LONDON - The U.K.'s insurance buying association is to publish a guide for procurement managers to use when purchasing insurance.
London-based Association of Insurance and Risk Mangers, in
cooperation with The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply,
expects to publish the joint guide in December.
In recent years there has been a "very strong" trend towards
the involvement of procurement departments in the purchase of
insurance, Paul Hopkin, technical director of AIRMIC said. But he
played down any suggestion that the trend is a cause for concern for
risk managers and insurance buyers.
"At AIRMIC we acknowledge the expertise of procurement
specialists, which has been brought to bear in many companies, and it
would be inappropriate for [risk managers] to say keep off our turf,"
said Mr. Hopkin.
The guide is also intended for use by insurance and risk managers,
he added. It will raise awareness of guidance given to - and the general
approach of - procurement specialists when joint insurance procurement
projects are undertaken.
"In cooperating with [the procurement industry], our intention
is to bring out the best of both worlds," said Mr. Hopkin. "Their
procurement expertise and AIRMIC's insurance buying expertise, will be
brought together in a single guide for the benefit of our memberships,"
he added.
At a recent workshop to discuss the guide, the two associations discussed the problems faced when a "fairly
standardized" general procurement process is applied to the purchase of
insurance, AIRMIC's technical director explained.
Issues on the agenda included legal and tax
compliance - particularly for multinational insurance
programs - considerations that procurement specialists might not normally
meet, Mr. Hopkin explained.
Source: Ben Norris at http://www.businessinsurance.com.