Risk & Business

Based upon estimates provided by EQECAT, a subsidiary of California based ABSG Consulting, the two recent snowstorms that hit the east coast could have losses adding up to two billion dollars. The company based their estimate on a "preliminary assessment of the overall scale of these storms and their snow, ice and wind impacts relative to major prior events in the last two decades." During the past year insurance companies have had relatively low losses. Hopefully these 2 storms aren't a precursor of what's to come in 2010.

In Philadelphia , a man shot his cousin in a fake robbery in order to split workmans compensation benefits. The insurance company paid the injured cousin $250,000 in a lump sum disability settlement which the two split. A friend of the shooter tipped police and when the jig was up they both confessed. Talk about a desparate act! The word is they split the proceeds 50/50. I think the guy who took the bullet got the raw end of the deal. Until next time be careful out there.  K

Based on a study by NCCI , medical cost containment strategies for workmans comp are not working as predicted. The reason is that doctors are shifting billings from their private practices to billings through hospitals or other facilities that fall outside the fee schedules. This is diluting the effectiveness of work comp cost containment in which rates are predicted. In Delaware the recent mandated rate reductions were instituted because of the prediction that Senate Bill 1 medical cost containment strategies would start to work. However the results to date have not been stellar. I can only hope for small business owners in Delaware that the anticpated work comp cost containment measures start to show positive signs. If not the low rates business owners are enjoying now could rise dramatically the other direction. In addition insurance companies that write work comp may start to question writing policies in the State due to the cost containment climate being w...

After you have Identified and analyzed risk then you have to control risk. There are a few options to look at when deciding how to control risk in your business . You can avoid risk by making the necessary changes in your business to stop a particular exposure. You can reduce risk by changing an operation or procedure or by separating risk and duplicating processes to reduce risk. These are only a few of the steps a business owner can take to get a handle on controlling the risk in their business. In the next post I will discuss financing risk, which is how to pay for retaining risk or the benefits of transfering risk to an insurance company. Until next time be careful out there and know your risks.  K

A recent article in an industry blog, Comp Time, http://www.businessinsurance.com/section/blogs02, cites a large jump in uncollected insurance premiums. Apparently many employers are leaving their work comp carriers around audit time and finding another carrier. This is done to avoid paying any additional premium due. Many employers are signing up for work comp and drastically under reporting their payroll and then seek to avoid paying the premiums when an audit can turn up a higher actual payroll. The problem with this practice is that it drives up premium for everyone else and the employer will eventually be caught, and not only be subject to paying the premiums, but also can face prosecution.

After identifying your business risk the next step for business owners is to analyze the risk issues. You want to look at frequency and severity of identified risk. You want to make an assessment of the maximum possible loss to your organization from identified risks. You want to use some formulas to calculate the probability of loss and the potential impact risk could have on your business. Compare your projections against the loss data from your company's loss history. If this sounds like a lot of work, unfortunately it is. However in my opinion this is the most important step because it determines your action plan against risk. In my next post we will discuss controlling risk which comes after analysis. Until next time be careful out there. K Reblog this post [with Zemanta ]">

Image via Wikipedia While I'm sure that the acronym for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA , doesn't give small business owners a warm and fuzzy feeling, the agency does offer more than just their standard enforcement activity. Advertised on their website , www.osha.gov, they have a compliance assistance web page , http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/index.html, that provides small business' information directly relating to compliance and they also offer free onsite consultation services to help in compliance and in the prevention of onsite injuries. The site is full of information and can only help. Take a look sometime. Remember, it's FREE.

In previous posts I reviewed the risk management process as a part of the total Enterprise Risk Management program of a business . To identify potential risks in each segment of your business you should use a checklist or flowchart . There are many websites and resources out there specific to your business to obtain these tools. The use of a checklist will give you questions and references you need to ask yourself each time you identify risk. Also a checklist gives you years of expertise and knowledge developed by others in your business. Finally, everytime you are in the process of identification of risk, the checklist will give you peace of mind that you are not forgetting anything. Until next time be careful out there and know your risks!   K

According to an article on the BBC news website, Munich RE states that natural catastrophes caused less damage and claimed fewer human lives than the previous year. As compared to 2008 when there were an estimated $200bn in paid losses, 2009 saw a significant decline to approximately $50bn in paid losses for the year. The reinsurance giant stated that this was due to a significant decline in hurricanes this year. Of course, the company being based in Europe, a board member couldn't resist commenting on the lack of significant progress on climate change policy at the Copenhagen summit this past year. Interesting, there were fewer natural catastrophes, such as hurricanes, yet many still cling to the "climate change" canard. I know I spent allot of time pondering it as I was digging out from the recent snowstorm.

As a conquence from the Democratic administration, the EEOC ( Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ) has been empowered to investigate and litigate employment claims more than ever. The agency has now a bigger budget and increase staffing to follow up on claims. As a small business owner it is important to realize that you may not be under their radar just because you are a small business. The EEOC is looking at systemic policies and behavior which could target even the smallest of companies. This could mean that a discrimination claim against your business by one employee could result in the EEOC looking at your business for a broad or systemic problem for all your employees. In other words the one employees claim is looked at as the "smoke" consealing a "fire". The best risk strategy is to have sound employment procedures and manuals that every employee has signed off on. Also to make sure you document all actions and issues. Finally look into purchasing...

