IRMI Update—Issue #2
An E-mail Newsletter for Risk and Insurance Professionals
ISSN: 1530-7948
August 15, 2000
In This Issue
Colleague,
Welcome to the second issue of IRMI Update, our free e-mail newsletter!
First I want to say thanks to everyone who has written to compliment IRMI.com
and IRMI Update or recommended us to others. Your fantastic support keeps us
motivated to provide you the most practical and reliable risk and insurance
information available anywhere. If you haven't done so yet, please tell your
friends and associates about IRMI.com and IRMI Update. They'll be glad you did!
Each summer our research analysts spend hours talking with their industry
contacts to prepare our annual Market Report, published as the September issue
of
The Risk Report.
Frankly, the last few years had revealed so little change in the soft market
that we wondered whether the effort was worthwhile. Not this year, however.
The commercial lines insurance market is definitely firming. Depending on
loss history, industry, other underwriting factors, and coverage line, most
U.S. accounts can probably expect 10 to 50 percent (and sometimes higher) rate
hikes on their next renewal.
To be honest, it is time for more realistic insurance rates. I just hope
the insurance industry doesn't trip over its own feet trying to get to more
solid ground. Thus far, the insurance market change might be called a "correction,"
and it certainly does not resemble the "crash" of 1984/1985. We're all hoping
to avoid the drama we saw 15 years ago, however, you would be wise to develop
a contingency plan in case the unexpected happens. After all, that's what risk
management is all about.
Thanks again for choosing to be part of the IRMI family. We promise to continue
working hard to keep you on the leading edge of risk management.
Have a great day!
Jack
Jack P. Gibson
President
IRMI
Allow More Time for Your Next Renewal. One
sign of the firming marketplace is that underwriters are being much more meticulous.
This—coupled with a shortage of trained staff at some companies—is slowing down
the renewal/proposal process. It's taking much longer to get quotes than in
past years, so be sure to allow yourself enough time (particularly if you face
January 1 renewals).
Emphasize Risk Control in Your Submission. Years of cheap insurance allowed many companies the luxury of ignoring safety
and loss control. These insureds will face challenging renewals in the coming
year. Be sure to highlight your risk control programs in your submission since
underwriters want to keep (or get) the accounts that pay more than lip service
to safety and loss control.
Suggest a Risk Tip. Future issues of IRMI Update will include risk tips from our readers. Next month,
I'd like to provide practical tips to risk managers and insurance buyers on
preparing for their next renewal in the changing insurance marketplace. I'll
select one or more to publish, and the authors will be acknowledged for their
contributions.
Now you can get continuing education credit in 44 states by taking correspondence
courses available on IRMI.com. You can view the course materials online, download
the material for offline viewing or printing, or order printed books. In 16
states, you can take the test online and immediately learn your results. (The
tests boast a pass rate of 98 percent!) See the course catalog and CE FAQ section for more details.
We add new Expert Commentary to IRMI.com every week. There are now 60 articles
in the archives, and many more are in production. Below you'll find summaries
of some recent additions with links to the articles.
-
Who's Handling Your
BI Claim?—Learn who your insurers will have on their team handling
your company's business interruption claim and who you can recruit to best
reciprocate.
-
Political Risk in
Post-Crisis Asia—Although the worst is over, genuine political
and economic reform has yet to take root in Asia to ensure the recovery
will last.
-
Supreme Court Lowers
the Bar in Proving Discrimination—Learn the broad implications
for workplace litigation as a result of a recent decision making it easier
for employees to get their job discrimination claims before a jury.
-
What Does an Additional
Insured Endorsement Cover?—Learn how recent California and Texas
court decisions have clarified the broad scope of coverage under standard
AI endorsements.
-
Critical Mass and
the Savings Impact—Understanding the financial impact of critical
mass is an important step in investigating the feasibility of a construction
wrap-up program. This second article in our wrap-up series examines the
impact project size has on potential savings and how it affects underwriting
decisions.
-
Sailing through Rough
Winds of Macroeconomic Risks—Learn how to quantify and manage
the variable risks faced by your company, such as currency fluctuation,
increasing fuel costs, and interest rate changes.
-
There's a Fungus Among
Us!—Learn what causes indoor air pollution and how to prevent
toxic fungi from growing and infecting your air.
Gayle Jones of Snyder Langston and George Bragg of Bragg Crane Services were
honored for their development of a highly effective crane safety program with
the first Risk Management Best Practices Award at the 19th IRMI Conference.
Designed to recognize outstanding employees from project owners, construction
companies, construction services companies, or A/E firms, winners of this award
receive complimentary registration, airfare, and lodging for the 21st IRMI Construction
Risk Conference. If you are or know of an innovative risk/safety manager who
has implemented a unique and effective risk control, safety, risk finance, or
risk transfer program for construction exposures, send us a summary for consideration.
For more details, visit Awards in the
Construction Risk Conference section of IRMI.com.
Set for November 13-16 in Atlanta, IRMI's major networking and learning event
offers contractors, project owners, and insurance professionals four optional
1-day seminars:
- "Building a Better Wrap-Up"
- "Commercial General Liability Insurance Coverage Issues and Developments"
- "Contractual Risk Transfer"
- "Managing Contractor Default Risk"
For the remaining 2½ days, you choose from 16 concurrent workshops, covering
such topics as "Putting a Value on a Builders Risk Claim," "Contractors Pollution
Liability Insurance," What To Expect from a Wrap-Up Service Provider," "A Case
Study of Four Times Square," and "Cost Reduction Strategies for Contractors."
View an agenda, session descriptions, and speaker list, as well as register
online in the conference section of IRMI.com.
The Wrap-Up Guide Is Hot Off the Press! Wrap-up
(or owner-controlled) insurance programs are fast becoming the way to insure
large construction projects. The third edition of The Wrap-Up Guide is hot off
the press. This definitive guide has been used by thousands of risk managers,
underwriters, agents, and brokers to explore the feasibility of wrap-ups and
learn how to implement them flawlessly.
For a more in-depth description of this book, and to view sample pages, visit Products and Services section of
IRMI.com.
A subscription to IRMI Update is absolutely free. Use the e-mail registration form to initiate or terminate
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