Archive for the ‘risk managment’ Category

The risk and rewards of Facebook

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Part II

Risk Management

For years the insurance and reinsurance markets have been talking about Enterprise Risk Management. Well, believe it or not, these days, risk managers should be looking at not just media, and communications in general, but also taking a good hard look at social media.

Again, Facebook is high on the list of factors that could impact on reputational risk. Facebook is probably the least useful tool so far in business to business social media for insurance and reinsurance markets. Those doing it well include Insurance Journal, Travelers and of course the rather wonderful Allianz Knowledge – who astonish and amaze at every turn.

So – don’t get to “het up” about it, as we say in Scotland. Like all social media, it is not rocket science – it just takes a wee bit of time to learn and understand – and a whole lot of common sense. Just think about what you want to say and who you want to say it to – before you do anything – and don’t do anything on Facebook that does not fit in with your corporate image or guidelines.

For those new to this, have a look at the recent Business Insurance webinar on the risks associated with social media – Marsh’s Simon Barker makes a lot of sense when he talks about social media in context of enterprise risk management and also on how to react to negative comments. (more…)

The risk and rewards of Facebook for insurers and reinsurers

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Part 1

The risks of Employees:

Last week Facebook hit half a billion active users. Many in the insurance and reinsurance world would say “so what”, but in the most basic business, let alone complex risk management, Facebook’s risks and rewards have to be understood.

facebook imageIf you don’t know the risks with employees – here they are: basically your staff can go on and do oodles of reputational damage if you: a) hire substandard people who don’t know the boundaries; and b) don’t tell them they can’t. From criticising competitors to revealing trade secrets, Facebook is number 1 when it comes to giving managers the jitters. (more…)

reinsurance YouTube video a huge hit with over 21,500 viewers

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

In the worlds of wholesale insurance and conservative reinsurance, we are not really into gimmicky or flashy marketing campaigns.

But it is interesting to note that even for us, YouTube can work. We may not be on the same level as Old Spice Man – see here:

He has sadly ended his successful YouTube/Twitter campaign.

One REINSURANCE video has shown we can make a difference and here it is:

Called The New Insurance Tax, it is a YouTube video for the Washington-based  Coalition for Competitive Insurance Rates shows just how powerful new social media tools can be – but only if you have a good, clear message. (more…)

YouTube…? In reinsurance? Twitter…? For risk managers? What is the world coming to…

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Woo-hoo. The revolution is coming. This week we saw Airmic (RIMS for the UK) tweet up. In other industries, this may not seem such a big deal, but in the insurance and reinsurance/ risk management world, it is a mini-revolution. Big screens showed every time anyone tweeted with #AIRMIC2010 – and it really made an impact during the conference.

And at the same time the reinsurance industry started using YouTube. As I write, there have been 12,244 views of the video – which is a lot if you are not a cute kitten falling off a workspace or a child getting whacked by their brother. Called “The New Insurance Tax” it shows how people and businesses buy insurance, then this risk is offset by the insurers buying reinsurance. There is even a fan page on facebook... (more…)

The risk/reward of social media in insurance and reinsurance

Monday, April 19th, 2010

weightsOur industry deals with risk every  minute of every day. So it is a little surprising to find out how little thought has gone into the risk/reward equation for insurers and reinsurers and the use of social media.

Here I’ll look at the most common risks associated with using social media in insurance and reinsurance. (more…)

The CCRIF – in light of the catastrophe in Haiti is the pot for the insurance and reinsurance of the Caribbean nations enough?

Friday, January 15th, 2010

I was going to write today about XL Capital moving its domicile from the Cayman Islands to Dublin (and by the way, DIMA, well done on bagging this one). I was going to write about what it might mean for the company going forward, for its listings, for its long-suffering shareholders and for its global HQ in Bermuda.

But I’ve been watching the events in Haiti, and, to be honest, the news of XL getting its EU passport seems to pale into insignificance. (more…)

If the Berlin Wall had not come down, what would Munich Re have done?

