8 minute read
The Business of Insurance
Global risk management, insurance broking and advisory company Willis Towers Watson, offers risk transfer, risk retention and risk control solutions to clients to assist them in reaching their highest potential. Its Head of Office in NI, Harry Weir, discusses NI’s changing economy and where future risks lie.
43 A s Harry Weir explains, risk and insurance pricing and availability are often impacted by global events, which can have a direct effect on local industries most affected by such events.
Recalling some of the major turning points for the insurance sector over the last 20 years, he says: “Insurance markets have cycles. If you go back to the time after the 9/11 World Trade Centre attack, the insurance market went into a very hard market state where prices increased at a level way above inflation and cover restrictions were introduced. However, as the economy stabilised and Insurers regained profitability, prices reduced towards pre-event levels. Insurance cover for terrorist events was withdrawn post 9/11, however the market responded to the requirement from business by developing a cover specifically for the peril of Terrorism in its widest definition – which continues to be purchased today.
Looking at individual sectors, Harry references the Grenfell Tower fire as having had a major impact on certain segments of the market. “Unfortunately the fall out from the Grenfell Tower disaster has resulted in some business sectors experiencing price increases and cover restrictions on certain lines of cover, eg design and construct professional indemnity for construction firms and Property insurance relating to buildings with construction features including composite panelling – particularly to high rise buildings, for example, Hotels or apartment blocks.”
He adds: “Construction firms are seeing the price of professional indemnity insurance increase in multiples. These events have a direct correlation, impacting the insurance market then flowing out to certain business sectors. The insurers suffer losses, they increase prices and restrict cover until they regain profitability and then the market softens with often a new cover being introduced to deal with a specific risk.”
New policies that have flowed onto the market have also created new costs for firms as Harry explains: “Pollution from gradually operating causes was once insured within a standard Public Liability policy, but following multiple pollution liability losses, today the cost of clean up is insured within a specific environmental insurance policy.”
He adds: “In a hardening insurance market we often recommend that clients retain more risk, looking for the optimum point of cost benefit in their insurance program.”
Quality risk management is essential to help control the cost of risk and Willis Towers Watson provide services in Belfast, ranging from Business Continuity planning to Health and Safety related services to assist its clients’ control risk.
The firm’s presence here dates back to 1925. Its current team of 60 are part of a 45,000-strong workforce globally.
In 2015 the company acquired “Trade Credit Brokers” in Belfast, making the business the market leader in the province for Credit Insurance and Surety Bonding.
Harry has noted the change in clients in the Belfast office, the fallen and the emerging. “We’ve seen a heck of a lot of change,” he continues.
“When I joined Willis, textiles and heavy engineering were massive. Many of those companies are now gone. We have adapted to change and grown our business.
“We are primarily a corporate broker, but our clients reflect the broad range of the Northern Ireland economy from leisure and retail, through manufacturing to technology.”
Looking at the risks for today’s economy, Harry says there are newer risks for firms to address, from cyber risks, through extended supply chain risks to risks associated with climate change.
“One of the services we offer is to identify such risks. Business risk keeps changing. Supply chains today can be very extended but work on a ‘just in time’ basis, so are vulnerable. Willis can identify a range of risks, including new risks such as cyber related risks and environmental risks, both onsite and those impacting third parties, and provide a solution to manage those risks for the business.”
Speaking about climate change, Harry advises, “There is concern around climate change. I would suggest that in the absence of the government building better flood defences, Insurers will exclude the peril of flood from current property insurance covers. That will create a problem for businesses in areas which may be considered vulnerable to flooding.
“I’m speculating when I say that climate change/flood risk rather than cyber risk, might be the next market-hardening event. Insurers are mapping each city to work out the likelihood and impact of flooding, and to make decisions based on that data.”
