Getting From Here to There

Transportation safety in the oil and gas industry is being challenged by increased production.

Companies within the energy industry are facing growing risks as their trucks roll through urbanized areas and rural roads not designed for heavy-duty traffic.

With the boom in oil exploration comes the need to move high-value machinery, hazardous materials and hazardous waste, and natural resources at seemingly ever-faster paces into locations previously untouched by the industry.

The expansion of the U.S. energy business is evident.

From February 2010 to February 2013, onshore oil production within the lower 48 states increased by 64 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and the number of natural gas wells found in shale plays in the United States increased to 10,173 in 2011, from 5,531 in 2009. From 2010 to 2011, shale drilling expenditures increased by 88 percent, totaling $65.5 billion, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

As a result of this expansion, organizations face greater reputational and environmental liability risks, and may also experience an increase in third-party liability claims.

Risk reduction is possible for companies that develop a robust and proactive risk management strategy that makes safety a high priority.

Fleet operators understand that their reputation is on the line with every accident, whether in the headlines or not. Organizations’ health and safety performance data can hinder a service company’s ability to win contracts. Their entire safety record is made public through the Department of Transportation’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) system.

Any future business they get within the oil business is contingent on their risk management performance and regulatory compliance. This concern is shared by every link in the energy supply chain, as every ancillary operator in the business — from drilling, to well-servicing and beyond — has drivers, trucks and exposures.

A 21st century energy company understands the need to evaluate their safety risks and develop effective risk mitigation strategies.

Contributing to the transportation risk scenario are key factors such as high levels of driver demand, a relatively inexperienced driver pool across the U.S., increased state and federal regulatory oversight, and drivers operating in unfamiliar locations.

Recognizing the broad and ever-changing nature of transportation risks is crucial, and companies working to keep these exposures in check do so through the development and implementation of a systemic approach to fleet risk management and loss control that includes the following steps:

1. Gap Analysis/Regulatory Review

The first step in a risk management program is to gain an understanding of the current state of affairs.

Part of this involves ensuring that a Motor Carrier Consensus Form is accurate. One good indicator of safety is the SMS BASIC percentile rank that can be found in the monthly CSA Data Preview.

Inspection and violation histories can also help companies identify patterns and trends, revealing which areas of their transportation program (including their own business processes) require improvement.

2. Safety Training

Training involves making drivers aware of Department of Transportation rules. Even experienced truckers, upon coming to the energy business, might need training on the challenges of driving on smaller roads through towns and the varied other operating environments they experience.

Part of any training program must also involve increasing all drivers’ awareness that their performance on the road directly affects the company.

The Consumer Energy Alliance Trucking Safety Task Force recommends making sure drivers know that no load is worth sacrificing safety standards or violating rules.

3. Driver Vetting

This can be a daunting task. The economy of the oil business dictates that operators are active as much as possible while the prices are high; for gas, despite the lower commodity prices, wells are being drilled more and more.

Drivers are wanted. Screening procedures and drug testing are more than ever a necessity to mitigate fleet risk.

4. Periodic Re-Evaluation

Repeat steps one, two and three on a regular basis. As the Consumer Energy Alliance Trucking Safety Task Force guidelines suggest, meet with community members and leaders, local law enforcement and emergency to understand their safety concerns and address them in upcoming training as needed.

Meet regularly with the drivers themselves and ensure they are aware of changes on the ground.

The domestic energy industry is experiencing an exciting and prosperous moment, yet with growth in exploration and production comes growth in risk and its consequences — particularly those centered around transportation.

Some larger oil and gas service companies have already spent millions of dollars to understand and mitigate their fleet risk. Other companies are not quite as far along. Yet all service providers appreciate that creating a safety culture can only help them in the future.

Jeff Melo is an experienced risk management professional and part of the ESIS Health, Safety, and Environmental team. Mike Billingsley is responsible for proactive management of ESIS Health Safety, and Environmental accounts. Jeff can be reached at [email protected]. Mike is at [email protected].

How a Carrier Partner Can Help Navigate a Challenging Management and Professional Liability Market

A combination of a choppy economy with increased claims frequency and severity could lead to rate increases in the Management & Professional Liability market.

By: Risk & Insurance | April 3, 2024

Rates in the management & professional liability (M&PL) markets were on the rise from 2020 to early 2023 and are now falling rapidly.

M&PL divisions manage a number of different insurance products including management liability (D&O), professional liability (E&O), employment practices liability (EPL), fiduciary liability policies, cyber, etc. In 2023 and into 2024, a big influence on the marketplace has been the extremely aggressive and softening public company D&O market.

