2020 has certainly been an eventful year for The ALS Group!  As we close the year, we look back and take stock in the Firm's accomplishments, we wanted to share some of them with our clients and friends of the firm.

Topics: Enterprise Risk Management, The ALS Group, home-grown talent, year in review

This year has been filled with a multitude of both challenges and victories. Every year is different but in 2020 we have had to deal with more change than normal. The business world is evolving quickly, and risk management has been changing along with it. In 2021, a resilient and resourceful approach to risk management will be front and center as businesses navigate the “work from home” landscape, deal with the effects of the pandemic, and change the insurance market for years to come.

Topics: Risk management, Risk Management Blog, The ALS Group, total cost of risk analysis, top risks, top risks of 2021

The ALS Team partnered with Bridges of Hope, Staten Island to collect and donate gifts for families who are coping with a particularly difficult holiday season.

Bridges of Hope was started by Grace Murphy in 1998 as a parish social-action outreach effort to create a “bridge” between the community and families in public housing. 

Topics: The ALS Group, 2020 Holiday Season, Happy Holidays, Bridges of Hope Staten Island, Giving

As most of this year’s holidays, Thanksgiving is completely different for, pretty much, all of us. This year has certainly tested us all. As risk managers, we usually address risks and suggest mitigation strategies in most of our blogs. This year, however, we decided to look at the positives and think about what we are thankful for during this, strange Thanksgiving holiday.

Topics: Risk management, Risk Management Blog, The ALS Group, thankful

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

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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