Grants Help Schools Teach Loss Control

Putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to support of risk management education, FM Global handed out the first of a series of grants recently so two universities can develop course curricula for students studying loss prevention and insurance.

The $50,000 grants–which were delivered via the Spencer Educational Foundation–went to The University of Hartford Barney School of Business and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business Risk and Insurance Studies Center. The grants were announced in Orlando during the Risk and Insurance Management Society's annual conference.

The grants are part of a $525,000 pledge made by FM Global last year–the largest gift in the foundation's 30-year history. Spencer finances student scholarships and educational development projects in affiliation with New York-based RIMS.

The University of Hartford will use its grant to “develop three course modules that focus on the importance of loss prevention in reducing an organization's total cost of risk,” Spencer noted.

Virginia Commonwealth University will use its funds to “create a graduate-level loss prevention course designed to train current and prospective business managers to plan, develop and implement risk analysis and loss prevention programs,” Spencer added.

Spencer Chair Donna L. Galer said the foundation plans to give out two additional grants in 2010, and two more in 2011–also funded by FM Global–for a total of $300,000. She noted that the remaining $225,000 of FM Global's donation will be used to finance scholarships for risk management students.

Shivan S. Subramaniam, chair and chief executive officer of FM Global, said that his company–a mutual property insurer known for its state-of-the-art loss control research facilities–”has always believed the majority of all loss is preventable, and we've seen that risk managers who embrace and champion that philosophy can improve the quality of risk management within their organizations.”

He added that “as companies deal with the economic downturn and their risks become more geographically dispersed, the need for sound loss prevention methods becomes increasingly important.”