For many businesses with a single annual renewal, the demands of managing an insurance program are not evenly spread across the year.
Workload typically increases significantly in the months leading up to renewal, continues through the period immediately after placement, and can rise unexpectedly when a significant claim occurs.
Outside those peak periods, the workload may reduce significantly, even though the need for experienced oversight remains.
For some organisations, that creates a mismatch between the level of insurance expertise they need at key points in the year and the resources they carry year-round.
The busiest part of renewal happens before it
For many insurance managers, the workload increases significantly in the three months leading up to renewal, and for more complex programs the process can begin even earlier.
This is when information needs to be gathered from across the organisation, exposures reviewed and changes to the business identified. Revenue, payroll, asset values, locations, claims information and other underwriting data may all need to be checked and updated.
But renewal preparation should be more than a data collection exercise.
It is also the time to assess whether the insurance program still reflects the organisation’s risk profile, whether limits and deductibles remain appropriate and how claims experience or changing market conditions should influence the renewal strategy.
The broker plays an important role throughout this process. The organisation also needs someone capable of working with the broker, understanding the options being presented and assessing those options against its own risk and commercial priorities.
Good preparation creates time to consider those decisions properly.
Once renewal becomes a deadline, the opportunity to explore alternatives or challenge the status quo can narrow quickly.
The work continues after placement
Renewal does not finish when cover is bound.
The period immediately afterwards can involve reviewing policy documentation, resolving outstanding insurer requirements, confirming that agreed terms have been reflected correctly and preparing reports for management.
There may also be premium allocations, certificates of currency, internal communications and follow-up actions arising from the renewal.
This work is less visible than the negotiations themselves, but it can be just as important.
There can be a significant difference between agreeing what the insurance program should look like and making sure the final policies accurately reflect those decisions.
Only once that work is completed does the renewal workload begin to settle.
Claims create an unpredictable peak
The third major demand on insurance resources does not follow the calendar.
Claims can arise at any time.
Some may be relatively straightforward. Others can require substantial involvement over weeks, months or even years.
A significant claim can require coordination between internal stakeholders, brokers, insurers, loss adjusters, lawyers and other advisers. Information needs to be collected, insurer requests managed and the organisation’s position understood and protected throughout the process.
This can quickly increase the amount of specialist insurance resource a business requires.
The challenge is that the business cannot predict exactly when that additional capacity will be needed.
A quiet claims year may involve relatively limited day-to-day claims management. A single major event can change that almost overnight.
Ongoing responsibility does not mean constant workload
The fact that insurance workload peaks does not mean the program can be left unattended between renewals. Claims need to be monitored, contracts can create new insurance requirements, and changes to assets, locations or operations may alter the organisation’s risk profile.
But ongoing responsibility and constant workload are not the same thing.
For some organisations, insurance activity remains consistently high. Businesses with multiple renewal periods, complex international programs, significant claims activity or rapidly changing exposures may have a clear need for a dedicated full-time insurance manager.
For others, the pattern can be very different.
A business may have several months of intensive renewal activity, followed by a more manageable level of day-to-day insurance work until another significant event occurs.
Recognising that pattern can help an organisation determine what level of insurance resource it actually requires.
Accessing expertise when demand increases
The value of flexible insurance support is the ability to increase specialist capability when the workload requires it.
In the lead-up to renewal, an organisation may need additional senior support with data collection, renewal strategy, broker engagement and assessment of the terms being presented.
Once placement and post-renewal work are complete, that requirement may reduce. If a significant claim arises later in the year, additional expertise can be brought back in.
This can also complement an existing insurance manager rather than replace them. An organisation may have strong internal capability but require additional capacity during a particularly complex renewal, acquisition or major claim.
This is how we structure many of our engagements, increasing or reducing support to reflect what is happening within the organisation and its insurance program.
The value is not simply additional capacity. It is having experienced insurance expertise available when the decisions being made can have the greatest impact on coverage, cost and risk.
Matching the resource to the insurance cycle
The right insurance management model will differ from one organisation to another.
For some, a full-time internal resource is clearly justified.
For others, the better model may involve a combination of internal oversight and specialist external support during periods of higher activity.
The starting point is understanding how the workload actually occurs: the preparation required before renewal, the work that follows placement, the frequency and complexity of claims, and the level of activity during the remainder of the year.
The busiest periods of the insurance cycle are often when decisions around coverage, cost and claims carry the greatest consequences.
That is when experienced insurance expertise matters most.
Need flexible insurance support for your next renewal or major claim?
At Risk Advisory Services, we provide executives with immediate, independent risk capability exactly when the workload demands it.
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