Eight new seminars announced for annual conference

Eight seminars, several of them addressing top concerns of Airmic members, have been added to the annual conference in June. They include sessions on career advancement, global programme compliance, the implications of Airmic’s research into resilience and the reliability of insurance contracts.

The new seminars will take place on Wednesday June 18, and are summarised below. Full conference can be found at http://www.airmicconference2014.com/conference/seminars/

Getting ahead in Risk and Insurance: Lessons from the top

Airmic fastTrack presents a unique panel discussion for those who are new to their careers or the field, on getting and staying ahead. An opportunity to quiz senior figures from across the industry on their career milestones, what helped them excel in the field, key trends in recruitment for the industry, the future roles of the CRO and CEO – and what can the next generation do to match them?

The panel:
Kate Wallin (chair), Senior Insurance Manager, Marriot Hotels Group
John Ludlow: SVP Global Risk Management, Intercontinental Hotels Group
David Ross: CEO, Arthur J. Gallagher
David Carr: Managing Partner, Idex

Financial Materiality of Insurance

The internal protection afforded by a reliable insurance contract is often deeply misunderstood, resulting in much less internal attention than is deserved from both Boards and key operational staff. Mactavish has developed a unique approach identifying insurance-critical financial ratios – to analyse the financial consequences of a delayed / disputed claim as well as the cost and efficiency of insurance weighed against alternative methods of financing loss. This work seeks to raise the profile of insurance internally and emphasise the need for increased focus on policy reliability.

Presented by Mactavish

Roads to Resilience

It is obvious that organisations that effectively manage risk will be more successful. However, the recent ‘Roads to Resilience’ research published by Airmic asks whether organisations need to go further than simply achieving good standards of risk management. Boards understand the need to manage risk, but are likely to be more engaged with the concept of achieving enhanced organisational resilience. Airmic recognised this requirement and commissioned Cranfield School of Management to investigate the principles of organisational resilience and how they can be achieved.

This workshop explains the findings of the research and the lessons for risk practitioners. The discussion will focus on the principles of resilience identified by the research and the actions that boards should take in order to achieve the benefits of increased organisational resilience.

Presented by Crawford, Lockton and PwC

Global insurance programs - a new database for Airmic members

Compliance of global insurance programs is an increasing concern for insurance buyers. It is often difficult to obtain information about legal requirements in different territories, especially in relation to non-admitted policies, including the DIC / DIL cover included in many excess layer policies. Buyers of global insurance programs need to be able to access high level information on legal requirements, so that decisions can be taken on the structure of global insurance programs.

Axco has been working with Airmic members and insurance brokers to develop a database that is designed to provide information specifically for insurance buyers. The database will be launched at the conference and this workshop provides an opportunity to explore the information provided in the database and how it will help insurance buyers.

Presented by Axco

How terrorism cover for commercial property is changing

Steve Coates looks at the issue of terrorism insurance and how governments all around the world work with local insurers to ensure cover for terrorism is available. He examines the underlying drivers of the need for government support for terrorism and, against the background of a constantly evolving risk examines why terrorism is fundamentally different to other catastrophe perils. Steve will look at the UK terrorism risk and examines how it has changed and some of  the challenges Pool Re must face in the future. Steve concludes by looking at how the alternative market is developing and how this is being driven, in part, by new capacity affecting the global reinsurance market.

Presented by Pool Re

Business Interruption Policy Wordings – Challenges highlighted by Claims Experience

Everybody agrees that contract certainty is desirable, yet there has been a lack of clarity for a long time now over certain aspects of BI policies. Does the Business Interruption policy deliver in practice as the policyholder expects? Frequently, confusion is caused by differences in technical meanings of words in policies compared to their everyday usage and this can cause problems with the claims process and the ultimate claim settlement.

This session will look at aspects of the BI wording where the BI Special Interest Group of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA) has highlighted ambiguities and what can be done to deliver clarity, certainty and consistency.

As a result of attending this session, delegates will have a better understanding of particular aspects of BI that are pertinent to their industry sector.  Along with their professional advisors, AIRMIC members can become advocates for BI wording change that will benefit all parties.

Presented by Harry Roberts and Damian Glynn of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters

World Economic Forum Global Risks Report – relevance for businesses

Airmic is working with the IoD, PWC, Marsh and Zurich to prepare a guide for IoD and Airmic members to outline the practical lessons for organisations from the 2014 World Economic Forum - Global Risk Report.

This publication, to be launched at the Conference, will be a practical guide to risk management and insurance solutions in response to the macro financial, societal, economic and environmental risks described in the WEF report.

The authors of the guide will use the seminar to review the new guide and to discuss with delegates how they might best use the insights from the project.

Presented by IoD, PwC, Marsh and Zurich

Climate Science and Polar Exploration – A Personal Account

Join nineteen-year-old Parker Liautaud, Leader of the 2013 Willis Resilience Expedition to Antarctica, to hear about the pioneering scientific climate change research that he conducted, his new South Pole speed record and how to survive one of the world’s most inhospitable environments.

As well as his views on polar science and climate change, Parker will share his experiences of the huge physical, emotional and logistical challenges of conducting this ambitious Antarctic expedition – overcoming gale force winds, temperatures as cold as -50 degrees Celsius, three meter high “sastrugi” (frozen waves in the ice) and all this while towing an 80 kilogram sled.