Though these rates have been softening for management liability, that may change over the next few years as companies continue to adjust their business models motivated by economic uncertainty. Layoffs were up nearly 200% last year, Forbes reported, even as other recession indicators, like the inflation rate, improved. A recession could lead to an increased claim activity and force carriers to raise rates.

“Whenever there is a meaningful downturn in the economy, we tend to see claim frequency pop up,” said George Schalick, Jr., senior vice president of the Management and Professional Liability Division at Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY).

With continued fiscal uncertainty, businesses potentially already burdened with pandemic-related claims should seek a carrier with a long history in M&PL products. They will provide much-needed risk management guidance and be better positioned to support their insureds during market fluctuations.

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

George Schalick, Jr., Senior Vice President of the Management and Professional Liability Division, Philadelphia Insurance Companies

The current soft market might come as a bit of a surprise as it does not track with previous underwriting cycles and economic conditions. Afterall, many privately held and non-profit organizations struggled during the early days of the pandemic with shutdowns and rapidly declining revenues. But the Government assistance programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program loans, helped keep many afloat during the tough times.

“During COVID many organizations stopped doing business until they were able to sort out all of the health and safety challenges,” Schalick said. “They were forced to lock down, but then all the government assistance programs allowed them to keep people employed. The increased volume of claims we anticipated we would see coming from the lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed upon businesses in the U.S. didn’t manifest at first.”

“Just because there wasn’t an onslaught of reported claims at the beginning of the pandemic, doesn’t mean the circumstances that would give rise to a claim being reported didn’t occur. Courts and the judicial system were closed or slowed and now that they are back open, we’re starting to see the circumstances that occurred during the COVID lockdowns becoming claims today,” Schalick said. “Litigation is progressing.”

Added to the delayed pandemic litigation is a concern over newer claims that might be filed as the country inches toward an economic downturn. Though a recession was avoided in 2023, experts think a soft dip could occur in 2024, with 76% of economists saying there’s a 50% or less chance of an economic downturn this year — that almost always results in more management liability claims.

“During the Great Recession in 2008, we saw an almost immediate spike in claims because of the economic conditions and the pressure it placed on organizations. They were making personnel changes with significant belt tightening almost immediately.” Schalick said.

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Despite an uptick in claims and increased economic uncertainty, management liability rates haven’t increased, resulting in market-wide pricing levels that may not meet the increased pressure of rising settlements and jury verdicts.

“Rates are going the other direction and settlement values are not falling,” Schalick said.

The mismatch between rates, claim frequency and severity is, in part, because carriers experiencing the dramatic soft market in the public D&O market are seeking premium gain in the private and non-profit market.

“In the public company market, the rates have been decreasing significantly. The rates were increasing in the private, not-for-profit market, and rightfully so, but there’s a desire to supplement overall mid-size D&O for carriers who also write private not-for-profit, and they see that as an opportunity to aggregate premium,” Schalick said. “So the always competitive landscape in the private, not-for-profit market has dramatically increased in the last 18 to 24 months.”

Still, companies of all sizes and types should be concerned about management liability rates in the future. Legal system abuse is resulting in increases in both the amount of litigation and the size of verdicts plaintiffs are receiving.

Certain areas of the country are particularly vulnerable to this type of legal system abuse. As a result, insureds in these localities are likely to be vulnerable to rate increases.

“The environment is so positive for the plaintiff that forces premium increases so carriers are able to stay in that market long term,” Schalick said.

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

It’s clear that insureds are facing an uncertain M&PL market over the next few years. Fortunately, carriers with a long history in the M&PL space will be there to offer stability.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies has been supporting this market for 35 years. PHLY is committed to offering long-term rate stability, even as economic and claims trends start to push premiums upwards. They have an appetite for all sorts of companies, large and small, for-profit and nonprofit alike.

“We’ve been at this game for a long time and are one of the most tenured underwriters in this space,” Schalick said. “We like to stay very consistent.”

PHLY has worked with both for-profit and non-profit on management liability policies. With dedicated M&PL teams throughout the company’s 13 regions, PHLY provides the support agents and brokers are looking for on behalf of their clients. The teams know their regions well and can respond to local trends. They’re also dedicated to making the renewal process as easy as possible for their partners and policyholders.

“We have real confidence in our results, so we focus a lot on making the renewal experience as painless as possible for all agents and insureds,” Schalick said.

The company is also investing in tools to help insureds avoid losses. Earlier this year, they launched a new online risk management platform, PHLYGateway, which offers resources for insureds on how to create an employee handbook and trainings on issues such as recognizing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.

If insureds have questions, they can consult a Best Practices Help Line, provided via the platform. That way, they can get on the spot risk management guidance to help them prevent claims.

To learn more, visit: https://www.phly.com/mplDivision/managementLiability/default.aspx.

This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The editorial staff of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.

Energy Risks