In previous posts I discussed  Enterprise Risk Management and having to apply a process to determine risk in all phases of your business . What is this process? It is a 5 step approach to help businesses keep risk under wraps. The risk management process is 1) Identification  2) Analysis  3) Control   4)Finance  5) Administration. I will go over each step in future posts. In the meantime become familair with the steps by doing some research on the web. There is tons of information out there. Until next time be careful out there and know your risks. K

I am deviating from my risk management posts to discuss the SB1( Senate Bill 1) work comp law and how insurance companies are starting to enforce the requirments created by the law. If you are an LLC corporation and in the contracting business , you cannot exempt yourself from carrying work comp unless you do the following: 1) sign the appropriate LLC member/officer exclusion form the DCRB provides, and 2) provide a LLC resolution showing the member officers of the LLC. These documents are to be presented at audit time and are also to be given to any entity you are contracting with, such as a general contractor . Insurance company auditors are charging premiums if these two documents (required by SB1) are not present. With Delaware comp rates plummeting, insurance companies are looking for premium. Enforcing the law that was passed two years ago is a way companies can find additional premium, but only if LLC companies do not have their pap...

To establish a " holistic approach to your business risk,  the first step is to start with your goals. In order to achieve your business goals on a consistant basis you then need to keep the risk of the business in control in all phases. Therefore apply the risk management process to sales , marketing , human resources , financial , vendors, suppliers, stockholders , debt , R&D, etc... Enterprise risk management takes a lot of work and is the reason why most businesses do not do it. In my next post I will break down the risk management process that needs to be applied throughout your business. Until next time, be careful out there and know your risks.   K

ERM or Enterprise Risk Management is a holistic view of risk in a business . A lot of attention has been paid to ERM after the financial crisis and meltdown. Experts say that  if AIG had a solid enterprise risk program they would have seen their potential downfall. I will blog about ERM this month and how it can help small business owners. I will also give some examples of steps you can take to establish an ERM approach to your business. Until next time be careful out there and know your risk.  K

Image via Wikipedia The State of California has enacted a new " pay as you drive " directive allowing insurance companies to charge insured drivers based upon the actual miles they drive instead of the industry norm of actuarial based rates. While some have expressed displeasure due to so called privacy concerns, it seems to be a sensible approach to take. There are many who drive very few miles yearly and others who drive considerably more. Both of these classes of drivers tend to pay relatively similiar rates. Insurance companies do question drivers periodically on their mileage but I'm fairly sure most drivers tend to fudge those figures a bit. This seems to be a growing trend with companies such as Progressive taking the lead. It's only a matter of time before this spreads to the commercial side of insurance. Reblog this post [with Zemanta]">

The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce is going to work with the Delaware Insurance Department to promote the work place safety program. The safety program allows qualified business owners to save up to 20% on their work comp premiums. I know my agency has promoted this program for the last decade and have had great success in keeping premiums down for our clients . With the recent rate reductions and the opportunity to apply for the work place safety credits, Delaware employers and small business owners have some of the lowest work comp rates in the nation. Just a few years ago Delaware had the 4th highest. The insurance companies however are monitoring the rate reductions cautiously. Delaware has a hard job, it has to balance the proper rates to charge from a smaller worker population , that still allow insurance companies to make money. If not, the companies may stop writing work comp business in the State which would...

In the past I have spoken to clients regarding a particular workers compensation claim affecting them and have asked if they have brought the employee back to work yet. Too many times the answer is no, they have nothing for that employee to do since said employee is not 100% and unable to perform their specific job prior to their workers compensation injury/claim. The problem with this is that too often employers miss the point that even though an employee can't perform in the position they were in prior to their injury, it behooves the employer to create some type of alternative task/job the employee can do until such time they are able to resume their normal duties. Bringing that employee back to work means that work comp benefits /payments in that particular claim are being curtailed, thereby saving the employer potentially more being paid out, while adding to their experience mod and driving their overall work comp expenses up.

There is a lot of talk coming out of congress regarding the anti-trust exemption for the insurance industry . The McCarren Ferguson act which was passed over 40 years ago, gives the insurance industry the ability to share and pool loss data in order to set rates. Many in congress are saying that this allows price fixing by insurance companies and has contributed to the high cost of health and property/casualty insurance. The insurance industry and State insurance departments refute this accusation. Without the ability to pool loss data smaller insurance companies will not be able to set adequate rates in order to make a profit. The data information from others in the business allows more competition because small and medium companies can do business and compete with larger insurance companies. If this is to be abolished, small to medium insurance companies would not have the customer base , history, or money to get this all important loss data. A repeal of the McCarren ...

Attention business owners, if your employees are downloading information from illegal websites, you may be held liable for damages. A recent case out of New Jersey , the appellate court found the employer liable for not policing an employee who was using the work computer to download illegal pornography . The case was settled for an undisclosed amount.  In addition there have been cases where employers were found liable for retaining an employee who they caught. This is a risk problem for employers which can easily be managed. Have a internet and computer policy that is a no tolerance policy. Have all your employees sign it and educate them on your no tolerance policy. Report anything illegal immediately to the authorities. Until next time, be careful out there and know your risks.   K

Image via Wikipedia According to an article in The Telegraph , an online UK website/newspaper, identity theft has risen by more than a third in that country. Based upon information provided by the article, there have been a total of 59,000 recorded victims of identity theft in Great Britain in the first nine months of the year whereas last year the total for the whole year was 62,658. The article went into further detail explaining that account takeovers , 3rd party hacks into an existing account have more than tripled in the last 2 years. The targets of these attacks are credit cards by more than half with the blame being online purchasing and cardholder carelessness being blamed. As a business owner it's more than likely that you and your employees are making online payments and or purchases using company credit. It would be wise to consult your insurance agent to discuss procuring coverage for this type of risk if you don't already have it.