In our previous blog post, we reviewed how RMS has developed Risk Maturity Benchmarking, a tool to help clients understand their current processes and maturity and create a blueprint for improvement tied to their business strategy.
In 2017, RMS conducted a Risk Maturity Benchmarking (RMB) study for IRB Brasil Re – click here to read the full case study, to assist IRB on the implementation of their three-year transformation plan.
The IRB Transformation Plan objectives were closely aligned to the company’s primary strategic drivers. These included:
- To grow IRB’s international presence as a “best in class” global reinsurer
- To achieve greater capital efficiency across all business lines
- To develop a market-advancing Enterprise Risk Management capability
- To maintain a focus on innovation as a key differentiator
- To achieve a competitive advantage by advancing modeling and analytical capabilities
Phase One of the IRB Transformation Plan was to establish a clear understanding of the organization’s current maturity levels and jointly determine the plan forward. RMS Consulting worked with IRB representatives from across its exposure management teams over a three-day period, and conducted interviews using a thorough questionnaire consisting of over 100 questions to gain a working knowledge of every process and procedure. This provided IRB with an effective way to establish where it was currently strong across the pillars, and to pinpoint any specific weaknesses.
By targeting specific areas for improvement, we helped IRB understand what was needed to achieve the necessary level of maturity across their exposure and risk management capabilities to compete more effectively with their peers.
“Too often, companies assume they are performing to their optimal potential. The RMB process exposes the reality of the situation. This allowed us to generate a clearer picture of where we needed to focus our attention and investment.“
Luis Brito, head of catastrophe modeling, IRB
Based on an understanding of IRB’s existing processes, technology and strategic priorities gained from the senior leadership team, RMS compiled a comprehensive series of prioritized recommendations designed to drive success and aligned with company strategy. In addition, the team generated projected maturity scores based on completion of the proposed actions, giving IRB a view of the magnitude of improvement possible.
Finally, RMS Consulting developed a “straw man” plan for the execution of each recommendation, aligned to IRB’s resources and capabilities, that detailed the proposed short, medium and long-term steps in sequence, and target time frames for completion. This formed the basis of IRB’s implementation strategy, developed in conjunction with RMS, to improve its overall cat risk management maturity. Luis added:
“We now have a clearly defined, precisely structured plan in place that is already helping us deliver on our broader strategic objectives.”
Luis Brito, head of catastrophe modeling, IRB
As part of their implementation plan, IRB committed to significant business process reengineering to take advantage of the new technologies and analytics available via Risk Intelligence to both enhance their maturity and deliver on their transformation plan. This includes significant systems integration and automation of process steps to deliver more frequent and granular portfolio analytics for management reporting and underwriting
These improvements are being delivered as a joint project between IRB and the RMS consulting implementation team.
Through the RMB process, we were able to tie IRB’s future vision through to actionable steps to deliver on those objectives and help them enhance their position as the industry evolves.
To read the full case study please click here. If you are interested in Risk Maturity Benchmarking, Solution Design or Production Implementation services, please contact Consulting@rms.com
About RMS Consulting
We have worked with many of the largest (re)insurers on catastrophe modeling related engagements over the last 10 years. No other consulting firm has the depth of catastrophe modeling experience, coupled with insurance domain and technology. We are the only company that has developed a catastrophe risk maturity index to enable benchmarking of your scores against peers. Find out more here.
About IRB Brasil RE
IRB Brasil RE is a leader in Latin America and one of the ten largest reinsurers globally by market value. Maintaining a leading position in nine out of the eleven business lines it operates in, the company combines excellent performance with financial strength and superior technical knowledge. Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, it has offices in São Paulo, Buenos Aires and London. Visit the IRB Brasil RE website here.
