BUSINESS STANDARDS
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Samsung Life Insurance ensures confidence in continuity

26 Sep 2008
Topics: Business continuity, BS 25999, Korea

What do you do when you know that your business continuity management arrangements are already good, but you aim for them to be world-class? In addition, you want your stakeholders to have complete confidence in your business continuity processes and you want to confirm your market leading position.

In the case of Samsung Life Insurance, realizing these goals called for independent proof that global best practice in Business Continuity Management (BCM) had been implemented. This was achieved by gaining 3rd party certification to BCM standard BS 25999 through BSI Management Systems earlier this year.

Samsung Life Insurance

Established in 1957, Samsung Life Insurance (SLI) is the leading life insurance company in Korea with GBP 11.7 billion in revenue and GBP 257.3 million in net income based in 2006. While SLI's core business is insurance, it also runs retail finance, investment funds and retirement pensions. The company has headquarters located in central Seoul, 1,100 branches throughout Korea and 10 global offices in major centres such as London, Tokyo and Singapore.

Implementing BS 25999

SLI had been working on BCM projects since 2006 and regularly exercised scenarios to check the effectiveness of alternative sites, risk management communication, essential human resources and IT infrastructure. Specifically, 150 staff had participated in 13 exercises since 2006. SLI therefore felt that the main objective of introducing BS 25999 should be using the standard to find opportunities to improve its existing business continuity management. Additionally, senior management wanted to ensure that the BCMS had been proactively implemented across all related departments and staff.

The process

On deciding to implement BS 25999, a review of current BCM systems was undertaken. Next a Business Continuity Management System was developed through analysis of the current system, focusing on the results of a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). This led to the completion of a detailed action plan and to the implementation of further exercises. In implementing this process, SLI defined a value chain, which consisted of 27 core business areas to be prioritized for recovery in the event of a crisis.

Then a Gap Analysis was undertaken, involving all staff, to identify points of weakness in the current BCMS. For instance an identified point of weakness was the interaction between business operations and IT services. To address this, regular weekly communications and meetings were instituted to discuss detailed action plans. As a result, good cooperation and communication was built between departments. Another area of weakness was the mechanism for reviewing supplier competencies and this was also addressed.

Finally a Stage 2 audit was performed by BSI auditors at SLI's Seoul headquarters and the IT Centre in Seocho (south of Seoul). Forty staff from 36 departments were interviewed and relevant documentation was reviewed. This resulted in a report which identified opportunities for improvement and non-conformities, and led to a Corrective Action Plan.

Ultimately, BSI's assessment team found that SLI had implemented a robust organizational structure for BCM wherein the Risk Management Team was responsible for overall business continuity and each department had its own BCM manager in a sub role. Certification to BS 25999 was subsequently awarded.

The benefits

On completion of the process, SLI felt that it had instituted a more consistently effective and reliable insurance service for its customers. In addition, an important differential competitive advantage was established within the insurance industry.

Concludes Mr Young-Jae Ahn, manager of the Non-financial Risk Management Group of Samsung Life Insurance's Enterprise Risk Management Team: "We believe that staff competencies are now fully developed to deliver consistent business operations in both headquarters and the IT centre in preparation for any unexpected crisis." He adds, "SLI is proud to have received the first BS 25999 certification in our sector, confirming our position as a leading global financial company."

For more information on Business Continuity: http://www.bsigroup.com/en/Assessment-and-certification-services/management-systems/Standards-and-Schemes/BS-25999/
Visit the Business Continuity Portal: http://www.TalkingBusinessContinuity.com
For more information on BSI Korea: http://www.bsigroup.co.kr

Business Standards © 2009. Editorial produced by Caspian Publishing in association with the British Standards Institution. Editorial opinions expressed on are not necessarily those of BSI Group or Caspian Publishing. Neither Caspian Publishing nor BSI Group accept responsibility for advertising or editorial content, nor for that appearing on linked third-party websites. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without written permission from BSI Group or Caspian Publishing.

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