RM Benefit Duties Rise At Small Firms The smaller an organization, the more likely it is for the risk manager to be called upon to both place and administer the firms employee benefit plan, a risk management survey has revealed.

As companies grow in terms of sales volume, however, risk managers are less and less likely to have hands-on involvement in employee benefits, according to the “2002 Risk Management Compensation Survey,” prepared by Logic Associates Inc. in New York.

The surveys results, released during last months Risk and Insurance Management Society annual conference, was co-sponsored this year for the first time by National Underwriter.

The survey examined risk manager salary and bonus averages broken down by size of company, industry sector and state. The survey also delved into risk manager benefits, specific duties, reporting structure, educational levels and other job considerations by size of firm. (An exclusive report on the surveys highlights appeared as the cover story in NUs April 7 edition.)

The survey found that among risk managers working at firms with up to $200 million in annual sales volume, 74 percent have “direct, hands-on” involvement in negotiating the placement of benefit plans. Only 8.5 percent said they were “not involved” in such negotiations, while the remainder either “supervise” or “advise” on benefit transactions.

At these same firms, 67 percent of the risk managers surveyed are directly involved in administering the benefit plans they placed, while only about 11 percent hand off benefits administration to someone else entirely. The others supervise and advise on administration.

As an organization grows in volume, the responsibility for placing and administering benefit plans shifts more to others in the company, the survey found. At the largest companies–those with sales volume over $15 billion–only 8 percent of risk managers have “direct, hands-on” control over benefit plan placement. (See accompanying table for breakdown.)

However, even among some of the largest firms, a substantial number of risk managers retain direct control over benefit plan administration. For instance, at jumbo firms with over $15 billion in sales volume, more than one-fifth (21 percent) are still directly responsible for administration.

In addition, even at some of the larger organizations where risk managers reported that they do not have “direct, hands-on” responsibility for benefits placement and administration, they frequently retain substantial influence by supervising or advising their benefits managers, the survey found.

This was not surprising to Bill Perry, president of Logic Associates in New York, a leading risk management headhunter who has been conducting this survey for more than two decades.

“The smaller the company, the more hats a risk manager must wear. Its a fact of life that direct benefits responsibilities more often come with the territory at smaller firms,” Mr. Perry said.

He acknowledged, however, that very often a risk manager will supervise and coordinate a companys benefit plan, no matter what size the firm.

Indeed, Mr. Perry suggested that even at companies that maintain separate benefit and risk management departments, there should be frequent contact between the two because of the coordination required for disability, health insurance and workers compensation claims, as well as improving the effectiveness of back-to-work programs.

(Copies of the complete “2002 Risk Management Compensation Survey” can be ordered for $80 from Logic Associates Inc. at 67 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005; by calling (212) 227-8000, or by e-mailing Bill Perry at bperry@logicassociates.com.)

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, May 26, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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