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MiMfg Magazine
Premium
Associate
Member
January 2019
Resolve to Increase Your Risk
Management Awareness in 2019
By Steve Carey • Guy Hurley
As 2018 ends and 2019 begins, it’s the perfect
time to take stock of what challenges were
overcome, what successes were had and what
potential disruptions can be mitigated in the coming
year. Nearly all of the manufacturers I work with
share challenges in regards to finding talent, the
place of technology in their unique processes and
how to protect their data. These are all easily seen,
monitored and discussed on a daily basis. Still, there
are some challenges to overcome that many don’t
know about until a risk management review and
insurance audit or, in the worst cases, a nasty claim.
Four of the most often-overlooked details to a
manufacturer’s risk management and insurance
program are outlined below.
Workers’ Compensation Claims
While most manufacturers know they need to
have workers’ compensation coverage, they don’t
fully understand the amount of control they have
over their own premiums. A clean loss history and a
good safety plan are great starting points, but many
don’t realize the impact they can make on their own
premiums post claim. Some of the ways to best
control your brand’s destiny include asking:
• Was the injury proven to be legitimate and
while on the job?
• Are the adjustor’s reserves reasonable?
• Are the adjustor and agency actively involved in
the claims handling process to ensure it is
moving along with best practices?
Pollution
More often than not, I find manufacturers are
uninsured entirely for their pollution exposure.
Those who are insured, often times, are not aware
of the specific coverages they have or what can
trigger a policy. It’s common for a pollution policy
to only be triggered when a government entity is
requiring the manufacturer to remediate a pollutant
– leaving the manufacturer on the hook for any
other instances. In many cases, this would leave a
manufacturer without adequate coverage.
Business Income
Applications for insurance can be daunting,
especially business income worksheets. With that
said, these worksheets ensure the proper payout,
should you not be able to continue business for one
reason or another. In some cases these worksheets
will also help wave any coinsurance penalties that
may otherwise apply. At first these may seem
intrusive and time consuming, but should you be
unable to continue production, for a covered cause
of loss, the details will matter.
Cyber
It seems that nearly every day a new organization
is dealing with a cyber breech and manufacturers are
certainly on the radar of hackers. The first step any
manufacturer needs to do is either build or outsource
a cybersecurity team. While many policies have
some small sublimit of coverage, it is critical to buy
a fully built out and individual cyber policy.
The lists above are some, but not all of the areas
overlooked by your industry peers. Having an
in-depth risk management and insurance review as
you enter the New Year will help ensure you are
forecasting premiums correctly, getting the best
return on investment possible and properly matching
your policies with your risk tolerance.
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Steve Carey is an account executive with Guy Hurley. He
may be reached at 248-519-1436 or [email protected].
Guy Hurley is an MMA Premium Associate Member
and has been a member company since July 2006.
Visit online: www.ghbh.com.