When international programmes and risk engineering go hand in hand, risk and insurance managers can truly take control of their exposures, say Philip Brandl and Reto Collenberg.
In partnership with Swiss Re Corporate Solutions
The challenges of managing and mitigating risks on a global scale are numerous.
Executives responsible for risk and insurance management need to understand their exposures at the local and facility level and ensure that the correct loss prevention measures are in place.
They also need international oversight and consistency. In an increasingly interconnected value chain, they need to understand what impact a catastrophic event at one location could have on the wider business and its customers.
International programmes can help address these challenges, ensuring that policy wording, claims protocols and coverage levels are consistent across every region.
Risk engineering is the key to solving loss prevention challenges. Quantifying the total costs of risk is no longer a far-away future vision, which means risk and insurance managers can tackle threats head-on.
However, only when these two approaches are put together, can organisations harness risk engineering and the capability of digital platforms to start thinking about risks holistically through the lens of multiple data sources organised coherently and efficiently against their assets and exposures and those of third parties.
Looking through the lenses of all relevant data sources, combining a top-down with a bottom-up view on risk and unleashing risk engineering’s full potential, means corporates can gain full control across the entire stakeholder network (internal and external).
Philip Brandl, head of risk engineering services EMEA at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions explains: “It enables executives responsible for risk and insurance management to attain complete risk control. We’re not just selling engineers by the hour; we have a mandate. And our mandate is to enable our customers to really pursue their business plans.”
Making risk management simple
Reto Collenberg, head of international programmes APAC & EMEA, says that international programmes allow for centralised decision-making, where insurance managers need only deal with one or two key people.
He adds: “The risk or insurance manager doesn’t need to call 20 countries to get risk reports, only to find they all have different criteria. He has a complete overview of his risks.”
”We enable our customers to quantify how much of an improved risk these investments result in”
This insight means that businesses can understand the interdependencies between locations, facilities and risks, allowing them to tackle exposures more strategically.
Brandl says: “The beauty is, you’re able to start demonstrating return on investment. Let’s face it, some of the risk prevention measures that engineers are recommending are very cost-intensive.
”But we enable our customers to quantify how much of an improved risk these investments result in. So that’s not just a view of now and today, but the next cycle, the next year, and the next 18 months.”
Building resilience
When a loss does occur, there are further benefits in terms of helping organisations to bounce back quickly.
Risk engineering enables customers to maximise their returns on loss mitigation measures, while global programmes give a clear picture for data-driven, well-informed decision-making.
This allows risk and insurance managers to consider current and emerging risks and create value beyond risk transfer.
”It’s much easier to have a centralised discussion, rather than trying to get a picture from ten plant managers who all have different views”
Collenberg explains: “It’s a clear competitive advantage for companies to be up and running much faster, particularly when it comes to understanding supply chain vulnerabilities.
“If you have an international programme, it’s much easier to get all this information together and have a centralised discussion, rather than trying to get a picture from ten plant managers who all have different views.”
Economies of scale
For middle-market organisations, another advantage of international programmes is improved efficiency and economies of scale.
Risk and insurance managers can benefit from the speed and accuracy of systems such as those built by Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.
There is also certainty in terms of the consistency of service delivery, supported by agreed performance indicators taking the friction out of the annual renewal process
Prevention is better than cure
While the benefits of this approach are clear, it doesn’t suit every organisation. Customers need to be transparent and willing to share data and collaborate. They also need to be committed to loss prevention.
Collenberg says: “We need a client who is willing to invest in risk engineering, and whose first priority is protecting the plant and employees, and not necessarily insurance.”
”Renewals will no longer be a deadline corporates are desperately working against, they will become a value-adding, continuous circle”
Working in partnership means that the renewal process can be used to take stock of what the company has achieved, and what the future holds in terms of risk control across the entire stakeholder network of a corporate risk landscape.
Brandl concludes: “To me, it’s about proactivity. Working hand in hand together, efficiently progressing along a program’s life-cycle.
”Renewals will no longer be a deadline corporates are desperately working against, they will become a value-adding, continuous circle. You plan, you monitor, you control, you adjust, you exchange, you agree and then you renew again.”
