Category Archives: Risk Management magazine

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The 10 Best Industry Blogs

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Bloggin’ ain’t easy. Doing it well takes commitment, research, accuracy and regular postings. And, of course, a knack for writing. The staff of Risk Management has a few favorite blogs that we visit on a regular basis for their insight, knowledge and timeliness. The following are 10 of our favorite risk management and insurance blogs:

  1. The Call: Foreign Policy magazine’s blog posts are authored by Ian Bremmer, president of the global risk research and consulting firm Eurasia Group. The blog uses political science to analyze the future of politics and the global economy. When it comes to industry blogs, this one is my personal favorite.
  2. Terms + Conditions: The Insurance Information Institute’s blog covers current disasters, risks, laws, regulations and market conditions, among other topics. Claire Wilkinson, vice president for global issues at III, has done a great job of posting timely articles first thing in the morning, and it seems she’s been joined recently by James Lynch, a veteran insurance professional and blogger.
  3. Clear Risk: The company itself works with organizations to help improve their risk management techniques and the blog, managed by Craig Rowe, covers the various aspects of risk management and insurance in a well-organized and easy to read manner.
  4. Schneier on Security: Bruce Schneier, a security technologist and author, manages this blog, which focuses on security and security technology. He has testified on security before the United States Congress and has written articles for some of the worlds biggest publications. Schneier, an opinionated tech man, knows what he’s talking about — and it shows in every post.
  5. Workers’ Comp Kit Blog: This blog covers (you guessed it) everything relating to the world of workers’ comp. It acts as a discussion forum for employers to learn about workers’ comp cost containment, techniques and strategies. The blog is managed by Rebecca Shafer, and attorney and risk consultant, and features posts by more than 30 other professionals. Though the format of the blog can be somewhat distracting (ads galore), the content is useful.
  6. GC Capital Ideas: The website, a part of reinsurance intermediary Guy Carpenter, refers to itself as more of a platform from which it disseminates information that has been published through reports, briefings and bylined articles. I refer to it as a blog and its information is has proved valuable to our team on more than one occasion.
  7. Calculated Risk: This blog offers a sophisticated analysis of economic data, from consumer sentiment to the mortgage and housing industry to the banking industry. Managed by Bill McBride, a full-time blogger with a background in finance and economics, Calculated Risk proves successful at turning complicated technical data into useful information for the masses. McBride publishes several posts per day.
  8. Political Risk Explored: Brian Hasbrouck, a man with a serious interest in the international political economy, manages this blog. PRE’s short and sweet posts pull from other publications or reports that the blog’s readers may have never come across on their own. The blog’s simple format makes it easy to navigate and read and the Twitter feed embedded on the right-hand side is an added bonus.
  9. Product Liability Monitor: This blog was created by attorneys in the Weil product liability practice and discusses key trends, developments and events that have shaped and are shaping the product liability landscape. The blog’s clean format is something to be imitated.
  10. The FCPA Blog: Its simple name leaves no guesses as to what it covers — news and views about the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Managed by Richard Cassin, the multiple daily posts gives readers a grim reminder of the oft-corrupt corporate world and analysis of the FCPA’s actions.

If you think we have left off an important blog related to the industry, please let us know in the comments section below.

Jan/Feb Issue of Risk Management Now Online

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Faithful readers: the January/February issue of Risk Management magazine is now online. The cover story focuses on women’s struggles and successes within the risk management and insurance industry. Other features explore the rising risk of pirate threats on the high seas, the 3 worst assumptions risk managers make and how a new SEC rule changed the way companies look at risk management.

Our columns explore topics such as insurers reaction to the Fed’s spending, the biggest risks of 2011, the property/casualty market in 2011 and an engaging Q&A with Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer.

If you enjoy what you seen online, you can subscribe to the print edition to enjoy even more content.

Please let us know what you think in the comments below. And stay tuned to the blog for even more coverage in the future. Lastly, you can follow the magazine on Twitter, “like” us on Facebook and join our LinkedIn group.

Soft Market Far From Over: RIMS

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According to the Risk and Insurance Management Society’s (RIMS) annual benchmark survey, commercial insurance pricing changed very little in the fourth quarter of 2010. The report, administered by Advisen Ltd, found that general liability, property and workers comp policies renewed with hardly any change in premium, on average. According to a press release issued today by RIMS:

“We have seen more carriers exercising underwriting discipline – walking away from business that does not meet their pricing targets – but it is still a very competitive market,” says Robert Cartwright, loss prevention manager for Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. and a member of the RIMS board of directors. “Premiums have stabilized a bit over the past couple of quarters, but they still are far below 2003-2004 levels. In some lines they are back to where they were during the soft market of the 1990s. It remains a buyer’s market.”

Though most premiums remain unchanged, average D&O premium did make a move. The report states that the average D&O premium fell 4.6%, though larger companies saw a slightly sharper decline while smaller companies saw only a minuscule drop.

In the February issue of Risk Management, our fearless editor in chief, Morgan O’Rourke, tackles the state of the property/casualty market in our annual P/C Market Outlook. Check here February 1st to find out more.

Bird-Flu-Proof and Delicious

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The Black Death. Smallpox. Cholera.

The names alone are enough to send shivers down spines. There’s just something frightening and sinister about diseases that can spread like wildfire and quietly kill millions. It comes as no surprise, then, that whenever the possibility of a pandemic is even whispered these days, countries are thrown into states of frenzy. Who could forget the SARS scare of 2003 or even the recent concerns about swine flu? The news isn’t all bad though. Scientists in the UK have unveiled new genetically modified (GM) chickens that can’t spread bird flu to their other feathered friends.

H5N1 influenza, more commonly known as bird flu and the subject of a July 2006 Risk Management cover story, has a history of wreaking havoc among people and poultry alike. In the past decade, outbreaks of H5N1 in Southeast Asia have claimed hundreds of human lives. Millions of chicken flocks have also been destroyed as health organizations attempt to stem the spread of the disease. Bird flu, therefore, presents challenges from both economic and health standpoints.

The genetically engineered chickens can ensure greater food security, as well as protect poultry farmers from economic losses, in areas where bird flu is prevalent. Furthermore, eliminating the transmission of H5N1 between birds also reduces the risk of the disease being passed on from chicken to human, thus lowering the risk of flu epidemics. The secret lies in a special decoy molecule in the GM chickens that prevents the virus from replicating and spreading.

Don’t expect GM chicken to be on Sunday night’s dinner menu though. There are a number of political and economic obstacles that must be surpassed before these chickens can be bred on commercial farms, not to mention that the public is still wary about food that has been scientifically tampered with. The British scientists predict that it will cost about $79,000 just to produce a few chickens that can be bred. Although feasible for affluent nations, the price tag is too high for the developing countries that need the most protection from bird flu. The ultimate goal, however, is to engineer a chicken that will be resistant to the H5N1 disease completely.

While prospects look good, don’t count your chickens just yet.