Crisis breathes new life into Airmic’s SIG programme

Airmic has run special interest groups (SIGs) for many years to help members dig deeper into areas of particular importance by both sector and topics. It makes a lot of sense. Risk and insurance managers of course work for all sorts of companies in the myriad of different sectors and have as many job descriptions as there are members. No two risk managers carry out exactly the same role. That is the nature of the beast. No two risk management functions are the same, but, there are also of course many common themes. At its simplest, risk and insurance managers focus on the identification and categorisation of the risks that face their organisations, work out how best to manage those within the parameters of the corporate risk appetite and, of course, the best way to mitigate those risks with the support of insurance and other forms of risk transfer. To create working groups to focus on the specific themes faced by risk managers working in specific sectors such as retail, telecommunications or pharmaceuticals, for example, or on a topic such as captives makes a lot of sense because it enables peers to share challenges and solutions in the neutral environment provided by the association. The risk managers who discuss common challenges faced by certain sectors may work for companies that compete fiercely with each other on a day-to-day basis but they all have a common goal: to manage the risks faced by the sector more effectively for the benefit of all stakeholders. It is fair to say, however, that in recent times Airmic’s SIGs lost momentum and were in danger of petering out. The rise of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, has breathed new life into the groups as risk managers suddenly needed to work out strategies for dealing with a whole new set of risks in sectors that have been hit by the virus in many different ways. If ever there is a time for sharing ideas and experiences, it is now. Alex Frost is the man responsible for running the SIG groups at Airmic. He explained the purpose of the groups and how they work. “A special interest group, or SIG, is a meeting of industry professionals, Airmic members generally, to discuss issues of concern or interest. It may be formed about a certain line of business, an industry, a risk, or an event,” he said. The meetings tend involve an expert presentation from a key service provider on a topic of particular interest at the time. This helps spark the discussion among risk managers with common interests and the search for solutions in a strictly ‘off-the-record’ environment. “The benefit is twofold,” continued Mr Frost. “First, we strive to provide them with a short presentation by one of Airmic’s partners – a major insurance carrier, a broker or a service provider – to prime the pump for discussion. But the real value is the connection of members to each other and the discussion that follows; all conducted under the Chatham House Rule naturally. It is an extremely valuable forum for the members and helps Airmic gauge the attitudes in the industry and advocate for our members better,” he said. Mr Frost explained that the range of groups is now broad and recently the association has created ‘popup’ groups to help tackle urgent matters as they arise. The digitalisation of Airmic accelerated by the rise of the pandemic will certainly help with this approach. “Airmic has a number of long-standing SIGs in obvious areas such as property, legal and enterprise risk management. But in recent months we have launched what we call ‘popup SIGs’, which aim to be more responsive to risks or events of the moment. We haven’t done one on the pandemic yet, although that features heavily in all discussions! But we have held events on retail and the difficulties of reopening safely and the challenges faced by the global aviation industry, while SIGs are planned for later in the year on climate change, and political risks like the US presidential elections and Brexit,” explained Mr Frost. And, for Mr Frost, the increased interest in and use of the SIG groups is clearly a result of the pandemic and should continue for some time yet as everyone adapts to the new working world, post-pandemic. Asked why he believes the SIG groups have enjoyed something of a renaissance, he said: “I think that I answered that above – but the obvious benefit to members is a chance to meet and network with their industry peers. Especially now when we are locked down or unable to travel very far.

Crisis breathes new life into Airmic’s SIG programme

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