As experts in risk management, even the most seasoned insurer was not expecting last week’s Mineral, Va., earthquake, which luckily did not cause as much damage as first expected. Now, as insurers wait for Hurricane Irene to make landfall, expectations are also high, as meteorologists predict an unpredictable punch to the Eastern seaboard.
While weakening a bit this morning to a Category 2 storm (maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour), Irene may still be the strongest to hit the East Coast in seven years, say risk modelers, and hurricane warnings (which indicate the storm is less than 36 hours away) have been issued from North Carolina’s coast to as far north as New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie has declared a state of emergency as Irene approaches.
Although headquartered in New Jersey, many employees of
The insurer’s New York office location is a hardened facility originally built to support printing businesses that would have a printing press on every floor, says Bulis, “So, we will not be blown away any time soon, and we are not in an area of town that will be flooded.”
From its U.S. headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn., specialty insurance provider
“We feel prepared to deal with most possible outcomes,” says OneBeacon’s CIO, Michael Natan. “Our data center is housed in a secure building with multiple redundancies, and our Needham DLR team has spent numerous hours preparing that facility for the possibility of severe weather that hurricane Irene may bring.”
This means prepping the facility by ensuring all systems are operating at full capacity, adds Natan. “The envelope has been inspected and the roof recently had a detailed inspection for any loose debris. Our contractors have been confirmed for emergency deliveries.”
SBLI’s Bulis says that working in New York means expecting the unexpected, and planning accordingly. “As for people, we are not doing anything different than normal. Awareness does not need to be raised, as this is the talk of the town. We are simply making sure everyone is prepared to work from home on Monday, and to back each other up if any one person loses connectivity or power. We expect much of our team to be impacted, especially those on Long Island.”
The National Hurricane Center’s extended forecast shows Irene making landfall over eastern Long Island, New York, late Sunday, approximately 60 miles east of New York City, N.Y. Yet there is continued uncertainty about the storm, with various reports predicting its deviation to the west, potentially impacting a larger portion of the mid-Atlantic and northeastern seaboard of the U.S. including Ocean City, MD and Atlantic City, NJ.
Regardless of its path, Irene is one of many reasons insurers mirror plans similar to those stated in Forrester’s recent report,
One Beacon reports that its major support systems have been verified over the past 48 hours in preparation of the storm, and its system's contractors (generators, UPS systems, chillers, fuel systems delivery and switchgear) are on notice that they may be required on short notice.
“We have even inventoried and complemented our emergency supplies; first aid, flashlights, batteries, rain gear, tarps, plywood, hardware and other such materials,” notes Natan.
For Bulis, standard operating procedures is a given, especially working in New York. “Working here, we are always prepared for a major event. Every minute of every day……even for earthquakes. I hate to say it, but we are used to this stuff, so we are confident, and crossing our fingers.”
