NU Online News Service, May 24, 2:47 p.m.EDT

Towers Watson launched the North American insurance industry'sfirst knowledge-sharing network for senior-level life, health andproperty and casualty risk officers.

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Network will provide C-suiteprofessionals access to conferences, webcasts and otheropportunities to meet with specialists in their field.

“Our launch of the CRO Network is in direct response to stronginsurance-industry interest in peer networking and best-practiceeducational opportunities relating to risk management,” says MarkScanlon, enterprise risk management leader of the Towers WatsonAmericas life industry and senior consultant who helped develop theprogram, in a press release.

Scanlon later added, “Ratings agencies have been pushing ERM foryears, and last year the National Association of InsuranceCommissioners (NAIC) became more vocal in pushing the Own Risk andSolvency Assessment (ORSA) proposal. It's a significant indicationthat insurance regulators want to take an internal look insidecompanies.”

Scanlon says there is interest from senior-level professionalsinvolved in risk management to hear from others in similarpositions.

Benefits for CRO Network members include free peer networkingacross peer life, health and P&C lines insurers, access toindustry experts to discuss the implementation of ERMbest-practices and value maximization, and educational insightsinto high-priority current and emerging ERM topics ranked by membercompanies.

The first two-day network forum, “Risk Management: BestPractices for Insurers,” will be held in September 2012inWashington,D.C.

Eventually, knowledge gained from CRO Network activities may beshared with a wider audience. “At least at the outset,knowledge-sharing will be among senior risk officers that aremembers of the CRO Network,” says Scanlon. “Going forward, it maymake sense for the best practices to be shared externally withthird parties such as insurance regulators and ratingsagencies.”