IRMI Update—Issue #132
An E-mail Newsletter for Risk and
Insurance Professionals
ISSN: 1530-7948
March 8, 2006
In This Issue
Colleague,
If the insurance industry's tribulations during the last few
years have taught us anything, it is how quickly a brand can be
tarnished as a result of the actions of a few bad apples. Establishing
ethical behavior as an ingrained part of an organization's corporate
culture is a key to avoiding lapses that can damage its brand. I
believe it also provides those companies that achieve it with a
competitive edge in the marketplace. However, this must go beyond
lip service with everyone in the organization walking the talk.
Some of the ways to accomplish this are:
- Have a code of ethics that everyone follows,
from the CEO down the line.
- Regularly remind everyone—employees and customers—of
the code.
- Conduct training sessions to help teach employees
how to make difficult ethical choices.
- Punish those who violate the code.
March is ethics awareness month for the insurance industry, and
most CPCU chapters as well as some other associations will be focusing
on ethics awareness at their meetings. Consider encouraging your
colleagues to attend these programs and take ethics seriously. This
is also a great time to review ethics awareness in your organization
and take steps to increase it. To give you a helping hand, we're
happy to give you
Ethics Considerations for Property and Casualty
Insurance Professionals. This is a nuts-and-bolts guide
to developing an ethical code and making ethical decisions.
Do you agree with my premise that insurance organizations with
a demonstrable commitment to ethics and integrity have a competitive
advantage in the marketplace? What approaches to reinforcing ethical
behavior have you seen work in your company or perhaps in your clients'
companies? [See reader comments].
Thank you for subscribing to IRMI Update.
Have a great day.
Jack
Jack P. Gibson, CPCU, CRIS, ARM
President
IRMI
Reduce Flood Risk—Be Careful of Enclosures—The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local building officials
work hard to develop building codes that reduce the risk of flood
damage. Before enclosing nonliving areas of a building or home,
a property owner should meet with local building officials to ensure
that the proposed enclosure will be safe from flooding. Patios,
garages, balconies, and other nonliving areas are not designed to
protect against flooding as much as planned living areas.
If the building or home is post-and-beam construction (commonly
referenced as on stilts), do not convert the open area underneath
the living area into additional living space without checking with
local building officials. Most likely, the area beneath the living
area is open to allow water to pond up or to flow freely under the
structure. An open area converted to living space may block the
flow of water. This presents an increased risk of flooding in the
new living area, and worse, damaging the entire structure, particularly
during heavy rainstorms.
In the Florida Keys, many property owners modified areas intentionally
left open to mitigate flood damage. Unfortunately, many did not
check with local building officials who would have prevented such
actions. The widespread nature of this problem may prompt FEMA to
place the community on probation, resulting in the suspension of
all coverage maintained by the community's property owners until
corrective action meets with FEMA standards.
The best advice for property owners is to be sure that proposed
enclosures or other alterations meet with local floodplain regulations.
Dan Freudenthal, President
Flood Zone Correction, Inc.
West Palm Beach, FL
Toll Free: 1-877 Flood Zone, ext. 111
www.floodzonecorrection.com
Suggest a Risk
Tip. Send us a practical tip (less than 300 words) for
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or filling gaps in insurance coverages.
Submit your tips.
We'll acknowledge your contribution as we did for Dan.
We have recently updated a number of the reference manuals in
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to you or your client. This second edition book helps you gain the
expertise of 13 construction, insurance, and legal professionals
in one handy, well-organized guide. See the table of contents and
order
here.
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