As restrictions due to COVID-19 are slowly lifted, many businesses that have been, either, shut down or had their employees work remotely, are thinking of when and how to re-open and bring their workforce back safely. One of the biggest challenges facing business owners making this type of decision, is how does one manage this new, challenging and invisible risk (risk of COVID transmission), while ensuring your team’s productivity remains high.
Topics: Human Capital Risk, The ALS Group, pandemics, COVID-19, work from home, how to have a safe workplace, back to work
Hurricane Isaias hit the East Coast last week, causing damage and destruction in its path to both communities and businesses. Trees have fallen, houses where many are working remotely have been left without internet access, and businesses have been stripped of electrical power and with it the ability to function in the capacity they have been accustomed to in the last few months as their staff adapts to the “new normal.”
Topics: named storm/named windstorm, Risk Management Blog, The ALS Group, Total Cost of Risk, business continuity plan, hurricane season, preparedness, hurricane
The ALS Group whole-heatedly believes in being an equal opportunity employer. The diverse group of women who work in our office are critical thinkers who do exceptional quality work, and maintain technical competence through a commitment to training, professional education, and active mentoring. We proudly empower them to use their abilities responsibly.
For International Woman's Day, we asked the women of the ALS Team to answer one question: How has your role at The ALS Group empowered you? Here are their answers:
Topics: The ALS Group, internship, risk management consultant, careers, glassdoor, risk, empowerment, women
Every significant construction project needs a Builders Risk policy.
Sounds simple enough, but the process of procuring the correct Builders Risk policy starts with an understanding of the project costs, construction timeline, and imagining potential claim scenarios. When an insured purchases an insurance policy, there is an expectation if a loss occurs; the insurance company will make the insured whole again. This only happens when a Builders Risk policy is designed correctly. The key to policy design is understanding and identifying the values at risk and how those values align with the actual insurance policy definitions.
Topics: Construction, Construction Premiums, Construction Project Risk, Real Estate, Real Estate & Development Risk Management, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management, The ALS Group
Three Questions for Managing Principal, Albert Sica, of The ALS Group
For the last 12-18 months commercial insurance rates have been rising and many business leaders are ill-equipped to either understand why or what they can do about it. Recently, this was captured in a good article in The Wall Street Journal and we thought we would explore this a bit more.
Business leaders often rely on a broker, whose primary role is to “sell” insurance to guide them through a complex mix of their company’s exposures, insurance policy language (including exclusions) and what can be done to, both, mitigate risk and the cost of coverage. Understanding the financial impact of a risk on a company’s balance sheet or earnings statement and what can be done to protect against that uncertainty is key to complex questions it is now essential to explore.
Topics: business, Insurance, Risk Mitigation, The ALS Group, Total Cost of Risk (TCoR), catastrophic loss,, what is total cost of risk, total cost of risk definition, total cost of risk analysis, total cost of risk insurance
As the Hospitality industry continues to experience growing activity amidst a strong economy, there are, inherently, challenges that must be continuously addressed and improved on to ensure customers keep coming back. Identifying challenges and solutions to those challenges is one aspect of avoiding pitfalls, but an often overlooked perspective is the risk(s) to which those challenges could, ultimately, lead.
Topics: Claim Reporting, Human Capital Risk, Insurance, The ALS Group, Total Cost of Risk, COVID-19, total cost of risk analysis, hospitality risks, what is risk management, hospitality industry
As the world is ever changing, so are the way insurers interpret the natural disasters and how they will respond to cover these terrible events. Over the years, the U.S. has seen an increase in earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and more. The insurance industry now has created a stricter view of how they will cover these events. In particular, as we have seen with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy, the insurance industry has developed a new terminology and deductible related, specifically, to “named storm/named windstorm.”
Topics: named storm/named windstorm, Personal Lines, Property Risk, Risk Management Assessment, Risk Management Blog, The ALS Group
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the plight of Lumber Liquidators who has been struggling to deal with the fallout from a scandal that was caused due to the use of formaldehyde in its wood. You may have seen this on a “60 Minutes” program in early March. If you are a retailer after reading this article and watching the 60 Minutes TV spot you must be asking the question. How well do I know my 3rd party vendors and what process, if any, does my organization have to contain a similar event?
Topics: Claims Management, Insurance, Lumber Liquidators, Manufacturing and Distribution, Reputational Risk, Risk management, Risk Management Blog, strategic, Strategic Risk Management, supply chain, Supply Chain Risk, The ALS Group, Total Cost of Risk (TCoR)
The construction and real estate industry continue to grow and so do the risk exposures from a fundamental inconsistency between a contract’s commercial intent and insurance policy language. “Additional Insured” is a very common requirement in a real estate or construction contract and many times there is a distinct lack of specificity with what is, actually, being required and why the provision is appropriate. Additional Insured status provides vicarious liability coverage to an outside entity, usually, an owner or general contractor, under the subcontractor’s policy. It is often a requirement in construction contracts, and it can be the source of insurance disputes if not handled correctly given the changes in the regulatory framework of today’s insurance policies.
Topics: Construction, Construction Accidents, Construction Premiums, Construction Project Risk, Insurance, Limit of Liability, Property Risk, Real Estate, Risk management, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management, The ALS Group, Total Cost of Risk
Soft cost, or delay in the project completion coverage has been a hot topic of discussion and concern recently due to the unique claims scenarios that occur during a construction phase of a project. At first glance, the term “soft costs” seems easy to explain. But it's actually a more complex subject.
Topics: Construction, Construction Premiums, Construction Project Risk, Real Estate, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management, The ALS Group