Risk & Business

In the practice of risk management there are 5 steps that every business owner needs to be familiar with. Once you understand these steps you can use them in just about every application or business situation. Why you ask?, because practicing good risk management can make your business profitable. The 5 steps are used when looking at risks. Step 1 is identifying your risks. There are plenty of methods that are used to get this accomplished. Step 2 is analyzing the risks. Again, the textbooks are filled with tools you can use. Step 3 and Step 4 are controlling and financing the risks, which may mean beefing up safety and buying insurance, but not necessarily. A good risk professional can help you with the proper applications of control and financing. Finally Step 5 is administering and monitoring your risks on an ongoing basis. Sounds like a lot of work doesn't it? Practicing risk management is not easy, but those businesses that do, usually have a competitive advantage. The risk ma

Credit scores are part of our daily lives. We can't get credit or loans if your credit score is bad. Now it seems that getting business insurance is also dependent on credit scores. More and more insurance companies that write business insurance are using credit scores to determine whether to write a policy or not. When you apply for a business liability policy, the insurance carriers are putting your information into an algorithm that determines your rates and even if they will offer a policy. Credit scores are one of important components of these algorithms. So do bad credit scores mean your business is a bad risk. Well it there are some very strong data that supports this. Business owners that have higher credit scores usually have more claims. The insurance industry are stating that credit scores for business owners is here to stay and rates and coverages will be dependent upon the score.  All business owners need to monitor their credit scores as the cost of business insurance

 Today we live in an information age and everyone is connected. By being connected, that means everyone talks.....and I mean everyone. That's why I think we're at a turning point when it comes to risk management of  businesses reputation. Every business has the risk of their reputation being negatively impacted by social media and internet blogging. The specifics of how to handle the risk of business reputation are too comprehensive for this blog. However, it is important that every business owner understand that this risk is real and they will need to work with a risk professional to keep their business reputation in tact. Until next time be careful out there and know your risks. G. Kevin Nemith, President of CNC Insurance Associates Inc. Serving DE, MD, NJ, PA, & VA www.cncinsurance.com www.bizinsurancetv.org

Being prepared for emergencies such as severe storms, long power outages, flooding and everything in between, is good risk management. Often we forget about these preparations, because we have not experienced a catastrophic event. However, If you've followed the news from the mid west, you have seen images from tornadoes that have destroyed entire towns. So while these events may be rare for some, it doesn't mean it can't happen. With that being said, take the time to plan for these emergencies. Preparing food and water storage along with flashlights, are just a few of the things you will need on your check list. Power backups with generators and batteries are important and may be critical. Go online and search for checklists that help you establish a plan and help you implement it.  The best one I have found is www.fema.gov  Hopefully, these events never make it to our door. If they come knocking though, will you be prepared? Well, until next time, be careful out there an