The ALS Group Risk Management Articles

We manage more than a quarter billion dollars of premiums for a diverse range of clients around the globe. 

Bring Your Own Device Risks – Widespread Application and Narrow Understanding

Earlier this year I wrote about the movement toward companies adopting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. Many times this is driven by the effort to reduce costs to the company. There are, however, many pitfalls to this strategy if the framework supporting the BYOD policy is not well thought out. The February edition of RIMS magazine captures these risks and issues quite effectively. While smart phones are the obvious subject of this, we can’t forget the myriad of other communication devices (tablets) that these risks can apply to.

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Doing Business Abroad: Worker Injury & Workers Compensation

There is no doubt business is going global. With more workers traveling abroad and spending extended times in foreign locations the risks for both traveler and company increase. In addition, travel abroad exposes staff to potentially serious financial risk from personal illness (i.e. sickness not related to a WC injury) and, in certain countries, kidnap and ransom, terrorism and war risks.  Many of these exposures are not adequately covered under your standard Worker’s Compensation (WC) and Benefit policies.  Prudence dictates the time to address these issues is before the traveler has left on their trip and not when the phone rings at 3:00 in the morning.

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Negotiating Construction Agreements: The Owners Perspective

New York City construction activity has seen a re-birth with the city accounting for nearly half of the country’s commercial construction activity. A major part of that is the World Trade Center construction but there are other major projects being undertaken such as the renovation of Madison Square Garden and the 10 and 20 year capital construction programs of Columbia University and NYU.

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Managing Cross-Border Risks

Businesses today face many challenges managing their risk; one area of increasing concern is the risks associated with cross-border transactions, which seem to be at an all time high.  The procedures and steps organizations face when conducting business internationally are continually becoming more complex.   An article by Country Risk Solutions, Managing Political Risk in the New Normal, shows how the rules of engagement for conducting international business have changed.

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Align ERM to Each Department of Your Organization – A Vital 2013 Resolution

To begin the year of 2013, more and more businesses are looking for new ways to increase their company’s profit margins and management of risk, and align the two.  One of the best ways this is often achieved is by using ERM to continually assess not only what type of risks are out there that can be insured, but also how those risks can be managed through the operational and strategic environment that your company implements.

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Is Your Business Prepared? Worker’s Compensation Price Increases for 2013

As most insurance and risk management professionals are aware, Worker’s Compensation market conditions have been relatively soft over the past few years.  A recent article in Business Insurance predicts Workers Compensation will be one of the coverages that will go up in price along with most primary and excess policy layers for 2013; most impacted will be the Worker’s Compensation insurance.  Looking toward the future and what 2013 holds is going to have a strategic impact on a company’s overall budget as well as the options they will have at renewal time.  Companies have been able to supplement their low premiums by purchasing a higher retention policy and relying heavily

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Risk Manage Your Way Through The Hardening Market

We have just emerged from one of the longest soft markets in recent history where premiums were low and insurers were actively competing for business. Many companies took full advantage of the insurer’s oversupply of capacity and their aggressive pricing strategies by saving thousands in insurance costs. However, market conditions are beginning to deteriorate as commercial insurance rates continue to climb and catastrophic losses become a daily occurrence.

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Reservation of Rights Letters – Policyholder Beware

When a policyholder files a claim with their insurer, they expect defense and protection.  The expectation goes as far as thinking that the insurer (or insurer’s counsel) actually has the policyholder’s best interest (and only the policyholder’s interest) at heart.  With the issuance of a Reservation of Rights letter (ROR) that is not always the case. 

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Political Risk – You Cannot Afford Not to Consider It

Enterprise Risk Management is meant to consider any and all risks that could affect your organization.  One risk that can affect your company that is rarely considered in an Enterprise Risk Management platform is Political Risk.  With the recent election and battle over the fiscal cliff, it is apparent that these effects can not only affect the way your company is taxed, but also how the company can meet its strategic goals.  The political environment of any given country or state you operate in can impact your company’s Revenue, Property, Reputational or Strategic Risk in a variety of ways.  The question becomes:  if a major political event were to occur,

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Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) … B E W A R E

Employers today are constantly being faced with choices and the challenges those choices play. One of the more recent challenges is whether to allow employees to use their own smart phones to support the corporate email and functionality. On the surface, this seems like a great idea for employers as it will lower operating costs. Not so fast…According to a PWC survey “less than half of the 9300 C-suite executives surveyed have a security strategy to address personal devices in the workplace, despite the fact that 88% of employees use a mobile device for personal and work purposes”

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Our areas of expertise include:

  • Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
  • Cyber Security & Cyber Liability Insurance
  • Construction Management
  • Customized Risk Management Assessments (RMAs)

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