Editor's Letter

Risk Managers and Brokers Bring Out Each Other’s Best by Being Candid in Their Relationships

A robust discourse between risk management and insurance professionals can enhance working relationships and elevate the profession for all of us.
By: | August 30, 2018

You may have noticed some stories on our website recently that delve into the broker/risk manager relationship.

One was titled, “9 Things Brokers do that Drive Risk Managers Crazy.” Another was subtitled “13 Things Risk Managers do that Drive Brokers Crazy.”

The spirit of these pieces was to play the journalist’s role of “fly on the wall” and listen to risk professionals talk about ways things could go better. I imagine most of our readers took them that way.

No one complained about what we wrote so far … which to my mind is indicative of the general level of maturity and professionalism we are blessed with in this industry.

The stories were well-read, and I don’t bring that up because I wrote them. I mention it, because I want to support the notion that there is always room for a dialogue, a way to find more common ground. I think the high readership these stories attracted indicates most people are seeking a more enlightened way to interact.

We know plenty of great brokers and acknowledge dozens of them every February with our Power Broker award. We also know plenty of great risk managers; some of them earn our Risk All Star award, announced in our September 15 issue. We also know plenty of great underwriters; we interview them practically every working day.

The core function of any trade publication is to help professionals do their job better. We plan to write more stories that shine a light on the specific, very important role played by any number of insurance and risk management professionals and how working relationships across the board can be improved.

The idea is to promote excellence, not to knock anyone. Thanks for taking it that way, so far. &

Dan Reynolds is editor-in-chief of Risk & Insurance. He can be reached at [email protected].

More from Risk & Insurance