Dennis Julien, vice president of insurance and risk management for AMCORE Financial Inc., makes a great case for having risk managers report to the chief operating officer instead of the CFO, controller, general counsel, or other vice president. Every vice president in the organization has at least a sliver of responsibility for risk management and could make an argument that the function should report to him/her. The problem is he/she will not have sufficient suasion with other departments to do the job right.

Risk issues cut across each and every silo in the organization. Other than the COO, no one in the organization is charged with a sufficiently broad view of either the organization or the authority to get things done. No vice president is ever welcome to trespass/poach on another vice president's authority and this is the main reason risk managers are dragged into turf wars. Unfortunately, when risk managers report to a vice president, the information provided to the COO is usually filtered and risk management information rarely makes it to the most senior levels without spin. These problems are more easily avoided when the risk manager or chief risk officer reports directly to the COO.

Of course, it is human nature to have a desire to report to the highest possible level in an organization. However, Mr. Julien's rationale is sound and is not vanity or ego driven. What do you think? Have you seen instances where risk management in an organization was facilitated or hindered by the level of the risk manager? Certainly, organizations differ, but do you think that, in general, there is an optimal reporting structure? [See reader comments].

On another note, I'm pleased to announce that Kate Westover will be conducting another round of captive seminars for IRMI in April and May. "The Captive Choice" will give you practical advice on how to choose between your alternative risk transfer options with a focus on single parent, group, and cell captives. Ms. Westover is a wonderful presenter with the knowledge and experience to truly enlighten you. She'll be assisted by David R. Monday, a tax partner in the PricewaterhouseCoopers insurance industry practice. If you (or your clients) have been wrestling with the captive choice, this seminar is for you.

Thank you for subscribing to IRMI Update.

Have a great day.

Jack

Jack P. Gibson, CPCU, ARM
President
IRMI

Risk Tip

Four Ways To Cut Your WC Costs—After handling or administering workers compensation (WC) files in a large number of states, I have created a list of four secrets to cutting your WC costs that will work in any state with any carrier or third-party administrator (TPA). They are:

File First Reports of Injury ASAP—The setting for the rest of a WC claim happens in the first 72 hours. If the insurer/TPA does not have the first report within the first 24 hours, my statistics show a 400 percent increase in file payments.
Develop a Medical Treatment Network—This is the most crucial part of a WC claim. It is imperative for an employer to know the doctor who will treat employees post-injury and, even more importantly, know the surgeon (orthopedic or neuro) that the first level physician will refer employees to for the more serious injuries. Studies have shown that even if the employee has the right to choose the physician, s/he will usually treat with the one designated by the employer. Knowing your medical network will reduce payouts on the file by 75 percent.
Establish a Return-to-Work (RTW) Program—If there is no RTW program in place for modified duties, the increase on the file expenditures are usually 400 percent more than if a RTW program is in place.
Treat Employees with Respect—Treating an employee with respect and kindness, and communicating his/her rights under the workers compensation act will make it much less likely s/he will seek legal representation. One effective loss reduction technique is to send the employee a get-well card by e-mail. Almost everyone has an e-mail address. websites such as www.hallmark.com and www.americangreetings.com even have cards for free. Keeping in contact with the injured employee allows an employer to keep updated on the status of the medical treatment and possible RTW issues.

By: James Moore
J&L Risk Mgmt. Consultants, Inc.
Raleigh, NC

www.cutcompcosts.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. Submit your tips. We'll acknowledge your contribution as we did for James.

New Expert Commentary

There are now 637 risk management and insurance articles on IRMI.com. Below you'll find summaries of some recent additions with links to the articles.

Due Diligence Is a Risk Manager's Best Friend—David Nicastro discusses recent security episodes that illustrate the importance of due diligence not only as a pre-hiring regimen, but also as an ongoing risk management tool.
How To Pick a Mediator, 2005—Jeff Kichaven provides 10 questions, and some likely responses, to help you select the mediators best able to get the job done.
D&O Litigation Trends in 2005—Too many forces are aligned against directors and officers to suggest that the frequency and severity of claims will soon decrease, despite SOx. John Black and David Burrowes explain.
Combating Rental Equipment Theft—David Shillingford looks at why rental equipment is at greater risk of theft, the historical low recovery rates, and recent advances the rental industry is using to turn this trend around.
Plugging Liability Insurance Gaps with the Personal Umbrella Policy—While most people buy an umbrella policy for its excess coverage, including defense costs, it has far greater value as a risk management tool. Jack Hungelmann explains.

