We caught up with Steven Fisk, principal at Barney & Barney and winner of Risk & Insurance’s prestigious 2013 Power Broker® award.
Steven, please give us a little background on your experience in the insurance industry.
I joined Barney & Barney in 2008. I’m a Principal in the Property & Casualty department and co-lead the firms Apparel Practice Group alongside David Nava.
What trends are you seeing in risk management and insurance lately?
It’s been a trying year in the industry for all employers. On average, workers compensation rates are up between 15% to 25% – driven mainly by medical costs, liens, and attorney fees. California currently ranks as the 3rd most expensive state for Work Comp. Super Strom Sandy had a slight impact to the Property & Casualty side of the business. Increases on that segment range between 2% to 5%. Fortunately we’ve taken a proactive approach for our apparel clients and developed an exclusive work comp program to help shelter them from the standard market increases. This has been a safe haven as rates are substantially more competitive and includes full access to our dedicated team of Risk & Loss technicians.
How can companies learn more about what level of coverage is appropriate for their needs?
GREAT question – the best approach is by allowing us to do a full audit of the current program, inclusive of supply chain analysis, international compliance, and health care reform modeling. We go into these engagements with no expectation and are willing to provide this to apparel companies at no cost. Not only does this allow organizations to identify potential areas of deficiency in the program, but enables them to avoid adverse impact to their balance sheet at time of loss.
See the full article in Risk & Insurance Magazine here.
