Malaysian risk professionals reminded of the value of valuation

Under-insurance is a huge problem in Asia, whatever industry you look at, but not necessarily because the insured are deliberately declaring low values to avoid paying premium, according to managing director of John Foord International Graham Copland (pictured).

“It’s more that the insured are not fully aware of the current replacement value of their assets and the fact that the policy indicates replacement with new,” Copland told delegates at a Malaysian Association of Risk and Insurance Management (MARIM) event held last week.

The ‘Managing large and specialised risks: Challenges and opportunities’ seminar kicked off with Copland’s presentation ‘Under Insurance – the perils and solutions’. In it, the qualified chartered mechanical engineer expressed his view that regular and professional independent valuations were a necessity for achieving and maintaining good risk management at any firm.

“It’s a fact that 30% of all companies that experience a catastrophic loss will fail within the first 24 months after the loss, and an additional 29% will fail beyond 24 months, because they are not insured correctly,” Singapore-based Copland said.

“Hence it is critical to get your assets valued by a professional valuation practice at regular intervals.”

The MARIM seminar provided risk and insurance professionals with the opportunity to share information on risk management, specialised lending and regulatory issues. It also covered market conditions, risk communication, information sharing, incentive systems and insurance.

Other presentations included an insurance perspective on managing large and specialised risks by the head of Sterling Insurance Brokers Abdul Halim Jantan, and ‘Managing large project risks’ by senior manager at Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Anwar Ahmad Abidin.

The final speaker, Lum Siew Wai from Mclaren Saksama (Malaysia) shared his experiences in large and specialised claims handling from a loss adjuster’s perspective. The audience was taken through a step-by-step approach to handling claims with the objective of minimising loss.

The next MARIM seminar is tentatively scheduled for 19 June. For more details go to www.marim.org.