The definition of 'lean' in a management sense is 'using fewer employees or less money in order to decrease waste, while continuing to operate effectively'. And lean is probably the best way to describe the insurance function within the majority of larger corporates these days. In fact, the norm in many FTSE 100 and 250 companies is to have perhaps only one risk manager dedicated to insurance, often sitting within the Treasury or Finance department.
And that is fine – if the risk manager in question has all the relevant risk data from across the business to hand. But keeping up to speed with changes across disparate operations can be a mammoth task, particularly when you add in the need to answer the increasingly probing and detailed questions posed by insurance underwriters in today’s hard market.
But it is not an impossible one...
Risk data gathering and analysis can be automated using advanced risk management solution technology. Although increasingly sophisticated, these user-friendly risk management tools can be tailored to the user, enabling 24/7 reporting across the business. But to be really effective, the individuals responsible for inputting the risk data need to feel engaged, empowered and motivated to use it.
Our own system has been designed to enable the risk manager to tailor question sets to individuals across the globe, to make them relevant and meaningful. This flexibility also ensures that participants can see that their feedback has been taken on board. This sense of empowerment drives greater engagement, which creates more accurate, timely and better-quality data.
This flexibility also enables question sets to be adapted and focused on the pressing issues of the day – such as the impact of COVID-19 – enabling a rapid and timely response to the ever-changing requirements of insurance underwriters.
High quality, focused and targeted data, supported by powerful reporting and presentation tools, also equip the broker with everything they need to present risks to individual underwriters. This information is increasingly important when negotiating cover in a hard insurance market. In addition, with workflow automation, insurers can be notified directly of important changes in risk, saving the risk manager time and ensuring continuity of insurance cover.
Lean does not have to mean stretched. With an automated, flexible system with user-friendly data collection, storage, management, and analytics, a risk manager can take full control of the insurance renewal process. But more importantly, the risk manager will have more precious free time to focus on other key issues, such as stakeholder management.
Next steps
If you would like to learn more about how Ventiv can assist your renewal process check out our case study below featuring Imperial Brands and Willis Towers Watson.
