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. 

A Stand Alone Insurance Policy is Best for Toys

Are you an owner of an ATV, snowmobile, jet ski or RV? Then you know the value of a good time. What is not so easily known is where to find the best insurance protection for your toys. Homeowners and Auto policies rarely cover both property and liability adequately for these types of vehicles. Therefore, in most cases, it is a best practice to procure a stand alone policy. A stand alone policy has the best safeguards in place to ensure proper coverage is in full effect. At a minimum, liability insurance is required in most states and relying on a Homeowners or Auto policy to provide the necessary coverage

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NY Broker Pay Rules

The NYS Department of Insurance took the final step toward promulgating new regulations that would require agents and brokers in the state to disclose all forms of compensation they receive from insurers upon request. The regulation is open for public comment until January 16th at which point the NYSID will have the authority to adopt it. As expected there is widespread opposition from the Independent Agents & Brokers Association calling the measure “unwarranted”. Frankly we applaud the NYSID for their leadership and vision to compel transparency in this important area. The issue of compensation was surfaced in 2005 through a NYAG scandalous investigation into broker placement and compensation practices. This

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Does an Economic Recession equal Compromised Safety?

Background The current economy and the most recent recession have been the worst economic times since the great depression. With companies trying to find ways to survive, there are no sacred cows when it comes to cutting costs. Layoffs, outsourcing, and doing more with less are all strategies that businesses are employing to survive. While the need to cut costs is understandable it is, unfortunate, one of the strategies many companies are using is cutting back on their safety program.

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Insurance Broker’s Contingent Commissions

A Conflict of Interest or Acceptable Payment for Services Performed? Part One It was recently announced that Arthur J. Gallagher, the world’s fifth-largest broker, has received permission to receive contingent commissions from insurers. This announcement has been met with both positive and negative comments. Insurance brokers applaud the announcement as a way to level the playing field, while Risk Managers have condemned it. What is it, and why should I care?Contingent commissions are commissions paid to insurance brokers or agents by insurance companies based on the total volume of premiums written by the carrier and produced by the broker/agent. There are many formulas used but the rationale has been that

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Total Cost of Risk – Part Two

What is it and why do I care? Part Two Why do I care about TCoR? The answer is, “why not?!” All of the costs that I have discussed above are bottom line costs. By tracking TCoR and designing a customized strategy to control these costs, savings can be realized on the bottom line. That means every dollar saved is a dollar of improvement in profit. Now what can I do with this information? Okay, now that you have tracked all these costs for at least the last two years, what’s next? As a Risk Manager, I would go through each of the strategies that the business has in place

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Total Cost of Risk

What is it, and why do I care? Part One “What gets measured… gets managed!” This statement is the fundamental principle behind the concept of “Total Cost of Risk” (TCoR), and I’ve been saying this for years. The question that I am asked all the time is, “what is TCoR and why do I care about it?” There is risk associated with everything we do in life. In today’s world, business risk and the ability to quantify that risk in dollars is increasingly important. The purpose of any risk management program is to manage enterprise wide risks, which will ultimately lead to a reduction of the total costs associated with these

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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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