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Reducing Inspector Risks During Catastrophic Response

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The risks associated with disasters extend far beyond the initial destruction. For insurers, disaster damage assessment and claims processing can pose both significant financial risk as well as introduce personal risks for claims inspection teams. The safety of these teams is dependent upon a strong understanding of the situation on the ground. As a result, insurers need to take steps to maintain visibility of the situation, efficiently handle damage claims processing, and, above all, limit the risk exposure of claims and response teams on the ground.

Utilize credible catastrophe information
Having accurate geographic information to pinpoint potential asset damage before deploying inspection teams can aid faster claim resolution and provide more efficient claim processing. Looking to trusted resources that offer key data on approaching catastrophes can help teams better prepare for the situation at hand. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offers constant information and updates on pending and current weather conditions, storms and other catastrophes to allow organizations to stay up-to-date on the latest conditions. Likewise, the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) can also offer deeper insight into disaster recovery efforts so that adjusters are prepared for the situations they walk into.

Knowledge is power when it comes to efficient claims processing and safe deployment of inspection agents. Data from credible resources allows adjusters to more safely maneuver through potentially hazardous conditions. But even the wealth of knowledge offered by NOAA and FEMA is often not enough to minimize an organization’s post-disaster risk profile.

Emphasize image collection of disaster areas
When disaster hits, roads can become impassable, buildings can become structurally unsound, and areas can become impossible to access. The last thing an insurer wants to do is send its claims adjusters into a hazardous zone unprepared.

Preparation is key to effective claims inspection that minimizes time in the field and the risk of unforeseen, hazardous circumstances. To that end, satellite and drone imagery have become key technologies used by insurance companies to improve processes and protect claims adjusters.

The concept of satellite and drone imagery to assist in claims processes and reduce inspector risks is hardly a new concept. Novarica recently estimated that nearly 20% of P&C carriers are pursuing imaging solutions. In fact, PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts that drones alone will have a $6.8 billion impact on the insurance industry in the coming years.

Satellite imagery provides wide-area, high-resolution analysis of damaged areas to help organizations understand the breadth of the damage, while drones can be deployed to specific sites to conduct detailed damage evaluations at a micro-level. Combining satellite and drone imagery can give teams a full view of the extent of catastrophic damage so they know exactly what to expect upon on-site inspection.

In some cases, detailed imagery and analytics can often provide enough information to prevent adjusters from ever having to set foot on a property, allowing them to accurately and efficiently process claims from the safety of a desk. In fact, Cognizant estimated that drone usage can make a claim adjuster’s workflow 40% to 50% more efficient, which can be especially important when managing the high number of claims that come in response to a catastrophe. This can also decrease claims management costs, help protect the well-being of employees and significantly reduce adjuster accidents.

The amount and strength of natural disasters in the U.S. will not decrease anytime soon. But the use of credible information resources and thorough imaging technology can help insurers reduce their financial and safety risks, so they can better help others address their own.

RIMS ERM 2018: Earning the ‘Mandate’ and a ‘Seat at the Table’

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MONTREAL – More than 300 risk management professionals and students attended the 2018 RIMS ERM Conference on Monday and Tuesday in an effort to gain insight from, and network with, the industry’s enterprise risk management leaders. Wisdom, data, and motivation within the ERM space were on tap during all the sessions and workshops.

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On October 29, Martin Vilsoe, partner of the Implement Consulting Group, opened the two-day event by highlighting the importance of ERM’s worldwide capabilities and how to operationalize the best ERM practices. Vilsoe said that risk managers need to “earn the mandate” to work with ERM, and focused on the idea that risks can equal opportunities.

He said that ultimately the risk manager’s job when implementing an ERM framework is to “enable brave decisions” and to maintain an organization’s best direction. With a visual aid of a freighter and individual boats in an ocean, he rhetorically asked: “Is your framework similar to a supertanker or 15-speed boats going in separate directions?”

He also spoke to the importance of risk management’s value to an organization without the sole reliance on analytics.

“Risk management’s purpose is to show value. If it is about value, then we better bring it,” he said. “We don’t always communicate that. There’s a big difference between calculating and measuring value versus communicating value. You can do it without having complete proof – you shouldn’t lie to people, but you should tell them you’re doing something great for the organization.

