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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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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