Re Hurricane Season
Marsh & McLennan Co Inc
01 June 2007
News Release
Media Contact:
Christine Walton Gabriela Juncadella
MMC Edelman for MMC
212 345 0675 212 704 4448
christine.walton@mmc.com gabriela.juncadella@edelman.com
MMC ADVISES COMPANIES ON HOW TO MANAGE RISK
FOR 2007 HURRICANE SEASON
NEW YORK, June 1, 2007 - With the 2007 hurricane season now officially underway,
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) today convened a panel of experts from
across the firm to discuss ways companies can more effectively prepare and
manage for the potentially catastrophic effects of this season's storms. An
audio webcast of the event will be available at approximately 10 a.m. EDT at
www.mmc.com.
This year's hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, is forecast
to be above-average with as many as 17 named storms compared with a more typical
number of about 11 per season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
'Hurricane Katrina showed in devastating detail how a powerful storm can wreak
havoc far beyond where it makes landfall,' said Michael G. Cherkasky, president
and chief executive officer of MMC. 'Organizations that were hundreds and even
thousands of miles from the Gulf Coast suffered financial and other losses as
the storm disrupted supply chains across industries and regions, illustrating
why companies must consider the full spectrum of risks they face when confronted
with a catastrophic event.'
Among the critical business issues discussed by the MMC panel were business
continuity planning, compensation challenges posed by displaced or reassigned
workers, protecting and recovering digital data, managing the insurance claims
process, understanding the impact of new Florida legislation, and forms of
capital for property reinsurance such as catastrophe bonds.
A major reason hurricanes continue to be so devastating is because of the
population growth in and near U.S. coastal areas over the past decade, noted
Robert W. O'Brien, managing director of Marsh's National Property Claims
practice and leader of Marsh's Catastrophe Response team for North America.
Marsh, Inc. is MMC's risk and insurance services firm.
'More people mean more business, and that translates into more exposure when
disaster strikes,' Mr. O'Brien said. 'Companies should seek to fully understand
all the issues that can prevent them from restoring normal operations -
everything from knowing what an insurance policy does and doesn't cover to what
documentation they need to ensure interim insurance payments after a storm has
hit.'
The MMC panel strongly advised companies to take pre-emptive action to ensure
their ability to work through storm-related incidents and preserve operations to
the greatest extent possible, including:
• Developing business continuity and crisis management plans; testing
emergency response plans
• Assessing the resilience of the supply chain
• Establishing internal and external communications procedures
• Instituting data back-up and recovery protocols
• Assessing and understanding levels of insurance coverage
• Creating claims accounting and filing systems for use in post-loss
scenarios
• Becoming familiar with local government emergency response plans
In addition to Mr. O'Brien, the other panelists were: Ken Giambagno, global
leader of Marsh Risk Consulting's Forensic Accounting and Claims Services
Practice, a specialist in forensic accounting; Howard Levine, principal at
Mercer Human Resource Consulting and an expert in employee compensation
programs; Mike Burmeister, director of engineering for Kroll Ontrack's data
recovery operations; and David Priebe, global head of Guy Carpenter's Specialty
Groups, which includes the firm's 16 Specialty Practices and the Instrat(R)
modeling and actuarial unit.
MMC is uniquely positioned to provide a range of management, operational and
financial advice on natural disaster risks through its various operating
companies, which are active in providing risk solutions across a range of
professional disciplines.
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) is the world's premier provider of advice
and solutions in risk, strategy and human capital. It is the parent company of
Marsh, the world's leading risk and insurance services firm; Guy Carpenter, the
world's leading risk and reinsurance specialist; Kroll, the world's leading risk
consulting company; Mercer Human Resource Consulting, the world's leading
consultancy in its field; Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consultancy;
and Putnam Investments, one of the largest investment management companies in
the United States. More than 55,000 employees provide analysis, advice, and
transactional capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Its stock (ticker
symbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago, and London stock exchanges.
MMC's website address is www.mmc.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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