It's Time For The Industry To Pull Together
Monte Carlo
"No man is an island entire of itself; every man is part of the mainAny mans death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind, and, therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." –John Donne
We dont have to know anyone who died or was injured during the horrific events of last week to feel the pain of loss. The terrible waste of innocent lives touches us all. We are diminished at the latest reminder of our human capacity for evil.
However, many of us do know people who died or were injured, so the tragedy is deeply personal. In an international center such as New York, the effect on lives and on businesses is global.
The insurance industry is also deeply affected–not just because it will be part of the recovery for its clients, but also because insurance companies and brokers had offices in the World Trade Center complex. Their employees have been killed or injured and they will have to rebuild their businesses.
The World Trade Center housed the offices of the brokers Aon, Marsh and Guy Carpenter. To name just a few, the buildings also were home to companies such as Kemper, Scor and Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield. There are reports of lucky escapes, but many people were still missing as this column went to press.
The news of the terrorist attacks quickly reached the attendees of the annual reinsurance meeting here in Monte Carlo, the Rendez-Vous de Septembre. People quickly clustered around televisions to watch the unfolding events in horror.
Large groups of attendees had offices in the World Trade Center. Most people at the meeting had colleagues and friends working there; others had relatives in the buildings. There are many stories of attendees who were talking on the phone to colleagues in the buildings when the planes hit and the lines went dead.
What a range of emotions must have coursed through the minds of executives at this meeting. Not only are they affected, as we all are, by the extent of the loss of life and the horror about mans inhumanity to man, but the insurance industry is on the front-line of the recovery process.
Insurance executives have to worry about their businesses (the loss might have a major impact on their balance sheets), their shareholders and, of course, their clients. People with offices in the building have the added worry of concern for the welfare of their employees–and then, of course, they must rebuild.
This is the time the industry should work as a united front to assist even competitors in the recovery process.
The coming renewal season will be particularly difficult, given the fact that two of the largest global brokers–Aon and Marsh–had major offices that are now destroyed. Theyve lost not only people, but vital paperwork as well.
Perhaps business will have to be placed with fewer supporting documents. Perhaps competitors, insurers or reinsurers can provide Aon, Marsh and Marshs sister company, Guy Carpenter, with copies of missing paperwork. Perhaps the renewal season will have to be extended.
Lets hope the coming months will show that the industry will not only pay its claims promptly, but will also set aside its competitive swords to facilitate recovery for clients, and indeed, for the industry itself. Paperwork may be lost. Policies may have been in negotiation but not yet bound. But perhaps some accommodation can be reached without resort to the courts and feathering the nests of another group of trial lawyers.
In any war, we can see the worst of human nature. This is the time to demonstrate our best.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, September 17, 2001. Copyright 2001 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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