The FIA are committed to ensuring the sustainability of the intermediary model and believe that it is essential that members are equipped to manage their own businesses and risks in order to best mitigate these exposures.
The big question is, what is keeping business owners and property owners awake at night in terms of risk exposures and where there is uncertainty as to what it all entails and what the best possible solutions are?
Is an insurance policy the only and best protection? We would suggest not, but that it forms an integral part and parcel of one’s risk management and risk mitigation strategy.
It was with this in mind that the Non-life Executive Committee of the FIA facilitated two webinars over the past few months, the first being on the very topical issue of a potential national grid failure and more recently a Cyber and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) session.
The Cyber webinar highlighted the complexity of the subject and how it can affect anyone of us at any time, with the emphasis on sound governance and protection of our systems and data (be it the business IT infrastructure or even one’s own bank account). Continued digitalisation will accelerate cybersecurity needs and there needs to be a focus on client identity and access management to protect client data and reduce fraud.
The subjects of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Business Continuity Plans (BCP) were introduced and how these can protect our businesses and the business of our clients.
The conversation dispelled the idea that an ERM programme and a BCP are a compliance “tick-box” exercises but are rather part of an agile and dynamic approach that drives the strategy, builds resilience and delivers sustainable financial performance.
The FIA is committed to working with the Institute of Risk Management SA (IRMSA) to further enhance the value offered to its members.