Outsmarting Future Storms

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Morgan O'Rourke

It probably goes without saying, but it has been a trying couple of weeks for just about everyone in the New York/New Jersey area.

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With Hurricane Sandy-related power outages, transportation issues and gas shortages still ongoing, getting back to normal has been a lot more difficult than anyone would have expected. But today it’s 60 degrees and sunny (it was snowing last week), so even if the area still has a long way to go to recover, there is some reason for optimism.

And as the area recovers from this epic storm, the conversation is beginning to turn to how we prevent a disaster like this from happening again. To that end, Brian Walsh offered his take on how we can better prepare for future weather-related catastrophes in the latest issue of Time magazine.

But for [New York Governor Andrew] Cuomo, Sandy was the harbinger of something even worse. “We have a 100-year flood every two years now,” he said. “We need to make sure that if there is weather like this, we are more prepared and protected than we have been before.”

We’ll need to be. Thanks to a combination of factors — more people and property in vulnerable coastal areas as well as climate change — we’re likely to experience disasters on the scale of Sandy more often in the future.
That’s a future we’re not ready to handle, and judging from the near total absence of debate about global warming on the presidential campaign trail, it’s a future we’re not even thinking about.

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The good news is that there’s still time to prepare — if we heed the lessons of the storm.

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Among the issues Walsh discusses are making continued investments in weather forecasting, strengthening our outdated power grid, the importance of federal disaster response, acknowledging climate change and developing an infrastructure that is more storm resistant, especially given how many people live along vulnerable coastlines. Of course, many of these measures come with a hefty price tag (installing sea barriers to protect New York City from storm surges could cost as much as $17 billion), but considering that early estimates have put the cost of this storm alone somewhere around $50 billion and most experts believe this won’t be the last storm we will have to endure, it would seem like money well spent.

It’s unfortunate that it usually takes a disaster to get the general public thinking about issues that most risk managers have been talking about for years. But now at least some of these conversations are heading in the right direction.

Recovery from Hurricane Sandy is ongoing and many families and communities are still in desperate need of assistance. For more information about how you can help, please visit the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org.

Regional Conflicts in Workers Compensation

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Emily Holbrook

This week I attended the 21st Annual National Workers Compensation and Disability Management Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Among many of the sessions offered was one addressing the regional conflicts in workers comp. I sat in on the session addressing workers comp issues in the Northeast. Along with the moderator, there were three individuals representing the TPA, the carrier and the employer.

Steve Gidwitz, COO, NCA Comp, Buffalo, New York (TPA)
John Leonard, president and CEO, Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company, Portland, Maine (carrier)
Richard Graham, corporate director, insurance and risk control, Crozer-Keystone Health System, Chester, Pennsylvania (employer)
Maureen McCarthy, senior vice president, Liberty Mutual, Boston, Massachusetts (moderator)

McCarthy began by addressing the economy and how it’s affecting workers comp in the Northeast and, more specifically, how it has impacted getting people back to work.

“In the health care system since 2007 we’ve had several layoffs,” said Graham. “The focus on impatient to outpatient care is the next big thing. We’ve actually had to shrink the workforce inside the hospitals.”

“In New York, before comp reform in 2007, the average weekly indemnity claim was $400, now it’s $702,” said Gidwitz. “Light duty or return to work programs are more important than ever.”

“The Northeast is the old rust belt — old union labor,” added Graham. “The economy has changed in terms of what drives it — meaning less manufacturing. We’re going through a transformative process in which we’re trying to interrupt the whole culture of the organization. Getting back to owning one’s job is important.”

McCarthy then questioned the panel about the consequences of recession in terms of fewer jobs and, maybe more importantly, an aging workforce in those positions that have weathered the storm. She referenced a study by Reuters, which states that during the peak of the recession, job loss in the private sector was 5-7% and 3-10% in the public sector. Another statistic stated that in 2000, 34% of workforce were 45 or older. Today that same statistic is 42%. The workforce is older than it was 10 years ago and continuing to get older. How has that changed workers comp, she asked.

