Fixed Asset Insurance made Fail-Proof
Insuring Fixed Assets (FA) is like a jigsaw puzzle. Getting it right can be extremely challenging unless you identify and recognise the relevence of each element to the total picture.
For Fail-Proof insurance the elements to consider are far too many! Not only are these elements voluminous but worse UNCERTAIN and STOCHASTIC for eg: Inflation, Custom Duty, Exchange Rate, Country of Origin and Pre-operative to name a few. As a result your FA Reinstatement Value changes constantly. The insurance on FA thus becomes complex as the values are constantly changing.
Why does ‘top-down’ approach for Fixed Asset Insurance fail?
With a ‘top-down’ approach failure is inevitable. It is like building a mansion without the foundation.
Most enterprises practice a ‘top-down’ approach when insuring Fixed Assets. Typically the focus centers on the Risks to be covered, fixing the Sum Insured and scouting for competitive insurance premium rate. Little or no attention is paid to Claim recovery aspect, namely a) Extent of loss recoverable b) Time frame for Claim settlement and c) documentation that shall be required by the Loss Assessor / Appraiser.
The result is invariably a shock when the claim recovery ranges from a rejected claim to a partial settlement of 60% or lesser. Claim settlement that takes a year to several years. Enormous effort needed to compile the supporting documents required for loss compensation.
A fallout post a major claim is a blame game, the brunt of which falls on the Risk Manager and results in soured relationship between the enterprise and the Insurer.
At the root of this is the ‘top-down’ approach to Fixed Asset Insurance.
What is ‘bottom-up’ approach to Fixed Asset Insurance? Can it make a paradigm shift?In ‘bottom-up’ approach we begin by hypothesizing a major claim scenario and setting the objectives that the enterprise must accomplish, namely a) Recover the loss compensation in full and b) Recover claim settlement in the shortest period of time (a month).
To achieve the objective of full and speedy settlement we take into account all the elements that will be subject to scrutiny and required for claim substantiation at the time of a loss appraisal.
To leave no room for deficiencies and be always in a claim readiness state listed below are the elements that need to be worked upon:
- Fixed Asset Register
- Asset Description, Use Date, Acquisition Cost, Asset Class, Location, Operational Status, Additions, Sale need to be reviewed and tracked to physical inventory.
- Fixed Asset Reinstatement Valuation
- Reinstatement Insurance Valuation (RIV) is to estimate the Current New Value of Assets at the commencement of Insurance and forecasting the escalation over the year. The factors that influence the RIV are Domestic Inflation, Pre-operative Expenses and Technology Upgrade in respect of indigenous FA. In respect of imported FA the corresponding factors are Custom Duty, Exchange Rate, Inflation in Country of Origin and Pre-operative Expenses.
- Physical validation of Fixed Assets
- Physical inventory validation of FA is extremely important and beneficial. Since it is painfully difficult and time consuming it is rarely carried out resulting in an outdated Fixed Asset Register.
- As insurance policy is location specific relying on an outdated FAR can mean a total mismatch detrimental to interest of the enterprise in a major claim scenario.
- Handy information on Fixed Assets that can speedup Loss Settlement
- Digital picture of Fixed Assets is the least that should be done. It immensely helps to present pre-loss scenario to the appraiser, the Insurer and concerned agencies.
- Soft copies of invoices prove immensely effective to track asset history with utmost clarity.
- Soft copies of Bill of Entry for imported assets can immensely add to clarity in Reinstatement Valuation. The savings through this are substantial considering drastic reduction in Import Duty in India post liberalization.
Summarizing the Objective on hand, the Tasks to accomplish and Challenges to overcome
Objective: In the event of a major claim:
- Recover the loss compensation in full.
- Recover claim settlement in the shortest period of time (a month).
- Retain and reinforce reciprocal relationship with Insurers through fairness. A prudent Insurer would hate to lose a client
Tasks to achieve the stated Objective:
- An updated Fixed Asset Register (FAR) A Fixed Asset Insurance Register (FAIR) which is built on an updated FAR with additional information from insurance perspective to cater for factors like Asset Description, Use Date, Acquisition Cost, Asset Class, Location, Operational Status, Additions, Deletions, Physical Inventory tracking, Domestic Inflation, Pre-operative Expenses, Technology enhancement / obsolescence, Custom Duty, Exchange Rate, Digital Pictures, Soft Invoices and more, totaling to around 16 factors.
Challenges to Overcome:
- An enterprise fixed asset number in thousands.
- Each asset has 16 odd factors to be reviewed for.
- Fixed Assets unlike raw material and finished stock have a prolonged historic timeline in the enterprise and tracking information can be challenging.
- Fixed Asset physical audit is a nightmare is a well accomplished fact.
- Some of the factors keep changing such as Location, Operational Status, Additions, Deletions, Domestic Inflation, Technology enhancement / obsolescence, Custom Duty and Exchange Rate. As these have direct bearing on the value and location of risk from insurance perspective, a hard copy or spreadsheet based system is not a wise step forward.
What’s The Solution?
Most comprehensive and only of its kind solution to this enormously complex issue is e-FAIR, which is being used by enterprises enabled on world’s best ERP solutions. Read on to experience the e-FAIR magic.
e-FAIR is all you need to Succeed
e-FAIR is a plug and play Fail-Proof solution for your Fixed Assets Insurance. e-FAIR is designed and developed by Insways to leverage technology and deep domain expertise to help Businesses drive insurance of FA as a Process. e-FAIR dovetails Adequate Insurance and Contractual Compliance at all times and does so in the most cost effective manner.
e-FAIR costs less than the savings it makes for you. read more..
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