NU Online News Service, June 9, 2:35 p.m. EDT

ORLANDO, Fla.--The Deepwater Horizon DrillingPlatform explosion and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexicowas not a risk management issue, an insurance executive said.

During a panel discussion at the Public Risk ManagementAssociation's annual conference held here, moderator Ron Hays,outgoing president of PRIMA and risk manager of the CalcasieuParish, La., School Board, noted that risk management has beenblamed by many for the British Petroleum oil spill.

But Patricia H. Roberts, president and chief executive officerof Genesis Underwriting Management Company, said she believes riskmanagement was not to blame and that the disaster was a"one-in-10,000-year event." She said many people were involved inthe decisions leading up to the spill.

Regarding risk management at BP, she said, "They have to look atthe tail risk and how much additional safety do you need."

Ultimately, there was not enough safety, she added, noting thatregulatory changes are needed.

Michael F. Klein, senior vice president of business insuranceand president of Travelers Middle Market Business, said thesituation is complicated because the rig is a joint venture, withother partners and contractors involved.

He added that the outcome of the disaster will be bettercontinuity planning.

Patrick M. Gallagher, managing director of worldwide propertyand casualty with Gallagher London, recalled meeting with the riskmanager of BP only a month before the Gulf Coast disaster. He saidthat BP is self-insured, but that the risk manager there hiredoutside consultants.

But while the consulting included several projects with brokers,Mr. Gallagher said it did not include crisis management.

The three agreed that a hurricane in the gulf wouldsubstantially increase the complexity of claims because of thepossibility that oil could be washed ashore into homes, schools andcommercial buildings.

But they predicted that the issue of determining storm surge orflood would be controversial, as it was after Hurricane Katrina in2005.