‘Reluctance’ among risk managers to invest in new systems

There are risk managers who are reluctant to invest in systems that will give them a greater understanding of the risks they face.

That was according to Neil Scotcher, director of sales at insurance and risk software provider Origami Risk, who said that such managers were having an internal debate between risk and reward.

“We still see a lot of risk managers who are trying to assess complex insurance and risk programmes via spreadsheets,” he explained at the Airmic Conference in Edinburgh.

“They are looking to identify and manage risk trends via the spreadsheet, but the issue is that a spreadsheet will only tell you what you already know.

“In many ways, there is still a reluctance to look to move to a more comprehensive solution as they fear it will tell them something they do not want to know about their risks.”

C-suite questions

In turn, he said that risk managers may not have the information they need when approached by c-suite staff.

“CEOs, CFOs and shareholders are asking more detailed questions and all too often risk managers do not have the systems which allow them to answer them,” Scotcher said.

“In many ways, it is a risk in itself that you do not have a clear view of the risks.”

As a result, he stressed the need for risk managers to invest in new systems, saying they will save time, effort and reduce and remove the threat of error.

“There is still the need for a degree of explanation and education,” Scotcher said.

“You need to understand the total cost of risk, which include the systems you use to identify and manage it.”