October 2014

Newsletter

At the BELRIM General Assembly, which was held at PWC in Brussels, Gaëtan Lefèvre recapitulated the events of the past year and highlighted the activities that lie ahead.

Read the slides on our website: www.belrim.com

BELRIM awards a two-yearly prize to a workpaper, end of study work or thesis on a topic related to Risk and Insurance Management.

A preselection file must be presented to the BELRIM Scientific Committee before 1 January 2015.

For more details, visit our website: www.belrim.com

Who does not know Fernand De Winter? In the RM and Insurance world his name certainly rings a hell of a bell for he has been in the business for many years. Fernand started his career at FABRICOM in 1966 where he first worked as insurance employee to continue to Insurance deputy Manager at TRACTEBEL and finally Director of Risks and Insurance at GDFSUEZ in Paris. He retired a few years ago but keeps himself busy as a consultant for several clients, among which the  European Commission. He joined our association in 1974 and soon became one of the key members (Board Secretary, Board Member, Vice-President). Fernand was also appointed to represent Belrim at the “Association Europeenne des Assurés de l’Industrie” (FERMA – formerly AEAI). For many years, he has been the BELRIM Treasurer, looking after the association’s accounts with scrutiny and benevolence. He continues this function today, as always in close cooperation with the General Secretary and, of course, the President.
Fernand was there when GAI/VVI changed its name to BELRIM. He witnessed the evolution of his job from an insurance buyer to a holistic risk manager function. He saw the number of members rise from a mere handful to over 200. Many exchanges were hosted and co-organized by Fernand and he took part in several work groups, sharing his know-how and skills. He also obtained a strong support of TRACTEBEL/ELECTRABEL/FABRICOM and for many years the legal address of our association was located at the FABRICOM offices  in Uccle whereas the operational office of Belrim is currently on their site at Braine l’Alleud. At FERMA level Fernand also played an important role as he took up the position of Treasurer for 8 years.
Fernand is famous for his great sense of humour and his ability to put things in their right perspective. He has a huge network of friends and colleagues who appreciate his typical expression “to be serious but not take oneself seriously”, which was illustrated at its best when brokers and insurers were convinced that Y2000 would be the biggest nightmare ever….

Obtaining full control of a company’s supply chain reinforces the continuity of the business. When we think about supply chain risk management, we typically reflect to business continuity plans of suppliers, dual sourcing buffer stocks, logistics, secondment, etc… In a quickly changing regulatory environment, where stakeholders question the origin of the materials or services, supply may be disrupted. This creates huge challenges for organizations. Being unable to demonstrate that your organization has a tangible management system in place to determine sustainability supply risks across the value chain, or, even worse, a crisis communication plan is absent when your company gets negative public attention, may seriously damage the company’s reputation. This exchange will focus on how to determine and manage supply chain risks, more particular with respect to regulatory elements (such as REACh, CLP, conflict minerals, EPR), social and other sustainability elements.

Register here

This is the Place to Be for all risk and insurance managers.

Book this date with us for the celebration of 40 years of commitment to our profession and exchange with our members.

Be prepared for a festive event !

23 January 2015 -  Ladies Mind Risk

26 February 2015 - Protected Cell Companies / Captives

19 March 2015 - Class Actions

30 April 2015 ! changed date ! - Ageing / Pensions

21 May 2015 - Cyber Risk

18 June 2015 - General Assembly

On 4 September 2014, BELRIM invited its new members for a convivial dinner with keynote speaker Marc Luyckx-Ghisi who gave his views on the evolution of markets and society. This year we had a large number of participants who enjoyed the opportunity to mix and mingle with peers and get the privileged opportunity of meeting the board members of BELRIM.

Go to our website www.belrim.com for the slides of the presentation by Marc Luyckx-Ghisi and visit the gallery for some pictures.

On September 18, BELRIM organized together with PRMIA (Professional Risk Managers’ International Association) an Exchange on operational risk management.

Cathérine Van Doorselaer, ORM Manager ING Belgium gave insights on the management of operational risks within a financial institution.  She shared with the audience the way a bank deals with the qualification and quantification, as well as with the controls of the different risks.

Jo Willaert, Corporate Risk Manager Agfa Gevaert, shared his experience of the setting up of an Enterprise Risk Management methodology, and the strengths, threats and pitfalls of such a set-up and follow-up.  He gave us insight in the way an industrial company could classify and prioritize her operational risks.

The presentation of both methodologies of, on the one hand, a bank, and on the other hand, an industrial organization, was an enrichment for both the services / industrial world and the banking world.

