What is Risk Management?
Risk Management is a systematic approach to addressing the challenges and risks your business faces. It is a very broad discipline that generally consists of recognizing, assessing, ranking, treating and addressing risks, and financing those risks using a variety of methods and tools.
Doesn't my insurance broker or agent do that for me?
Your insurance broker or agent is a key member of your team. The expertise they bring to the table is valuable and universally needed, especially in the construction industry. Your broker or agent will also have all the required licenses to transact insurance for you. Insurance, however, is only one solution to financing the risks your business faces, and independent risk management advice can help you determine when and where insurance is the best option for your needs. We don't transact insurance, in fact doing so would pose a conflict of interest. We look forward to working with your existing broker or agent to help your business achieve success.
What about my attorney, don't they do this as well?
Attorneys are licensed to practice the law, and construction is a process that often makes use of legal advice. Risk Management, however, is a broader discipline that does not involve the practice of the law. We work with your existing team of attorneys to help maximize the efficiency of your approach to managing risks. As such, we don't engage in the practice of law or offer any legal advice. We prefer to work in cooperation with your attorneys to help you reach your goals.
Most of our work is covered by wrap-up programs. What can Risk Management do for my business?
Wrap-up programs are common in the construction industry, and a great many of them provide excellent coverage and convenience. Whether you are the program sponsor or a program participant, wrap-ups have can have a profound impact on the project insurance costs and coverage. Good risk management can help avoid surprises such as coverage gaps, cost over-runs, or funding shortfalls. Wrap-up insurance brokers and administrators are customarily paid either by fee or through commissions (or a combination of those) to place and/or manage the wrap-up program, which makes an independent review of OCIP or CCIP programs a vital risk management tool, regardless of whether you are the sponsor or are a participant in the program.
But we don't have a choice about enrolling in wrap-ups, do we?
The question isn't whether you have a choice about wrap-up participation, most such programs require the majority of the contractors on site to enroll. The real issue, the one you can effectively control, is how you manage that participation effectively, and how you recognize and avoid the most common errors and pitfalls that can make wrap-up participation more expensive or difficult than necessary Good risk management programs can help you manage your participation in wrap-ups. We can work with your existing team to help you recognize and improve your response to participation in and management of wrap-ups.
What about claims management? Isn't that why I have insurance, shouldn't they handle that?
Insurance is, of course, your first line of defense if a claim arises, but not every claim is handled well, not every claims professional is equally skilled, and most claims professionals will not be familiar with your unique business profile or needs. Dolnick Risk Advisors can help you understand your claims history and profiles, and equip you to engage in productive and meaningful discussions with your claims professionals. Those can help reduce inefficiencies, limit costs to the maximum extent possible, and help you learn from those claims to avoid problems down the road.