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Black Lives Matter: Taking Action on Diversity and Inclusion

As protesters across the United States call out systemic racism and police violence against Black people, and Pride Month honoring the LGBTQ+ community begins, diversity and inclusion issues are—and should be—drawing headlines and dominating conversations around the world.

RIMS CEO Mary Roth and 2020 President Laura Langone released a statement Friday saying:

“To the Black members of our community, we cannot fully appreciate how pained you must be by not only this most recent act—but by all acts that reflect bigotry and hatred in our nations’ communities. What we can do is accept the responsibility to ensure that RIMS community reflects something different. Let us be clear: RIMS does not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination in our global community. And we will always look for ways to improve.”

The editors of Risk Management and the Risk Management Monitor echo this message and stand with our Black colleagues, RIMS members and the Black community at large.

As we all look to support, advocate, learn and do better, we have compiled a list of resources to help, including industry advocacy groups for Black risk and insurance professionals, as well as resources for strengthening your organization’s policies, procedures and diversity and inclusion programs. You can also review selections from our previous coverage of diversity and inclusion below:

Industry Advocacy Groups and Research

National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA)

International Association of Black Actuaries

REPORT: The Journey of African American Insurance Professionals, from Marsh and NAAIA

For public sector risk professionals:

The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)

National Forum for Black Public Administrators

From ICMA, the association for professional city and county managers: WEBINAR: Sharpening the Focus on Social Equity to Make Strategic Budget Decisions

ARTICLE: Silence Is Complicity: Can White America Demonstrate that Black Lives Matter?

Diversity and Inclusion Resources

Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks, Standards for Organizations Around the World, from the Centre for Global Inclusion

The Diversity & Inclusion Revolution, Eight Powerful Truths, from Deloitte

Corporate Equality Index, from the Human Rights Campaign

Previous Risk Management Coverage on Bias, Diversity and Inclusion

Beyond Pride: Building Strong Diversity and Inclusion Programs

Pale, Stale & Male: Does Board Diversity Matter?

The Benefits of Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives

Getting Serious About ESG Risks

Why Cultivating and Maintaining a Diverse Workforce Is Important

Activists Against Insurers

A Trump Presidency Poses Top Risk to Global Economy

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a Donald Trump presidency poses one of the greatest current global risks. Indeed, Trump ranks as the sixth overall potential risk to the global economy, and based on a 25-point scale, the research firm rated the risk approximately equal to the rising threat of jihadi terrorism destabilizing the global economy.

The EIU, research and analysis sister company to the Economist, ranks risks based on both impact and probability, with a Trump presidency presenting considerable potential impact, but moderate probability. The EIU’s assessment focused in particular on Trump’s hostility toward free trade (most notably NAFTA), aggressive rhetoric on China, and “exceptionally right-wing stance” on the Middle East and jihadi terrorism.

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“In the event of a Trump victory, his hostile attitude to free trade, and alienation of Mexico and China in particular, could escalate rapidly into a trade war—and at the least scupper the Trans-Pacific Partnership between the US and 11 other American and Asian states signed in February 2016,” EIU analysts wrote. “His militaristic tendencies towards the Middle East (and ban on all Muslim travel to the U.S.) would be a potent recruitment tool for jihadi groups, increasing their threat both within the region and beyond.”

The firm concluded with a prediction that, while it believes Trump will most likely lose to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, that probability could change in the event of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil or a sudden economic downturn.

In such a scenario, the trickle-down effect within the American political machine poses noteworthy risk as well.

“Innate hostility within the Republican hierarchy towards Mr. Trump, combined with the inevitable virulent Democratic opposition, will see many of his more radical policies blocked in Congress,” the report says.

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But “such internal bickering will also undermine the coherence of domestic and foreign policymaking.”

