There is no question that change is occurring everywhere – change with business operations, financial services, supply chain, employee recruitment, and retention all create new risks for your business. It is important that your risk and insurance program can respond to these changes.

All these issues have had an impact on businesses across the state of California. There’s no reason to expect anything different in 2022. In fact, 2022 maybe even more turbulent, which is why your company must be prepared to manage a wide range of risks.

Why Is Risk Management Important?

Risk management in the present day is a highly collaborative endeavor. Risk management cannot be relegated to a single department or conducted on an ad hoc basis within operational departments. Ownership of risk must be shared across the firm, according to forward-thinking businesses.

Our Picks for Top Risk and Insurance Trends For 2022

Risk And Insurance Issues Around Remote Workers

A change to long-term remote work has ramifications for a company’s risk exposures in several ways, affecting several of the company’s insurance plans. Any business considering allowing or mandating its employees to work remotely as a long-term plan should have its policies thoroughly assessed by professional brokers and expert coverage counsel to discover any gaps in coverage or policy language that need to be resolved.

Businesses will have to strengthen their cybersecurity in the digital age, yet cybersecurity risks have increased significantly due to remote workers. Employees who work remotely from home are much more vulnerable than those who work in offices. We expect the cyber market to continue to harden in 2022. 

Ransomware assaults are also a major concern for more than two-thirds (69%) of IT leaders, who believe that ransomware will target the hybrid workplace. As a result of these attacks, the business continuity of the targeted organizations was jeopardized.

Remote Worker Cyber Tips

Make sure your devices (computers) are patched and up to date.

• Allow for an increase in distant VPN workers.
• Provide employee training.
• Require all passwords be updated on a regular basis, and or use password managers.
• For file management, use cloud software.
• Only use secure Wi-Fi.
• Have appropriate backup systems in place.

Workers’ Compensation

Employees are often covered for work-related injuries that occur outside of the office or at other places of business. Employers are often still liable for injuries that occur during a diversion, such as when an employee physically leaves their job tasks for a short activity, such as obtaining coffee.

Autonomous Vehicles

2022 could see the start of self-driving (level 3) commercial vehicles. Conditional automation is a type of technology in which the vehicle drives itself under certain conditions, but the human driver must be ready to take over at any time.

Drivers will be able to utilize the technology, but the question remains: who is responsible if something goes wrong? It will be important to have a good understanding of the insurance and legal implications.

Organizations should make their policies as clear as possible. They might, for example, ask their insurer to sign a certificate stating that their vehicles are insured regardless of whether they are in automated mode or not.

Supply Chain Issues

More and more businesses are relying on international suppliers in today’s global marketplace. If the regular delivery of raw materials, parts, or completed products from distant locations is critical to your company’s operations, your business may suffer if these things are delayed or fail to arrive at all.

Furthermore, a significant decline in supply frequently means higher prices for acquiring the resources needed to keep the business running. Contingent business interruption, or CBI, coverage can help protect you from losses caused by disruptions at your suppliers’ or downstream customers’ facilities.

This form of insurance is limited since it only covers you if the businesses you rely on are disrupted due to physical property damage, for example, if a supplier's factory is damaged by fire and shuts down.

The Continued Need for Directors and Officers Insurance

Corporate leaders are exposed more than ever to litigation from current and laid-off employees, investors, the government, and other institutions. A D&O Insurance policy generally covers a lawsuit brought against a board of directors or an individual officer, and D&O Insurance coverage varies greatly.

D&O insurance frequently excludes claims involving employment practices (hiring, firing, and promotion). An Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage may fill the gap where a D&O policy excludes employment-related claims.

Attracting Talent to Your Organization

As we move into 2022, your business will need to think about remuneration, rewards, and benefits to learning and development, succession, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The trend in 2022 will be to take a step back and investigate why people are leaving organizations or the workforce. Is it because of the pay? What are the advantages? What about the culture?

What is the business plan? What about the location? What are the different categories of employees who are leaving? Leaders will have to take responsibility for reducing turnover in their organizations. HR and managers must maintain a tighter relationship with new hires to assist them with the onboarding process, particularly during the first 120 days on the job, which are important for the new hire experience.

Leap | Carpenter | Kemps Insurance Agency Can Help

Leap/Carpenter/ Kemps Insurance Agency can help you manage these and other risks your business may have. Call our professionals today for a no-obligation business insurance review.