Boots on the Street

Ahren Hohenwarter

Identifying and Analyzing Risk

In a previous entry we discussed the 6 steps of both the ERM and TRM process; the first two are Identifying and Analyzing your organization’s risk.
As part of the risk management process, we look to confirm that your risk management approach supports your overall business objectives. As a business owner, what keeps you up at night? If that concern occurred, how would your income or cash flow be affected if there were unforeseen expenses or a shutdown of your operations?
Discussing the qualitative aspects of your business provides the important details needed to design a program that addresses your exposures while producing a ROI. Exposures are both qualitative and quantitative...

Own It or Rent It?

By Tim Finster

This is not a phrase normally associated with the purchase of insurance. Usually it’s reserved for discussions about real estate, cars or office equipment. But it’s possible with insurance too. The major corporations have done it for many years.

Who was the first? I don’t know, but it might have been Kaiser. Henry J. Kaiser was the founder of the Kaiser Industrial Complex. In 1939, he opened a cement plant in Cupertino, CA. A creek ran through his facility, Permanente Creek. Henry decided to do something to get control of his employee’s health care expenses. He created a program to better serve the health care needs of his employees, reducing his annual costs and providing better health care for his people...

Does a Group Health Captive Save You Up to 15%?

From Joel Geddes, Jr.

At ERMIS, we operate a Captive consulting practice with extensive experience regarding this question.

Actually, there are several other benefits in addition to at least a typical 15% long term cost savings . You can also become partially self insured, regulated by ERISA — not Obamacare! — design your own benefits and coverages and engender a healthier workforce with corresponding lower long-term health costs, worker’s compensation costs and increased productivity.

However, without some specific background on your company such as number of employees, historical claims experience etc., it’s difficult to simply give you a yes/no answer if a Captive approach would be a fit for you...

Considering a Captive to Leave the Commercial Insurance Rat Race

By Joel Geddes III

A captive will provide a long-term financial approach to someone willing to consider taking risk. In the short-term, use of a captive may be a more expensive option than purchasing coverage through a commercial insurer. In fact when a commercial insurer knows they are quoting against a captive the cost of its commercial insurance program can miraculously decrease. Captives on the other hand are less likely to engage in a price competition while offering long-term customized business solutions and exclusive risk financing.

Price competition is one of the factors that drive insurance market cycles...

Boots on the Street

Ahren Hohenwarter

Enterprise Risk Management Vs. Traditional Risk Management – The Same… But Different

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Traditional Risk Management (TRM) share many similarities.  Both ERM and TRM are methods of making, implementing, and monitoring decisions that minimize the adverse effects of risk on an organization and they both utilize the six steps of the Risk Management Process:

1.   Identify risk within your organization.
2.   Analyze those risks.
3.   Examine the feasibility of risk management techniques.
4.   Select the appropriate risk management techniques.
5.   Implement selected risk management techniques.
6.   Monitor the results of the program and revise accordingly.

Where ERM and TRM differ is in their scope...

What Does A First-Time Enterprise Risk

Management Candidate Think About?

By Tim Finster, Vice Chairman

I get this question all of the time.  What is Enterprise Risk Management?  How does someone know if they would benefit from it?  Why would I be interested in Risk Management?

The answers are really very simple.  Consider the following.

As a consumer, have you ever wondered if you left money on the table as soon as your agent finished renewing your commercial insurance policies?  Want to know how much that could be?

Have you ever wondered why your rates are going up when you haven’t had any claims activity?  Who’s getting the extra money?

Have you ever considered what it would mean financially to remove yourself from the general insurance buying pool and buy your coverage base...

Alternative Market Risk Management:

The Feasibility Study

By Joel Geddes, Jr.

Times have changed and AMRM facilities are now right sized to attract the largest number of prospective Middle Market entrants over the long history of Captive development.  Specifically, for Middle Market Businesses the barriers of capital, access, and premium thresholds to enter the ARM world of possibilities have been coming down.

So how does this affect the ARM Community, you ask?  There’s a lot more activity in the field of play and many more inexperienced candidates. Retail insurance agents/brokers as well as ARM Captive Consultants are generating an increasing number of prospect inquiries from individual business owners, accountants and especially estate and tax planning attorneys...

Understanding Alternative Risk Transfer

Joel Geddes III, CWCA, AFIS

Alternative Risk Transfer, often referred to as ART, means using techniques other than traditional insurance and reinsurance to provide your business with coverage. Alternative risk transfer is typically available to companies with low risk profiles and a dedication to maintaining safe operations, because the insured party assumes a portion of its own risk in exchange for lower premiums or a reduction in net cost of insurance.

Risk-financing vehicles used in ART can take on several different forms, with varying degrees of risk. As a strategic enterprise risk management process, ART can blend traditional insurance and reinsurance with forms of self-funding...

Driver Safety is Important

A message from Ahren Hohenwarter, CPCU, CWCA

Boots on the Street

Ahren Hohenwarter, CPCU, CWCA

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Exposures

Often over looked, Hired and Non-Owned Automobile exposures can potentially put your business and its assets at risk.  Hired Automobile Exposures arise out of the use of a vehicle rented in the company’s name by an employee, independent contractor or volunteer while conducting company business (e.g. Sales Persons).  Non-Owned Automobile Exposures are created when an employee, independent contractor or volunteer operates their personal vehicle on behalf of the company.  This could be as simple as a quick trip to the bank or as complex as managing a large traveling sales force; liability can arise out of both scenarios.

Although employees are responsible for safely operating their own vehicles and mai...