The firm’s overall top 10 risks by point ranking are:

economist intelligence unit top global economy risks

Hank Greenberg Shares Concerns for Insurance Industry at RIMS Canada Conference

Hank Greenberg RIMS canada

QUEBEC CITY, CANADA—Currently on the mend from Legionnaires’ disease, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg appeared via live video stream to deliver the keynote address to the 2015 RIMS Canada Conference. The chairman and CEO of the Starr Companies and former chairman and CEO of AIG gave a frank and diverse address highlighting a number of concerns about potential impacts to the insurance industry due to the current climate.

“We’re living in a very troubled time on a global basis,” he said, emphasizing geopolitical instability. While such geopolitical uncertainty demonstrates the need for political insurance, other widespread conditions do not necessarily have such favorable implications for the industry.

“Clearly commercial insurance rates are under pressure,” he said. “The absence of catastrophes has masked that rates have gone down so much, and that has allowed some companies to survive.”

He also noted that investment income is suffering because of interest rates, and expressed concern that many companies are turning to long-tail reserves for income. What’s more, he said, accident year results for many companies are turning negative, and many are finding their reserves inadequate, particularly as expense ratios are frequently increasing rather than remaining steady.

Companies that aren’t very efficient will find it very hard to be competitive and show returns this year, he cautioned.

Further examining the industry, Greenberg criticized insurers for “not doing a very good job of training underwriters,” seeing a stark comparison to the rigorous, diverse experience previously customary in the London market, for example.

“It takes years of experience to train an underwriter—they are not just qualified because of a college degree,” he said. “It takes years of work and a lot of common sense to develop the wisdom to know what can be underwritten and at what price.”

When it comes to this talent concern, he noted, it is not a question of which companies are doing better, but a problem across the board. “I don’t think we have the discipline, as an industry, to do the job properly,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg also shared some of his political opinions, both international and domestic.

Of China, the US-ASEAN Business Council chairman emeritus and vice chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations said he does not share the widespread dubious feelings on China. “They’ve had some missteps. What country hasn’t?” he said.

He spent some of his time addressing the burgeoning 2016 U.S. election. Greenberg noted Donald Trump’s campaign as part of what he views as growing dissatisfaction – and perhaps inadequacy – of the current political system. “People are fed up with the political system as it currently exists.

Why else would somebody like Trump, who has no experience but is speaking about things people care about be doing so well?” he said.

He also told the crowd that Jeb Bush would personally be visiting him Wednesday. Greenberg does not yet endorse any particular candidate, however, and expressed some concern about the Republican party’s position amid acute socioeconomic changes and resulting political demands nationwide.

“You have to give people the opportunity to succeed—that’s the American Dream. That’s why people came here,” he said. “If we’re going to deny that opportunity, the Republican party will have to change its name.”

Treasury Secretary May Gain More Power

capitol building

It looks as though the Treasury secretary may soon have a role overseeing individual financial companies. In a move to help monitor systemic risk throughout the financial arena, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) is looking to release a bill next week that would overhaul financial regulation with sweeping reform.

Lawmakers and government officials have agreed that Washington should be working to identify risky activities that could threaten the entire system — a job no single regulator had during the lead-up to the financial crisis.

But because of the financial crisis, that job may now fall under the Treasury secretary’s duties, an idea both Dodd and Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala), both of the Senate banking committee, favor since “the Treasury secretary has a higher international profile than most regulators” and because that position is more accountable to Congress.

Dodd’s new proposal represents a shift for the senator.

Last fall, he introduced a bill that would have created a separate Agency for Financial Stability. Dodd envisioned an agency responsible for identifying, monitoring and addressing systemic risks and with the authority to break up large, complex companies if they posed a threat to financial stability. He called for it to be governed by an independent chairman, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, as he said, “to provide insulation from political manipulation.”

Shelby and other conservatives did not completely support the idea of a new agency. Dodd then “embraced the idea of a council of regulators, with the Treasury secretary at the head.

” But this bill will, and has, drawn criticism referring to the opportunity for political influence to play a part in the position.

If the bill should pass, it would mark significant milestone by granting a Cabinet member a measure of regulatory authority. For even more on this topic, don’t forget to check out the April issue of Risk Management, in which we will feature an in-depth piece on banking regulation and risk and what is being proposed by the Basel committee.