Can’t Sleep? What’s Keeping Risk Managers Up at Night – Part 1

The below article written by Patricia Kagerer was reprinted [not in its entirety] with permission from the Fall 2011 issue of Litigation Management. For more information about the magazine or the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, please visit www.theclm.org. 

Patricia is a friend and colleague of IMO, a respected professional in the field of risk management, a consultant, and published writer. We have posted three of her article’s main points in this post. The last three we will highlight will be released  on January 23, 2012.

Share your thoughts with us. How can risk managers and alike professionals ensure these relevant topics in 2011 are addressed in 2012? How are Workers’ Compensation claims impacted?

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As a risk manager I have lost plenty of sleep wondering if I covered all my bases. Over the years, just when I thought I had seen it all, a twist on risk was waiting in the wings. Some came in the form of a change of insurance coverage such as mold or exterior insulation finish systems. Some are associated with technology and innovation. Over the last few weeks I surveyed risk managers and the following is a list of the Top 10 Risks that keep Risk Manager’s up in 2011.

1. Catastrophic Risk (unprecedented weather events) - Global warming? End of the world in 2012? Science fiction? The year 2011 has turned out to be year of unprecedented tornados and floods and the earthquake in Japan. These events mount up as business, governments and countries ban together to rebuild. How is coverage changing? Are the damages really worse than ever and what does the risk manager do about it going forward?

2. Economic Global Risk - The global economic crisis over the last two years is a game changer for the structure of power in the world today. While America is showing a glimpse of hope of recovery, the reality is the world is headed in a different direction. The important questions include: Are we comfortable with where we are going? How do challenges with economic power trump military capacity? Does our global world make it a game changer for strategic risk managers?

3. Human Capital Risk – As baby boomers retire, industries are faced with a conundrum. How do we train, develop and attract the new generation of business leaders? How do we capture our leaders’ knowledge and transfer it to the next generation? Budget cuts left many industries without a training budget. The risk management community reports that for every one person entering the industry, five people are retiring. Plans to shore up the brain drain are a day late and a dollar short.

Visit us again next week for three more reasons why risk managers are up at night.