“It has caused a shift in thinking at [the National Council on Compensation Insurance] in regards to younger workers getting injured more frequently than older workers,” said Leonard. “We see that it’s not related so much to age, but time on the job at that position. There is a dynamic shift underway that’s taking away the concept of age and focusing on time at work. New hires are more likely to be injured. Also, the nature and severity of injuries are increasing because as the workforce ages, the time it take to heal increases.”

McCarthy noted that a more mature workforce isn’t necessarily a bad workforce. “They tend to be more trained and well-versed,” she said. “However, when they are injured, it will take longer for them to return to work.”

Gidwitz and Graham said the focus should be on training. “When you get new employees, regardless of age, you must spend the time to train them properly,” Gidwitz said. “If they’re not trained properly, they develop bad habits and keep those bad habits.”

Graham took a tougher stance. “Do the employee a favor — sometimes you do them a favor by walking them out the door in the first 90 days,” he said. “On day 91, you’re stuck with them [if they are not following the training properly].”

In terms of obesity, Graham said it’s a national problem, not just an issue within the workers comp sector.

“We’ve got some transformative issues to go through as a country,” he said. “If your knee injury is because you’ve been morbidly obese your entire life, then is comp supposed to pick up half?”

“By 2020 or 2030, the percentage of people overweight or obese will be 80-85%,” noted Leonard. “As you look down the road, you have an older worker with physical problems due to lifestyle and you have the development of a crisis.”

Graham followed with his view on the obesity epidemic and its impact on workers comp. “The number of knee replacements that I’m paying for boggles my mind,” he said. “This person has been morbidly obese for 20 years and you’re telling me the knee replacement is work-related? There’s a storm coming — look at our workforce, look at the age, the health. We actually had a medic who had a heart attack while performing CPR.”

RIMS ERM Conference 2012 Comes to San Antonio

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Morgan O'Rourke

Earlier this week, the second annual RIMS ERM Conference 2012 was held in San Antonio. With a theme of “Transforming Vision into Value,” attendees took in two days worth of educational sessions and discussions designed to provide them with the necessary expertise to develop and enhance enterprise risk management programs in their organizations.

Author and leadership expert Robert Stevenson set the tone in a keynote address that stressed the importance of looking at risk strategically as a means of ensuring perhaps the most valuable organizational commodity: its own survival. Stevenson pointed out that between 1985 and 2000, more than 90 companies have been pushed off the Fortune 500 and that the top 10 employers in 1960 have all completely changed today. What this demonstrated said Stevenson was that “future success is not inevitable because of past triumphs.” For risk managers, then, it is imperative that they remind their organizations that success is never final and that they need to pay attention to risk whether they like it or not. “If you don’t like paying attention to risk,” he said, “you will hate paying attention to extinction.”

So in order to avoid being blindsided, organizations need to adopt a wider perspective regarding risk, which naturally leads to ERM as a means to not only address threats, but to take advantage of opportunities. To that end, subsequent sessions delved into a wide range of topics with experts offering practical advice on things like incorporating scenarios into strategic planning or using key risk indicators and root cause analysis to refine risk assessment. Presenters also shared their stories of how they were able to achieve ERM success in their organizations, giving attendees the opportunity to see theory in action and learn from the accomplishments of their risk management peers.

In an effort to recognize one of these success stories, the conference was highlighted by the presentation of the 2012 ERM Award of Distinction, which went to the YMCA of Greater Toronto for its sophisticated risk intelligence program. The program incorporated strategic risk tools and techniques including a collaborative project risk assessment that was aligned with the organization’s mission, vision and strategic plan objectives to produce an average 25% growth in monthly membership sales at one of its health, fitness and recreation centers, with phased replication and reach in other communities.

Sysco Corporation also received an honorable mention for successfully implementing an ERM program that helped transform the organization’s business culture from siloed businesses to a cohesive and interconnected network of companies focused on uncovering otherwise untapped opportunities.

“Enterprise risk management has become an increasingly important organizational competency that not only protects organizations from detrimental risks but has proven to help identify positive risks that can lead to profitable opportunities,” said Carol Fox, RIMS Director of Strategic and Enterprise Risk Practice. “The YMCA of Greater Toronto and Sysco Corporation are shining examples of how risk management can create value for an organization and their work is truly deserving of this honor.”

In all, the conference proved to a valuable learning experience for all who attended. The following are some of the images from San Antonio.