Paul Lucas 00:00:15
Hello, Rach. Yes. So Ryan, I’m assuming you had all the questions in advance.
Ryan 00:00:20
Yes.
Paul Lucas 00:00:21
Good stuff. Any problems with this? Are you happy and comfortable?
Ryan 00:00:24
Yes, we are ready to respond at any time, we are familiar with the content and look forward to sharing the story.
Paul Lucas 00:00:30
Okay, well, there are no, there are no tricks. And I think the most important thing to know is that we’re largely sticking to the script and not saying this necessarily applies to you, but some people wouldn’t feel very comfortable if we started telling them more Asking questions or things they hadn’t planned, and so on. So we carry out the order exactly as planned. So just answer each question as thoroughly as you can because then I’ll move on to the next one. With all that said, I just want to check that your information is correct. So you are Ryan Powers, SVP, Head of Instruction at QBE North America. Is that correct?
Ryan 00:01:06
That’s right. Thank you very much.
Paul Lucas 00:01:08
In order. Excellent. Can you hear my wife coughing in the background? By the way?
Ryan 00:01:12
You are sure.
Paul Lucas 00:01:13
All right, that’s good. I’m just checking, go, or I shouldn’t have hated it, just go to another room with your coffee, to another room, please. But as long as we’re okay. This is excellent. And yeah, with all that said, I mean, unless you have any questions and I think we’re willing to work with you. In order. Great. By the way, one of the things I want to note at the end of my introduction is I’m going to say Ryan, welcome to Insurance Business TV. So if you can just say, “Hey, great to be here,” or something like that before we start the questions. And when you’ve given all your answers, I’ll also say something like, “You know, thank you so much for your time today.” And on the other hand, if you can just answer and say you know, thank you for me have, or anything else, then some people may even take this opportunity and say if anyone wants to contact me, they can contact me on the phone number. So if you want to add something like that, you’re welcome. But that’s entirely up to you. Anyway, let’s get started.
Paul Lucas 00:02:13
Hello everyone, welcome to Insurance Business TV and welcome to a very special edition on construction insurance brought to you by QBE North America. The construction industry, of course, plays a huge role in the U.S. economy. However, this has been challenged by a variety of risks in recent years. QBE North America has decided to support 500 commercial general contractors and construction managers across the U.S. to uncover the risks impacting their schedules, budgets and safety. In this edition we welcome Ryan Powers SVP, Head of Construction at QBE North America, who will share some of the findings with us. Ryan, welcome to Insurance Business TV.
Ryan 00:02:54
Paul, it’s a pleasure to be here. And thank you for having me.
Paul Lucas 00:02:58
So Ryan, shed some light on this for us. What risks do commercial general contractors and construction managers currently face the most?
Ryan 00:03:06
Yes, I would say that this is a topic that has constantly evolved over time. And while there is no shortage of risks facing risk managers and commercial contractors, five topped this list. And I think the key to that is to constantly engage with it and have a dialogue about it. So to look at the top 5 in order: We are facing excessive cyber costs, high interest rates, labor shortages and a possible economic downturn.
Paul Lucas 00:03:39
Let’s take a closer look at these topics. If you don’t mind, tell me why you think this caused concern.
Ryan 00:03:46
Each probably has their own unique story. I think when we talk about it as a community and with the industry, there are a lot of people who won’t be surprised by this list. But I think if we had done this survey maybe 10 years ago, the storyline here would be the meteoric rise of cyber in particular, as construction managers think about cyber from afar, I think in the infancy of this industry cyber Industry. That said, I think a lot of people would have said, well, contractors don’t necessarily protect consumers’ financial or health information and so may not be a particular target for cybercriminals. However, I think that the nature of the construction industry and the wealth of activity that exists not just on construction sites but particularly contractual agreements creates this network of vulnerability within the industry, so I think contractors now have more intellectual property to Recognizing this gap For me, the big storyline here is the emergence of cyber in conjunction with the traditional storylines that we’ve seen and that continue to evolve. In recent decades, they still largely focus on employee safety and also financial concerns to make your business successful.
Paul Lucas 00:05:11
Yes, cyber is of course such a big problem for the entire insurance industry, not just related to construction of course, but tell me a little bit about some of the steps that can be taken to mitigate some of these risks and how Brokers’ approach In particular, they can help their customers.
