BUSINESS STANDARDS
is the quarterly magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment. Regular features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems and standards.
Viewpoint
Question: What impact do you think BCM could have on business insurance in the future?
It is essential that any business suffering a disaster is able to continue as near normal trading in the shortest possible time period to survive. To achieve this, an organization should implement a comprehensive well-tested business continuity plan (BCP) as a first step. Insurance should be viewed as an extension to the BCP process, not an alternative.
Over the last few years, the interest in business continuity management has increased and has been further enhanced by the introduction of BS 25999. With the increase of terrorist activity and natural disasters globally, insurers have been taking a closer interest in business continuity planning and this interest is set to increase.
Effective business continuity planning will have an impact on future insurance costs, specifically business interruption insurance. Where effective BCPs have been implemented to mitigate disaster, there will be a reduced claims experience, which potentially can lead to a reduction in premiums.
Often businesses fail to mention the fact that they have a BCP plan in place and so potentially risk losing out on reduced insurance premiums. BCPs should be presented during the insurance renewal process, along with testing programmes, lessons learnt and continual improvement plans to ensure cost-reduction opportunities are realized.
Whether you are a proponent or opponent of the global warming theory, natural disasters are continuing to occur and are predicted to continue in the future. Oxfam recently released a report that states the number of weather related disasters have quadrupled over the last 20 years and there is no indication of this increase abating.
A comprehensive BCP compliant with the requirements of BS 25999 will continue to be effective in reducing the cost of business insurance.
Steve Crookes, group risk & compliance manager, BSI Group
BCM is the operational response to an interruption, while business interruption insurance (BII) provides the financial response. The better your BCM arrangements, the lower the financial risk, and in principle, the better the insurance terms you can get. Insurers will factor in BCM plans when determining acceptance of risk, the level of cover offered and premiums. The issue for insurers is how to assess how good their clients' BCM arrangements might be. Insurers are increasingly less likely to accept statements that their clients have BCM plans at face value. Compliance and third-party certification to BS 25999 is likely to be accepted by most insurers as the best evidence available, with this standard already a widely accepted statement of best-practice in BCM. Business managers should ensure they strike the correct balance between investment in both insurance and BCM; as getting this right creates confidence in both the resilience of their organization and the efficacy with which they are allocating capital to risk.
Martin Caddick, head of BCM Practice, Marsh Risk Consulting
Business Standards © 2007. 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.
Are you "Fit to supply" 2012 Olympic Games?
Business Link, the support and networking agency funded primarily by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), is working with BSI to help companies in their goal to win contracts for the 2012 Olympic Games.
In May 2008, BSI British Standards was presented with the Continuity Insurance & Risk (CIR) Award for Industry Advancement for its work in developing BS 25999, in recognition of the outstanding contribution made by BSI to the world of Business Continuity Management. CIR is the UK's leading bi-monthly risk management and insurance journal. This ceremony marked the tenth anniversary of the awards, which recognize excellence in business continuity and operational risk management.
Driving change in the bodyshop industry
High Wycombe-based Motofix has become the 100th bodyshop to earn certification to the Thatcham BSI Kitemark, having demonstrated that it conforms to Kitemark standards. These include skills, repair methods, equipment and materials. The bodyshop was assessed by BSI inspectors and met stringent benchmarks in order to achieve Kitemark status.
Elaine Westwood, founder and CEO of The Glassworks - one of the largest glass processors in the Midlands area - was named The Midlands Business person of The Year' 2008 at the inaugural Midlands Business Awards.
BSI British Standards and the independent authority Public Concern at Work have launched PAS 1998:2008, new guidance for organizations on whistleblowing arrangements. The launch marked the tenth anniversary of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (2 July 2008), itself recognized as an international benchmark on the subject.
Question: what is the value of a "non-
standard" standard, such as a PAS?
The PAS, or Publicly Available Specification, forms part of our spectrum of standards information ranging from full international consensus to bespoke individual company advice.
Have a standards-related question for BSI or a comment on the website? We'll find the right person to answer.
