HDInsights Edition 7 2022

Mr Glanz outlined a few recent large fire losses from around the world where the building materials used were compliant with local regulations. A major contributing factor was that there was no focus on the long-term resilience, only current compliance according to Mr Glanz. Therefore, it is important to ask certain questions according to the expert:

Mr Glanz named the black start procedure for chemical plants as an example. “We had a couple of quite large losses there recently,” he said. “So, we used that as a chance to talk to our clients about their black start procedures to see if there are any gaps in their current procedures and how they can close any identified these gaps.”

1. How strong is your loss prevention program?

A black start is the process of restoring an electric power station or a part of an electric grid to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network to recover from a total or partial shutdown.

2. Can you prove the effectiveness of implemented risk mitigation measures?

3. Is your loss prevention program future proof?

Risk Consulting can also assist with change management: During Covid many companies started to store hand sanitizers in their production and warehouse facilities. Hand sanitizers are typically highly flammable products. So, if the fire protection concept is not designed to handle and store flammable liquids, companies need to be aware that the introduction of flammable products is a major hazard and must be managed appropriately. During the risk assessment process HRC identifies such weaknesses in the protection concept and develops adequate risk mitigation strategies together with the clients. Developing a Risk Management Strategy An essential part of a risk management strategy is to build up a business contingency management strategy. “We talk about common threats but also low likelihood, high consequence events. For example we discussed what happens if chemical companies reach a minimum staffing requirement, for example during the flu season when many employees might fall sick at the same time, even long time before CoVID” Mr Glanz said. “You really want to have these discussions beforehand and build up your long-term resilience against any potential threats that might appear.” Overall, HDI wants to increase risk awareness amongst clients by providing training so that they can build up their own resilience. HDI has a global network, a team of approximately 180 engineers, that deliver loss experiences from around the world almost in real time. If there is a large loss somewhere around the world, HDI engineers share that with their clients immediately.

‘ Presenting risks to market Another important aspect for clients is to find the best way to present their risks to the market. This is done with a risk report says Mr Glanz, which is the result of a risk survey and not just a questionnaire as these are too one-sided. Such a report helps clients to market their risks to the insurance companies, but also to manage potential risks. However, not all risk reports are made equal, cautions Stephanie MacIntyre, HDI Global Property Underwriter, based in the Melbourne office. “Often the really cost-effective reports might not always have the level of detail that we need to be able to accurately assess the risk properly,” explains Ms MacIntyre.

HDInsight Edition 7 - page 14