Threat Managers Have Spoken: They Want Assist from Brokers and Carriers to Deal with These 3 Urgent Dangers : Threat & Insurance coverage

As cyber, natural disasters and other perils pose risks to businesses, they turn to their insurance partners for support and advice.

Risk managers have seen some disruption in recent years. From the pandemic and cyberattacks to natural disasters, talent challenges and the looming recession, risk professionals have a busy schedule.

To get a picture of risk managers’ views of the industry, Risk & Insurance® surveyed 156 risk managers.

They shared insights into their most worrying risks, which lines they are struggling to secure cover for, what they look to their brokers and carriers for, and how technology is helping them manage evolving risks.

Surprisingly, trending issues like inflation remain less of a concern for risk managers (only 9.62% named it a top concern), while issues like real estate and cyber, which have been challenges for years, remain top priorities. Here’s a look at their top three concerns and what they’re doing to manage those risks.

What risks are risk managers most concerned about?

1) Cyber ​​risk: Nearly 30% of risk managers surveyed cited cyber as the most worrying risk facing their organization. In recent years, cyberattacks have increased in frequency and severity, with healthcare, public sector and manufacturing sectors particularly vulnerable.

In addition to concerns about cyber risks, many risk managers surveyed expressed difficulty finding insurance coverage for these risks. Over 30% of risk managers said cyber was the most difficult line of insurance they found economically to retain.

2) Talent Shortage: Skills shortages continue to be an issue for employers, even as more and more companies are announcing layoffs and economists are predicting a recession. In the survey, 26.28% of respondents named the shortage of skilled workers as one of their biggest problems.

Talent gaps can impact workers’ compensation risks, says Donald Noel, ARM-E, CEBS, Risk & Safety Manager, The School District of Palm Beach County. Newer employees have a higher risk of injury at work. If an employee is injured in a company with staff shortages, it can put an additional strain on the organization.

“Safety is a priority for us to prevent the staff we have wasting time through injuries,” Noel said.

And they’re a problem for risk management, too: 36.30% of respondents said they don’t have the people to deliver on their departmental goals.

3) CAT exposures: CAT risks were the third-biggest risk, with 13.46% of respondents citing it as the top concern. Storms such as hurricanes have become more frequent in recent years and have repeatedly caused damage.

Property insurance was the second most difficult coverage to tie, said risk managers who took part in the survey, with 25.34% listing it as their most difficult line of business.

To manage these risks, many risk managers update their properties to include improvements that protect them from severe weather.

“Our district is investing in upgrading our older facilities, including new roofs, waterproofing, and improved mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems,” Noel said. “These investments help keep our buildings drier and provide a healthy learning environment for our students.”

What do risk managers look for in their freight forwarders and brokers?

In managing these complex risks, risk managers look to their insurance agents and carriers for support.

The survey found that industry knowledge and underwriting expertise are the most important qualities that risk managers look for in their broker or carrier.

Carriers and brokers with in-depth knowledge can help design creative insurance solutions for their clients and offer advice on how to reduce exposure to specific risks.

34.62% of respondents said they value industry knowledge from their agent and 25.64% said they look to their airline for strong underwriting expertise.

After these qualities, risk managers prioritized strong customer service, competitive pricing, and ease of doing business.

Price and ease of doing business are the second most important criteria for quality risk managers in a carrier, with as many as 20.51% of respondents citing both as top priorities. On the agent side, 28.21% of risk managers surveyed said customer service was an important quality to look for in their agent.

How does technology help manage these risks?

Risk managers not only rely on the expertise of carriers and brokers to manage these risks, they are also turning to technology to reduce and manage a variety of hazards.

Nearly 30% of risk managers said they prioritize investments in technology. These tools can range from sensors that help identify potential damage from things like flooding, cybersecurity controls, and AI and predictive analytics systems.

On the cyber side, Noel says he sees organizations using tools like multi-factor authentication to protect themselves from cyber attacks.

As for predictive analytics, 42.47% of respondents said predictive analytics was somewhat helpful in risk management and 12.33% said it was very effective. Over ten percent said they have not experienced any benefits from predictive analytics, and 23.29% said they are not yet using it.

The Palm Beach County School District uses predictive analytics about its TPA to determine which claims need attention from adjusters.

“When predicting severity, we can use more experienced subject matter experts on the original claims of this PA [predictive analytics] determines that this will result in an expensive or legal claim,” he said.

The prioritization of both knowledgeable insurance teams and technology investments shows that risk managers understand they need to take a multi-pronged approach to managing risk in today’s changing world. &

Courtney DuChene is a freelance journalist based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at [email protected]