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

This week it was 20 years since the Berlin Wall came down. I remember it well, as I was living in Madrid as a student at the time and wish I had hopped on a train to see it happen. Friends returned with small lumps of graffitied concrete they still treasure today. (more…)

From Quill, to Biro, to Mouse… to Twitter

Friday, October 30th, 2009

This week I’ve been working on developing a social media marketing plan for one of my favourite clients, Yellowblox, an insurance communications hub.

It has been great fun, and showing the company just how easy it is to use and how it can specifically target the very niche areas of reinsurance and insurance technology it works in has been deeply satisfying.

It is great to help companies in what is a very traditional market see how effective social media can be both as a networking tool but also to build brand awareness.

Blogging is an obvious way to put yourself forward as an expert and to gain a loyal following.  And the benefits of social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook with their huge user numbers are also well documented.

And while Twitter may not be for everyone, there are more and more insurance and reinsurance-related people signing up to find out what all the hype is about.

There have been many jokes about how behind the times Lloyd’s of London is when it comes to technology. But look at the way reinsurance companies have embraced the super-techie world of modelling – and even in a smaller way, who is nowadays not plugged 24/7 into their BlackBerry? And if you have learned to use your BlackBerry, you can certainly blog, Tweet and join in the conversation – it really is not that hard.

In just a few years Lloyd’s has been pulled (admittedly kicking and screaming) out of much of its “deal now, details later” culture through the use of the kind of technology that Yellowblox advocates. Many worried (and still do) that the advent of all this new technology would stop the face-to-face meetings that so characterise the London Market. That simply has not happened.

The new ways of communicating with social media also will not replace human interaction. Instead it will enhance interaction and allow us to reach a far wider audience.

From writing this blog, Tweeting and taking part in LinkedIn conversations, my company’s website has had visitors from around the world. In fact, as many people from the UK as the US regularly follow my blog, and I have a strong following in the Middle East and India. Go figure.

So, for those of you in the London Market who have not had a shot on it all yet, go lay down that quill pen, and (while the boss is not looking) log onto LinkedIn, Twitter or facebook and have a wee poke around. There is even a Lloyd’s of London page on facebook, with less than  a dozen members…  You’ll be amazed who you will find on there.

What worries reinsurers – the price of insurance

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

You can never be quite sure what the hot topic will be in the run up to renewals on January 1 in the world of reinsurance.

This year, I suspect it will be the lack of discipline and overall falling rates seen in the realm of primary insurance – particularly in the casualty market. A mixture of grabbing for market share following the troubles at AIG combined with clients being more sensitive to pricing means that business is currently being placed at below technical pricing.

Also, after getting a fright with AIG, cedents  wanted to take their eggs out of the single AIG basket, and spread the risk. From the moment AIG got into trouble there has not been one competitor offering expiring prices, let alone factoring in an increase.

This month, October, it will be one full renewal cycle of insurance. Business has been redistributed and now customers feel more comfortable that the brokers have done their job, the players who came in will have a piece of that business, and the merry-go-round is likely to stop.

What I’d like to know is are the 30 to 40% reductions in pricing all being taken as part of a measured risk to expand market share or whether it  will have repercussions in the years to come?

No one knows where inflation will go from here – and what the real price is for insurance. If you would let underwriters write, on their own, without competition, they certainly price insurance higher given the low interest rate environment – but everyone is anxious about losing business.

Under Hank Greenberg, AIG was known for putting discipline in the market – but not AIG nor anyone else currently plays this role. Reinsurers are trying to put discipline into the market – but they do not seem to be able, in the current market, exert much influence.

But reinsurers, while they claim discipline, are not withdrawing en-masse from the US casualty market – one which is seen as the most under-priced. We are in a deep recession, the worst we have seen for 70 years. Inflation will most likely come in 2011 or 2012, and the underwriting that has been done at below technical pricing will dig companies into an even bigger hole.

What will turn the market? It will have to be a large catastrophe, some huge adverse development. And come it will – they always do.

White noise

Monday, October 12th, 2009

I’m going to try not to rant… but I don’t think I can help myself. I’ve been going on about the benefits of social media and how they can be used in the insurance and reinsurance markets. But to be really successful, you have to have quality – both in the content you publish and the people who follow you.

There is no point in having your website at the top of your Google ranking if when people get there and it is filled with rubbish designed purely to drive up your ranking. (more…)