For slides and pictures, visit our website www.belrim.com

At the recent Risk Frontiers event on the risks and opportunities of expansion into Africa organised by CRE and Commercial Risk Africa in partnership with the Belgian risk management association Belrim, experts agreed that this is a good model that could be extended to English-speaking Africa and even beyond.

In July 2011 South African president Jacob Zuma proposed the creation of an African Grand Free Trade Area (GFTA) and it was suggested that this effort could include the introduction of a CIMA-style code for the English-speaking part of Africa.

Speakers at the Brussels event, sponsored by AIG and Ascoma, agreed that the adoption of such a system would make life much easier for risk and insurance managers of international companies in the region.

Evidence from the event and intelligence gathered by CRA at recent risk and insurance events across Africa suggest that the concept may finally be moving ahead.

Read more on our website: www.belrim.com

FERMA celebrated 40 years of Risk Management in Europe at a well-attended seminar in Brussels. The highlight of this year's seminar was the release of the "European Risk and Insurance Report" based on the results of the FERMA Risk Management Benchmarking Survey 2014. The report aims to reveal the status and level of influence of risk managemnet businesses today and to get a better understanding of what stakeholders expect of risk management in the current financial and economic environment.

For more information, visit the FERMA website.

After his studies as a mathematician and actuary Guy was engaged by DVV insurance to start as an actuary . he climbed the ranks to become CEO in 1993 . He was fortunate to run that company, which is now known as Belfius Insurance  and its subsidiaries for nearly 20 years.
But he still kept a keen interest in everything that has to do with Risk, Finance , Tax and Actuarial Solutions. I chaired the reinsurance and captive management companies that his group held in Ireland, Switzerland and Luxembourg, trying to find what he would call “neue combinationen” , new ways of combining existing elements to enhance risk positions of a firm in the longer term .
As such, he's still active as an authorized  reinsurance manager in Luxembourg and a strategic actuarial consultant .
On the non-profit side he's active in the Belgian Institute of Actuaries, the “residential care for the elderly”-sector and the MS-Ligue.
Last but not least, Guy also a keen golfer .

Yves is a 43 -year-old computer specialist.
He's married and has two sons.
He spent his previous career at ULB (Service Télématique & Communication) where he worked for 6 years before moving on to take care of the startup of Reef (2 yrs). He's been working at Network Research Belgium for the past 12 years.

For more info about NRB click here.

Find out more about the new regulations that were implemented on 1 September 2014.

Find the Dutch and French texts on our website: 

Brigitte Deckers is corporate risk manager of Belgium-based Recticel, the group that produces filling for a range of industrial and domestic applications worldwide. The group has almost 8,000 employees and 100 establishments in 28 countries. Commercial Risk Europe's Tony Dowding interviewed Ms Deckers for this year's European Risk Frontiers Survey and found that she agrees with most who have taken part that risk managers need to be flexible and able to multitask. She also agrees that Ferma's planned European risk management certification is a good thing for the profession.

Read more HERE

ASSURALIA collects and treats the data of the insurance employment market.

Find the Dutch and French brochure on our website.

Argus de l'Assurance gives an overview of the big risk insurers.

Find the document on our website: www.belrim.com

Intellligent gaming used to teach Risk Management.

Read the article on our website.

While agreeing on the choice of an optimal investment
decision is already difficult for any diverse group of
actors, priorities, and world views, the presence of
deep uncertainties further challenges the decisionmaking
framework by questioning the robustness of all
purportedly optimal solutions.
This paper summarizes the additional uncertainty
that is created by climate change, and reviews the tools
that are available to project climate change (including
downscaling techniques) and to assess and quantify the
corresponding uncertainty.
Read the full paper on our website: www.belrim.com

The past 25 years have witnessed unprecedented changes around the world—many of them for the better.
Across the continents, many countries have embarked on a
path of international integration, economic reform, technological
modernization, and democratic participation.
Although challenges and inequalities remain, economies that had been stagnant for decades are growing, people whose families
had suffered deprivation for generations are escaping
poverty, and hundreds of millions are enjoying the
benefits of improved living standards and scientific
and cultural sharing across nations. As the world
changes, a host of opportunities arise constantly. With
them, however, appear old and new risks, from the
possibility of job loss and disease to the potential for
social unrest and environmental damage. If ignored,
these risks can turn into crises that reverse hard-won
gains and endanger the social and economic reforms
that produced these gains.

Read the full report on our website: www.belrim.com