What risks do midsize businesses face today?
QBE’s Tom Fitzgerald discusses threats to middle-market companies in the latest Insurance Speak podcast.
Identifying and managing risk is critical to the success of any business, and threats come in all shapes and sizes. Over the last 18 months, employers have been dealing with a shortage of workers amid what has been termed the “great resignation,” and attracting and retaining talent has taken on even more importance.
Operating amid the pandemic has produced its own challenges with remote and hybrid work environments raising new risks. There has been an increase in cyberattacks and their severity. And, there is a growing awareness of climate change and the issues associated with increasingly severe weather events.
The second annual Mid-Sized Company Risk Report, produced by QBE North America in partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth, identifies multiple threats executives of mid-sized companies face. Professionals in management roles in firms ranging from $200 million to $3 billion in revenues across a wide number of industries participated in the survey.
Tom Fitzgerald, president of QBE North America’s Specialty and Commercial insurance business, recently shared some insights from the report on Insurance Speak, PropertyCasualty360.com’s bi-weekly podcast.
The Mid-Sized Company Risk Report looks at various threats across multiple industries. It identifies both macro business risks and micro-business risks. Fitzgerald explains that they wanted to look at risk holistically and not specific risks to start. The report identifies 12 macro risks including financial risk, digital risk, business interruption risk and risks related to the pandemic to name a few. From those 12 macro risks, the report identifies an additional 94 micro risks such as cyberattacks and cybersecurity issues, attracting and retaining talent, product liability and operational performance.
Fitzgerald expands on how some risks for employers have changed in the past months. “Companies want to provide a safe work environment but it’s different from 22 months ago,” he continues, “How do I protect them has changed,” he details as more companies transition to a hybrid work model.
“In the new work from home environment, there are new rules for employees when it comes to protecting networks and the movement of data across unsecured platforms,” adds Fitzgerald.
He goes on to describe some of the emerging hazards due to the pandemic, the increased awareness of the impact of climate change on the environment and several other threats facing medium-sized businesses. To hear the rest of the interview, listen to the podcast via the link above or subscribe to Insurance Speak on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play or Libsyn.
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