Changed
we realize that their spirit continues to
live on in all of us. one such example is
that of a son of an Aon colleague who
died on sept. 11. When he graduated
from college, he thanked our firm for the
support he received, saying, “…seeing the
scholarships as a tribute to my father have
made me work very hard to do my best.”
“to do my best” is a phrase that can
be used to define the companies in our
industry that stepped up and took on the
risk so that our clients could do what they
do best—and our economy could get back
on its feet.
Jack Seaquist
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT AND TERRORISM
SPOKESPERSON, AIR WORLDWIDE
While still in its early stages, the usage of modeling for terrorism has matured since 9/11 in
the development of the underlying
components of the model:
J Weapon-damage functions for the range
of weapons that might
be used by terrorists
tuned to the urban-
density environment.
J the development of
scenarios based on an
extensive database of
potential targets across
the sectors attractive to terrorists.
the main challenge remains the
estimate of the overall likelihood of an
attack. the estimates have been reduced
over time as counterterrorism activities here
and overseas have successfully prevented
attempts at large-scale attacks. the result
is that any attacks today are more likely
to be performed by a small group or by a
lone wolf who has the ability to plan and
execute a plot from under the radar.
recent history has shown the frequency
of attacks to be quite low and of lower
severity. this is reflected in Air’s updated
terrorism model, released this summer. NU
Risk Managers On 9/11
NU asked members of its risk Managers Advisory Board to address
how the events of 9/11 affected their profession.
GARY PEARCE
VICE PRESIDENT, RISK MANAGEMENT
KELLY SERVICES
9/11 transformed risk management
from an abstract dialogue to a mission-critical function. it redefined risk exposure,
imparted a new sense of gravity to our
work, and permanently expanded the
scope and visibility of what we do.
People who lost friends and loved ones
on sept. 11 don’t need to be persuaded
about the merits of risk management.
instead, they desire excellence in risk-management execution. no other event in
our lifetime has been as consequential with
regard to how business leaders view risk.
KARL ZIMMEL
DIRECTOR, RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES
UNISOURCE ENERGY CORP.
9/11 is the most significant event of my
risk-management career, and it has made
a permanent impact to risk management:
1) it has opened our minds to endless loss
scenarios during risk identification; 2) it
caused special insurance-policy coverage
that can’t be completely covered by insurers
and requires government reinsurance; 3)
Loss-control efforts are significant, starting
with barriers outside of various facilities and
extending to more sophisticated measures;
4) security is endless from airports to it
systems.
one could argue several industries
have developed to counter the threat of
terrorism. it’s a sad sign of the times when
terrorism prevention is one of the only
industries creating jobs.
TIM EAST
DIRECTOR, CORPORATE RISK MANAGEMENT
THE WALT DISNEY CO.
first, 9/11 has made all of us more aware
of the need to consider risks and exposures
we’ve never considered before—to evaluate
risk more broadly and to include the
cascade effect of multiple events occurring
at the same time.
second, the resulting coverage and form
dispute following 9/11 made it clear that
risk managers, brokers and insurers need
to get the terms, language and conditions
communicated clearly and acknowledged
by all parties. We can never wait for months
after a policy is bound to work these out.
DAN KUGLER
ASSISTANT TREASURER, RISK MANAGEMENT,
SNAP-ON INC.
from a risk-manager’s perspective, the
events of 9/11 made me expand my view
of “what can happen” and the resulting
consequences—highlighting the need to
expand our view of potential loss and the
need to fully support and work closely
with local officials in coordination of
catastrophic losses.
SARAH PERRY
RISK MANAGER
CITY OF COLUMBIA, MISSOURI
My sense is coverage issues which arose
from the sept. 11 losses have prompted
insurance providers to more carefully spell
out coverage inclusions and exclusions—
requiring risk managers to pay better
attention to policy language.
While the events of sept. 11 were horrific,
i believe it has positively affected the world
of risk management by raising the attention
of people to the possibilities of loss and
the need to have management plans in
place should a loss of any magnitude occur.
this heightened attention has given risk
managers the chance to step forward with
expertise in property coverages, preventions
programs and mitigation plans.
As a risk manager, one of the biggest
changes i experienced following 9/11 was
also the willingness of public entities (cities,
counties, schools), businesses and not-for-profit organizations to come together
to plan a community-wide emergency
response—instead of each organization
looking at how to handle their own
challenges. NU