Ryan 00:05:27
That’s the best question. Therefore, I would say that the best defense against cyberattacks is our traditional methods, namely the human firewall. We need people who are willing to know what happens when something doesn’t smell right and take the extra step of authentication, whether that’s an email, a link, or a contractual vendor relationship. I think it’s critical that your frontline employees are aware of this vulnerability. And this might be an area that the contractor teams didn’t necessarily focus on when they were learning their skills for the industry, it probably wasn’t an area of concern. But here we are today and the industry is under attack by cybercriminals. And ultimately, these very moments are their moments and the attack is won or lost by the awareness of your frontline worker. Focusing on and being aware of this is something every industry needs to consider and prioritize. However, I think it is just an emerging trend in construction that everyone needs to focus on going forward.
Paul Lucas 00:06:39
And I imagine it might not have been such a surprise to you that cyber was at the top of the list. But was there anything that surprised you about the survey results?
Ryan 00:06:50
Well, I don’t know if it’s a surprise, a few things here I would say. That’s why I’m always interested in seeing the nuances within sectors of the construction industry when we do some of these research efforts. When I saw that the electrical engineering, HVAC, and heavy construction sectors were particularly affected by labor shortages, I saw labor shortages as something that all sectors of the industry are struggling with, and have been struggling with for more than a decade. But I’m becoming more and more interested in understanding how these sectors are a little nuanced. I think the electricians and HVAC techs will look at their carpenter friends and say the shortage is probably a little less in that area, but it’s still there. You know, it’s interesting for me to highlight the sectors that are particularly affected by labor shortages. And then the other big one, I wouldn’t say a big surprise, but it’s important to discuss. And I think, you know, as someone who serves the community, the construction industry, it’s important to have the dialogue. It’s about risk managers knowing that there is a gap between their most important concerns and the areas of least preparedness. So the same five that I mentioned before are the same five that they feel the least prepared for. So at least now you have a risk management and construction industry that knows where its gaps are and is looking for partners and resources to collaborate. So as a brokerage community and as a carrier community, we have a duty to educate ourselves so that we can make it easy for our clients to navigate and prioritize this space. They have so much to deal with that they have to trust the experts in the industry, whether that’s their brokers, their underwriters, their risk control partners, financial advisors, legal advisors – everyone has a role to play. And if we are experts in our field and can bring those efforts to close the gaps more quickly and efficiently into our insurance so they can focus on their business. I think that’s how we can best serve them.
Paul Lucas 00:09:13
Well, you mentioned the broker community is there, and given the survey results, do you have any other tips for retail brokers working in the construction sector this year?
Ryan 00:09:24
I would say keep the dialogue going. There is a big effort to get closer to the customer and I don’t think that should ever stop. Whether you’re a carrier or a broker, we need to maintain that dialogue with them, but we see that we have the luxury of living in a risk management world where our contractors are focused on their business. So what can we offer them to highlight their risks, have a dialogue about their mitigation tactics, and then collaboratively develop a plan to address and close those gaps?
Paul Lucas 00:10:00
Yes, great, Brian, thank you and QBE North America for your time today.
Ryan 00:10:05
We thank you very much and look forward to sharing our findings with you. We hope this contributes to safer and higher quality worktops
Paul Lucas 00:10:14
I’m sure it made a lot of people think, and of course I thank everyone for watching. See you here next time. Insurance Industry Television.
Ryan 00:10:22
Thank you for
Paul Lucas 00:10:25
Excellent stuff, Ryan. I mean, I think you were a one-take wonder that came across very well. Hello everyone. Welcome to Insurance Business TV and welcome to a very special edition on construction insurance, presented by QBE North America. And of course the construction industry plays a big role in the year of One Second Rick. Sorry, I just lost my place on the site. So I’ll start again from the beginning. Worries. All right, let’s go. Hello everyone. Welcome to Insurance Business TV and welcome to a very special edition focused on construction insurance, brought to you by QBE North America. The construction industry, of course, plays a huge role in the U.S. economy. However, this has been challenged by a variety of risks in recent years. QBE in North America has decided to support 500 commercial general contractors and construction managers across the U.S. to uncover the risks impacting schedules, budgets and safety. In this edition we welcome Ryan Powers SVP, Head of Construction at QBE North America, who will share some of the findings with us, Ryan. Welcome to Insurance Business TV.
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2024-05-24 20:40:52
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