What's New in IRMI Online

We have recently updated IRMI Online to include the latest issues of our newsletters, The Risk Report, Captive Insurance Company Reports, and Strategic RM, as well as supplements to a number of the reference manuals. See a summary of all the new stuff with direct links into the publications.

Last Chance To Attend Tech-eRisk 2005

We still have a few seats left in the Dallas and Orlando Tech-eRisk 2005 seminars. This program will hone your expertise on how to insure and contractually transfer technology and cyber risks for your company or clients. This is an intensive workshop delivered by two leading experts in technology risk and insurance, and it will help you manage the risks for brick and mortar companies as well as technology companies. For more information or to register, go to our seminars section.

Your View—Contingent Commissions

In IRMI Update 107, Jack Gibson discussed the apparent demise of contingency commissions and asked readers what changes they expected as a result. Below are a few of the responses received.

I do not think contingent commissions are going away, but do agree there is a pending sea change in agent/broker compensation as respects disclosure. We researched the issue, and without getting into tremendous detail, here is what we came up with regarding the general positions of our constituencies:
- Clients & Prospects. In general, personal lines and small commercial clients are indifferent to the issue and do not have a problem with agents and brokers accepting these payments. Risk managers of very large accounts are concerned mostly with disclosure, but many do have an issue with the nature of these payments. Additionally, these companies are generally getting pressure from senior management and/or boards to assure that they have done their due diligence on the issue. Finally, middle market clients ($15,000-75,000 in account income) have tremendous variation in both their level of interest and their position on this issue.
- Competitors. Virtually no agents and brokers have taken a position that they will not accept contingencies under any circumstances except for the four institutional competitors.
- Regulators. The vast majority of regulators that have commented on this issue have stated that they believe contingency agreements (payments) are fine. Again, where regulators have demonstrated concerns, they're focused on disclosure.
- Insurance carriers have almost universally taken the position that contingency income arrangements will continue. They have specifically taken the position with agencies/brokers that decide not to accept contingent income that they do not have the flexibility to adjust front-end revenue (retail commission) for commercial property & casualty business. As for health and welfare clients, the majority of these payments are "5500 reportable," but we do generally have the flexibility to adjust our retail commissions (which is also 5500 reportable).
In summary, we believe this is much more of a transparency and disclosure issue than it is an absolute position issue. ... Agents/brokers should be able to keep contingent income on personal lines, small commercial, middle market commercial, affinity group commercial programs, and small health and welfare accounts if they provide full transparent disclosure.

Allow any client to be excluded from contingent income plans who requests same.

—Kavin Smith, Partner & Director of Brokerage Operations,
Palmer & Cay, Savannah, GA

We have had only one or two customers ask us about contingency commissions. I don't mind telling them the truth. If anything positive comes out of this, it might be to level the playing field for small agencies. After all, everyone knows the large brokers get richer agreements than small agents and brokers. The large agents get better underwriters, more exceptions, and larger contingencies. Leveling the playing field may not be a bad idea.

—Tammy Lesueur, Marketing,
Bancorp Insurance, La Pine, OR

I disagree that contingencies will go away. Conversations we have had with our carriers indicate they will continue this type compensation, however, some with modifications. None have said they will discontinue. When we deliver our proposals, clients pick us based on price and service. Never has commission or optional compensation come into the decision to do business with us. When we deliver the best product with a competitive price, the client is happy. Marsh was bid rigging, and compensation was not the cause of the problem. That would be ethics, and our customers know that. Let the regulators and AGs address the real problem.

—Richard Heckle, Chairman, Dean,
Heckle & Hill, Inc., Matthews, NC

Your article is a great lead-in to possible events that could be coming our way in the industry, and we should start to take an interest before it becomes too late.

—Anthony Dale, Director of Commissions,
RKIB, Houston, TX

The national carriers use these commitment agreements to leverage the large agencies for new business—to hit volume goals. The field production people and marketing people will have to look for other avenues to produce their regular flow of business. That may mean more attention to the smaller agencies which the carriers have been reducing "Time invested."

—Bob Fancher, Director Property Casualty,
RMSCO Inc., Liverpool, NY

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IRMI Update—Issue #108

In This Issue