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”

He encouraged the audience to consider their current roles as a consultant – and the importance of “winning customers” in this alternate role. This involves some sales prowess, he said, and the ability to tell a core story or narrative that describes what you do to engage with stakeholders. Build a core story around the ERM program and send different messages to different stakeholders around your core story.

“I don’t see enough of this in risk management programs because of the idea that it is ‘too big,’ or ‘I can’t communicate it,’” he said. “You can do it. We have to move past that mentality.

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“The misconceptions is that risk management is about IT systems. And if you’re thinking as a risk consultant, be aware that putting stuff in systems will not help you manage your risks. Your ability to facilitate awareness, promote decisions and execute them, will.”

Day 2

Dovetailing on the idea that risks can become opportunities, October 30 opened with “Advancing Risk Management: Having A Seat At The Table,” presented by Laura Cisi, the Clorox Company’s vice president of global risk management, and Soraya Wright, founder and CEO of SMW Risk Management Consulting LLC.

In a fireside chat-style setting, the duo used Clorox – a 105-year-old company – as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of its ERM initiatives.

A 25-year veteran of the risk management industry, Cisi has been with Clorox for the past four years and said her ERM initiatives evolved from being viewed as the “insurance department” to a “strategic business partner,” with Wright’s collaboration with Cisi’s team to take the company on its ERM journey.

The duo said its ERM framework was built on routines, which provide “an outline that enabled us to use [it] to use as a tool,” for decision-making and assessing its critical risks as well, such as embracing a change in its formula during the manufacturing process.

“We decided to convert from chlorine to high-strength bleach,” Cisi said. “That risk bubbled up through our ERM committee and the actions that needed to be taken, and the methodology behind that came up through ERM.”

ERM was also a key influence when assessing the decision in 2014 to close Clorox Venezuela and cease operations in the country. “‘Should we be the first to exit?’” was the question on stakeholders’ minds for a long time before they discontinued operations, Cisi said. The company was required to sell more than two-thirds of its products at prices frozen by the Venezuelan government. As a result, Clorox Venezuela had been selling its products at a loss, causing ongoing operating losses despite attempts to reach a pragmatic solution with the country’s government. “Looking back, it was a good decision.”

Ultimately, the risk manager’s seat is one of many at a table occupied by executives, stakeholders and the C-suite. Cisi and Wright advocated not for being the loudest one there – but for bringing sound ideas and options. And perhaps coincidentally, Cisi and Wright’s approach seem to be putting Vilsoe’s mantras of engagement and alignment into practice.

“I think every day we get to demonstrate ERM, and not something we just do annually. For example, the ways we engage with product development and business development – we used to be thought of as compliance… and a department that said ‘no,’ Cisi said. “To shift that conversation to create more open engagements where you say ‘I’m your partner and it’s my job to identify these risks. Ultimately, it’s your business decision as to whether or not you go forward with them.”

It was then, she continued, that the risk management department was being consulted on the potential for new products by executives and other groups.

“That was when the conversation shifted from risks to opportunities,” Cisi said, adding, “and that was something they could relate to.”

RIMS members can access the live, uncut audio from “A Seat At The Table” via RIMScast.

An all-access RIMScast episode featuring conference speakers is available here.

Former NSA Director Talks Cybersecurity, Insurance at Advisen Conference

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NEW YORK—Advisen’s Cyber Risk Insights Conference, held during Cyber Week, featured risk management professionals and more than 18 panels and sessions on Oct. 25. The keynote was delivered by Adm.

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Michael S. Rogers, former Navy commander of U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), under the administrations of  Presidents Obama and Trump. Rogers discussed rising cyber threats and offered advice to providers and consumers as they assess their cyber insurance policies.

“For insurers, you need to be prepared, because the list of actors is growing and the threat is growing,” Rogers said. “Don’t build on a strategy [where you believe] things are getting better.”

He also put a particular spotlight on the fact that there is no universally accepted guideline for cyber threats when considering acts of war. Cyber, he said, differs from traditional triggers because there’s typically no physical injury or loss of life.

“You have these wholly different international views, because nation-states in western democracies do not have ownership of the web,” he said. “They do not control their citizens and control the flow of data,” as opposed to countries with greater control of information.

