There are three main ways to control risk.
The first way is to buy an insurance policy, the second way is to look at it from a risk management perspective, and the third way is to simply not do it.
Step one is to decide whether or not it's just simply too risky to perform. Is the activity necessary? Whether it's your personal life or your business, is it something that we have to do?
Step two is to look at it from a risk management perspective. A few questions we ask:
How do we do this activity no matter how risky it is from the safest and educated way?
For example, if you are an electrical contractor and you're used to working at heights, inside of a building, wiring the building, etc, there’s going to be certain things that you need to do to control and to eliminate risk where you can. Maybe it's training and education for your employees. Maybe it's OSHA compliance and understanding that there's certain things you have to do to comply with the law. A lot of times that involves safety equipment and inspections of your equipment. All of these things are risk management activities.
On a personal level, if you have a youthful driver, a son or a daughter that's driving now maybe it's the use of telematics to help you and to help them become a safer and better driver overtime. All of that's risk management.
Then the third step is you purchase insurance. You've decided that the activity is necessary. You decided that you're going to do it in the most safe and controlled manner. Now you have bought an insurance policy so that if the unthinkable happens like a house fire, you're going to have insurance to make you whole. Or workers compensation for your employees if somebody were to get hurt.
These are three ways in which you control risk. I would encourage you if you want to learn more about risk and controlling it please reach out to Blue Ridge risk partners we would absolutely love to talk to you.