Special Report
3 Questions
Daniel C. D’Alessandro, regional managing director, Aon Risk Services Inc.
Smart Business Pittsburgh | September 2009
Daniel C. D’Alessandro is the regional managing director of Aon Risk Services Inc., where he is responsible for the operational and financial management of the Pittsburgh office. D’Alessandro also serves as a senior client and marketing contact and manages revenue and expense goals.
Q. How will risk management help a company’s bottom line?
Risk management is as important as any other management issue. Typically, a well-run company has a really good loss experience that leads to lower insurance costs and lower risk management costs. Risk management doesn’t only include the actual insurance transaction — it goes far beyond that to include items such as claims management, loss control and safety engineering. If a business manages these areas well, it can certainly help to reduce the cost of a risk management program, which goes right to bottom line.
Q. What are ways to save money on risk management?
It’s discipline, discipline, discipline. You really have to have religion when it comes to safety and loss control. Adherence to policy and procedure is important to protect your employees and your customers. Making sure that you detect any loss trends or reasons why losses continue to happen is very, very important. Once you get those corralled, it typically lowers the amount of retained losses, which really helps save money.
Q. How often should a company review its risk management strategies?
It should be reviewed on an ongoing basis and should be done very regularly, if not on a monthly basis. Insurance is not something you can buy and put in a drawer. It’s something that requires a lot of attention and normally that pays off very well. As with any other product you buy, it should be looked at on a periodic basis. You also want to make sure you have a good relationship with your underwriters. That loyalty can pay off very well.