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“Because you have these broad, polar views it’s been difficult at times, on an international level, to get a consensus on what a framework be like to set a cybersecurity standard,” which Rogers added, could help define how a cyber attack might be considered an act of warfare.

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He proposed an approach that could start nations on a path to a universally accepted guideline: “Can get we get a smaller subset of issues to coalesce around a core group of principles, start small, and build from there? I think we’ll have success that way.”

Rogers noted that he is a proponent and believes incentivization may be the key to keeping businesses safer and maintaining lower premiums, using features of the automotive industry as an example.

“Automatic brakes and safer vehicles, for example, were an incentive for the buyer and the seller,” he said. “Production and consumption were all incentivized to make better decisions. I don’t know if it will work [with cyber insurance]. It’s all about risk.”

Rogers’ insight dovetailed along with the new information from the eighth annual Advisen cyber survey that Zurich Insurance released at the opening of the conference.

The percentage of companies that purchase cyber insurance, either via stand-alone policies or endorsements, has increased 40 points since 2011. This year’s results show a 10% increase from 2017, the largest year-over-year increase since its inception.

“Cyberrisks continue to change and businesses continue to look for ways to protect themselves from those risks,” said Paul Horgan, head of North America Commercial Insurance for Zurich North America. “These survey results provide a critical snapshot of the attitudes, concerns and actions of risk managers. It is our responsibility to respond to their needs and concerns with innovative services and solutions.”

Survey results show the two most influential factors driving cyber insurance purchases in the past year:

  • regulatory changes such as the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and
  • business continuity risks such as the Dyn distributed denial of servicer (DDoS) attack, WannaCry and NotPetya events. These caused significant losses to businesses around the world, shutting down network systems and in many cases slowing or actually halting business operations.

The Advisen data reflects a stark contrast to the feedback from last year’s survey, which found that just 10% of respondents identified business interruption as the primary reason for purchasing cyber insurance and that purchase growth had gone stagnant after a steady six-year increase from 35% to 65%.

These factors were two of the top emerging cyberrisks identified by Risk Management magazine in early 2018.

Cyber Insurance Strategies Explored: RIMS Report

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High-profile data breaches have been making headlines recently, and their damage can transcend industries, which is why cybersecurity is often a top priority for risk managers. With many traditional insurance policies no longer responding to or outright excluding cyber events, risk professionals must understand their options to ensure the organization is protected in the event of a data breach.

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A new report by RIMS, A Guide to Cyber Insurance, provides a roadmap for determining the type of coverage risk managers need in the fast-changing world of privacy, data protection, and cyber risk management. The study serves as a reference for risk professionals who are exploring options to effectively manage cyberrisks that are uncovered or not addressed by the organization’s existing risk management program.

Topics include:

  • The cyber insurance application process
  • Procurement of insurance
  • Management of cyber claims
  • Third-party coverage
  • Litigation strategies, and other pertinent details

“While cyber risk management policies are necessary for every organization, reducing a category of risk to zero is impossible,” the report notes. “Cyber insurance can help cover the gaps between a robust risk management program and any remaining risks.”

The report also features case reviews in the areas of cyber policy coverage litigation, negligence, computer fraud, technology errors and advertising and personal injury coverage. “While the overall decision-making process is much the same as with other litigation decisions, certain factors are more complex in the cyber insurance context compared to other insurance disputes,” the authors note.

The Guide doesn’t only focus on insurance. It also features helpful tips when implementing a strategic risk management program characterized by a cybersecurity framework. Pre-event planning and preparation, penetration testing and response ideas are offered as well.

“Following the purchase of some form of cyber coverage, risk professionals need to be prepared for the worst: a cyber event and any resulting claims,” the report states.

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“An organization needs to understand both the risk it faces and the coverage options available to ensure that the cyber policies it purchases provide the necessary coverage when it experiences the inevitable data breach or other cyber events.”

A Guide to Cyber Insurance is authored by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings law firm members: Dylan C. Black, A. Kate Margolis, G. Benjamin Milam and Emily M. Ruzic.

The report is currently available to RIMS members.

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To download the report, visit the RIMS Risk Knowledge library at www.RIMS.org/RiskKnowledge. To learn about other RIMS publications, educational opportunities, conferences and resources, visit www.RIMS.org.