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 (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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Doing Business Abroad: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Doing business abroad is difficult enough but recently the renewed interest (and enforcement) of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has added a new dimension of challenges. The applications of the FCPA or its British “cousin” the UK Bribery Act are beyond the scope of this posting but carries with it substantial fines and broad enforcement possibilities.

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Enterprise Risk Management and Your Company’s Strategic Sustainability

The Risk and Insurance Management Society has been discussing the benefits of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) for over 10 years now.  In addition, they have developed the discipline of Strategic Risk Management (SRM) within the courses and material they publish.  To them, ERM seeks to dial down the volatility in the operations of any organization, while SRM is meant to evaluate whether the company’s business strategy on risk is appropriate and provides long term sustainability of the company’s profits.  Thus, if implemented correctly, ERM allows SRM to take a critical and impartial view on the way the company does business and mitigates risk.

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Is it as Easy as 1-2-3?: Implementing Enterprise Risk Management

Enterprise Risk Management, despite being on the tip of the risk and insurance world’s tongue, is still struggling to gain a foothold in most organizations.  The question that consistently emerges is whether or not implementing an Enterprise Risk Management Framework can truly add value to a company’s strategic development.  The key to a successful ERM Framework is to instill the philosophies of Enterprise Risk Management throughout the organization so the company as a whole is fostering a risk-aware culture.

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Football, Thanksgiving, and Risk Management

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and if your holiday is anything like my family’s, the football games are as much a part of the tradition as the stuffing. So this year, should you find yourself on the couch, watching the games and struggling to keep your eyes open after all the turkey, try a little thought experiment (it will help you digest): watch the game as a risk management consultant.

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Expect the Unexpected | Insuring Against Tragedy

Just a few months ago, a senseless and tragic mass shooting at a midnight movie screening in Aurora, Colorado left twelve people dead and nearly sixty injured.  Now, in the wake of the devastating tragedy, three of the victims’ families are suing Cinemark USA Inc., the owner of the Colorado theater, for negligence in its failure to provide the necessary security to its patrons. These developments raise the question, “Does your organization have the proper risk mitigation procedures in place to protect your organization’s bottom line in the event of random acts of violence?”

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Be a Wise Cyber Insurance Shopper

With the lack of policy standardization and various exposures within the cyber insurance world, purchasing a cyber policy can be challenging.  The first step in this process is to understand the risks your company is facing in the event of a breach, as well as your organization’s Total Cost of Risk (TCoR). After all, risk mitigation is more than just purchasing appropriate insurance.

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Tough Mudder & Risk Transfer

Everyone has heard of the Tough Mudder event, and if you haven’t, check out their website here. This Saturday I will be participating in this torturous event. Why am I doing this? I’m not entirely sure, but I know it is probably bad personal risk management to do so.

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Even the Good Guys Get Sued

In January of this year country music star Garth Brooks was awarded $1 million by a jury in a lawsuit stemming from a donation made to Integris Rural Health Inc.  The civil dispute arose from a $500,000 donation Brooks made to the hospital.  Brooks insisted the donation was made in exchange for the naming rights for a new women’s health center opening at the hospital, which he intended to name after his deceased mother.  The hospital, for its part, claimed that the donation was made anonymously, had no spending restrictions, and that the discussions for a $15 million gift in exchange for naming rights had eventually broken down.  Despite the

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Risk Appetite and Risk Tolerance: It Takes Two to Tango

Risk Appetite and Risk Tolerance are two terms that are vital to any Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program. They are defined as the amount and type of risk an organization is willing to accept (Risk Appetite) and the specific maximum risk that any organization will take to pursue any one business objective (Risk Tolerance). The reason that ERM is defined by these two terms is that every company must take on some risk to reach its profit margins, but the ultimate question is, “How much risk are you going to take on and how are you identifying your key risks?”

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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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