Can you trust your insurance broker?  Are they giving you unbiased, untainted risk management advice? 

Establishing a sound risk management strategy is critical in today's

environment . . . Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, natural disasters causing property and business interruption losses, IT security & virus breaches, employee theft, 3rd party liability, intellectual property theft, and reputation risk to name a few. 

All of these risks and more are happening at a time when companies are exposed to fraudulent broker behavior and a general distrust towards the insurance industry - often the very sources for risk management products.  In some sectors, insurance premiums continue to increase along with deductibles and retentions while insurance policies cover less.  Companies are faced with deeper and broader risks with less staff and less time able to dedicate to minimizing these risks. 

A recent CFO Magazine article reported the following:

• 56% of commercial insurance buyers said they did not believe their brokers were disclosing their commissions.

• Only 5% of CFOs report being very satisfied with their current risk management program with almost half reporting they were dissatisfied.

• Within 3 years, 39% of CFOs intend to integrate risk management strategies across their organizations.

• 49% of CFOs believe that a strategic approach to risk management can yield a competitive advantage.

The time has come for companies to re-evaluate, continually and constantly, the risks they face.  Simply renewing a commercial insurance program year after year is not the answer - especially now.   Companies are facing new threats and opportunities every day in a rapidly changing environment.  Executives and boards are now being forced to ask hard questions about whether their insurance broker is upholding its legal and fiduciary responsibility - is your insurance coverage adequate, overpriced and/or have you been  a subject of fraud or bid-rigging?