Harry concludes “The market responds to risk events through pricing and cover restrictions, but the demands of business will continue and the Insurance market will evolve to develop new insurance products and business services to meet those demands. Willis Towers Watson will no doubt be at the forefront of assisting business to navigate risks and provide solutions for our clients as a path to growth.”
ACORN IT SOLUTIONS CONTINUE TO BREAK NEW GROUND WITH TWO MAJOR
ACCOLADES FROM SAGE IRELAND
Acorn IT Solutions, one of Sage’s Strategic Partners, has been awarded the “Sage 200cloud Partner of the Year” which has elevated them to the coveted “Overall Partner of the Year” for the first time in their history. The Sage 200cloud Partner of the Year and Overall awards, presented by Sage Ireland, for achieving most new business growth of Sage 200cloud across the Partner Channel in Ireland. Sage 200cloud is the market leading business management solution for managing accounts, customers and business intelligence in one solution.
With offices in Kilrea and Dublin, the Acorn team celebrated a successful year having secured several new key contracts to implement and support Sage 200cloud to some of the leading companies across multiple sectors in Ireland. • The Tullyglass House Hotel in Ballymena were one such company who invested in Sage 200cloud to help streamline their existing business and provide a platform to support their ambitious expansion plans. • Northern Ireland’s local electricity provider, Budget Energy, required a system which was scalable for their growing organisation, providing real-time information to support key management decisions. • Leading construction company, Edgewater Contracts &
Specialist Joinery, invested in Sage 200cloud to help automate their processes, streamlining operations and reducing manual administration. Frank Keenan, CFO at Cycling Ireland acknowledges the expertise of Acorn IT Solutions in delivering the project “From the initial meetings with the Acorn team, they listened to what we needed, presented their vision of the solution to us and through their consultative approach with the implementation, guided us and held our hands through the project to a successful conclusion.”
Macrete, one of Northern Ireland’s largest precast concrete manufacturers, are another advocate of the Sage 200cloud business management software. Fresh from supplying the concrete structures for the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Macrete has transformed their internal systems to provide a 360-degree view of the business through the use of Sage 200cloud with some of Acorn’s own manufacturing modules from their “Inspired” range.
Steven Anderson, IT Manager at Macrete said: “Sage 200cloud has enabled us to gain complete visibility over our operations allowing us to massively streamline our processes and increase our productivity.”
Dominic McMullan, Director at Acorn IT Solutions remarked on the achievement:
“We are delighted to have won both the Sage 200cloud Partner of the Year and the Overall Partner of the Year Awards for 2019, for the first time in our history. These awards are a real testament to the entire Acorn team for their knowledge and professionalism and highlights a proven track record of success in implementing and supporting business management software to the SME market in Ireland. This comes at an exciting stage in the growth of Acorn IT Solutions and we are currently recruiting for a Software Developer.
Sage Ireland’s Senior Sales Manager, Oisin Geraghty, commented:
“Acorn IT Solutions are a valued Sage Partner who continue to deliver outstanding results. The awards are a real showcase of the expertise and hard work that they consistently demonstrate. I am delighted to present Acorn IT Solutions with these accolades in recognition of their performance in FY19 and look forward to an exciting future”. Sage is a global market leader for technology that helps small and medium businesses perform at their best. Contact Acorn IT Solutions: www.acornitsolutions.com 028 7964 4975 info@acornitsolutions.com Oisin Geraghty (Sage Ireland), Declan Bradley (Acorn IT Solutions), Barry Murphy (MD of Sage Ireland), Dominic McMullan (Acorn IT Solutions), Roger Gribbin (Acorn IT Solutions), Brendan Sweeney (Sage Ireland).
Another company who is reaping the benefits of their investment in Sage 200cloud is Cycling Ireland, the national governing body for cycling in Ireland. With over 26,000 members and a complex organisational structure of Departments and Divisions, activities range from managing a high-performance Olympic team through to a local cycle race. Having reached the limits of their Sage 50 software, Cycling Ireland required a system to give tighter financial control around accounts and budgeting.
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