IRMI Update—Issue #36
An E-mail Newsletter for Risk and
Insurance Professionals
ISSN: 1530-7948
March 5, 2002
In This Issue
Colleague,
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking at an Insurance Symposium
at the University of Mississippi. It was unique in that it brought
insurance professionals together with students to explore and learn
about industry issues. It always inspires me when I meet young people
who are actively studying insurance and planning to pursue careers
in the industry. These are the people who may take the industry
to new heights.
The industry will derive many benefits if risk and insurance
programs at our colleges and universities survive and grow. If you
don't already do so, please support them. The best way is to hire
the graduates of these programs. In return, you will be getting
a bright young person who has already committed to the industry.
Of course, you can also contribute to scholarship funds and participate
in career days and other campus events.
On another topic, many thanks to those readers who provided security
tips in response to last month's IRMI Update. We'd like to receive
more tips on how to make businesses safer for employees and customers,
whatever the industry.
Thank you for your trust and confidence. Have a great day.
Jack
Jack P. Gibson
President
IRMI
Reduce Risk with Subrogation Waivers.
Waivers of subrogation are clauses in the insurance requirements
of business contracts that prevent one party's insurer from subrogating
against (suing) the other party to recover a loss it paid. They
can greatly reduce risks by identifying which party is supposed
to insure the risk and prohibiting that party's insurer from trying
to circumvent the intent by suing the other party for causing or
contributing to the property loss. They have long been used in real
property leases to allocate responsibility for insuring the leased
property to either the tenant or landlord.
They also have uses in construction contracts. These contracts
should, for example, specify which party is responsible for insuring
the project and waive subrogation against all other parties involved
with constructing the project. Homebuilders may use them to reduce
their completed operations exposures. To protect the homebuilder
from future subrogation from the owner's homeowner's insurer, a
waiver of subrogation of the insurer's rights can be included in
the sales contract.
Whenever you are reviewing a contract that requires one party
to purchase some form of property insurance, consider whether it
is advisable for the insurer's right to subrogate against the other
party to be waived.
By: Don Avera
Commercial Account Executive
TCT Insurance Services, Inc.
Dallas, TX
E-mail:
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 give you credit for
your contribution.
There are now 266 articles on IRMI.com, and many more are in
production. Below you'll find summaries of some recent additions
with links to the articles.
-
Achieving
Workers Compensation Savings through Medical Bill
Repricing—Medical bill repricing leads
to legitimate and real workers compensation savings,
but it does have its drawbacks. Martin McGavin examines
the process, including its strengths and weaknesses.
- What Your Fire Department
Should Know about Your Fire Protection Systems—In
this new property risk control column, William Fries
explains the importance of inviting firefighters
to your facilities. That way, they can familiarize,
educate, and train on your suppression systems before
a disaster.
-
The
Insurance Business Is Not for Sissies!—In
his Insurance Rx column, Gary Bausom takes a look
at where insurance companies are headed after 9/11,
what they can expect to find, and "ingredients for
success."
-
The
Pitfalls of Accepting Contaminated Fill—What
happens when an earthwork contractor accepts fill
material at the site to establish proper elevations
only to discover later that the "clean fill" is
anything but? Jeff Slivka provides ways to control
the exposure.
-
Anything
You Say (or Do) Can and Will be Held Against You
in a Court of Law—In this article, Sanford
Warren informs readers of some of the potential
pitfalls that await the patent holder along the
road from first conception of the invention to final
expiration of the patent.
Credit-Based Insurance
Scoring: A Simmering Debate. With consumer groups squarely
and vehemently lined up against the insurers, and regulators caught
in the middle, compromises on this issue are virtually assured.
New IRMI Book Focuses on Captives—Captives and other
alternative risk transfer (ART) vehicles warrant careful consideration
in hardening insurance markets such as we now face. Written by an
ART veteran, IRMI's newest book,
Captives and the Management of Risk, is designed to help
captive newcomers and seasoned pros alike understand when it does
and does not make sense to use captives and how to get the most
from an existing captive. Click on the title to see more information
and a table of contents.
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