additions with links to the articles.
We have recently updated IRMI Online to include the latest issues of our
newsletters, The Risk Report, Captive Insurance Company Reports, and Financing Risk & Reinsurance, as well as
supplements to a number of the reference manuals. Please use this
link to go directly to a summary of the new issues and information with
direct links into the publications.
Join us at the 24th IRMI Construction Risk Conference in Orlando November
8–11 and find out how to improve your insurance, surety, and risk management
programs. Nowhere but at the IRMI Construction Risk Conference will you find
such an offering of great ideas. We invite you to share this educational experience
with us; network with more than 1,000 construction risk management, insurance,
and surety experts; and enjoy beautiful, sunny Orlando. We are now accepting
online registrations. To register, download the brochure, or view the agenda
and speaker biographies, visit our conference Web site.
IRMI is pleased to announce the fifth edition of its best-selling publication, The Additional Insured Book. It has been
updated to reflect all the changes initiated by ISO and the latest court decisions
handed down in the 4 years since the fourth edition was published. In particular,
the new book addresses revised editions of a number of additional insured endorsements
widely used in connection with contracting operations. These revised endorsements
significantly reduce the protection available to additional insured project
owners and general contractors and will have a major impact on insurance programs
for construction projects throughout the United States. In all, the fifth edition
of the popular book includes more than 450 pages of additional insured information
and strategies with more than 240 case citations. For more information, visit
our products Web
site.
Joe
Postel has written for IRMI.com since its inception in the spring
of 2000 on insurance law, focusing on additional insured issues. He has practiced
with Liberty Mutual's staff legal office in Chicago since 1986, specializing
in litigation of additional insured and related contractual risk transfer issues
and appeals. In addition to serving as an Expert Commentator for IRMI.com, Mr.
Postel serves on the editorial board of IRMI's CGL Reporter: The Insurance Coverage Litigation Handbook, focusing on
commercial trucking, bad faith, and excess insurance issues. He is a member
of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (ICLC) of the American Bar Association
(ABA) Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), the Insurance Law Committee
of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the Insurance Law Committee of the
Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (IDC), and the Appellate Lawyers
Association of Illinois. He has authored numerous articles and spoken on additional
insured issues and construction defect coverage at many conferences for ABA/TIPS/ICLC,
DRI, IDC, the IRMI Construction Risk Conference, and the American Corporate
Counsel Association.
For more information on Mr. Postel, see his full biography and a list
of his articles.
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