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DON'T FORGET PROPERTY

Dear Editor,

I have been involved in this industry (nuclear power generation) as a risk manager for nearly 20 years and would suggest that there is another risk management aspect of this business that is equally as interesting as the liability side.That being the property risk.

Our industry has come together through the development of our own "industry mutual" to insure the risks of property damage and business-interruption insurance.That company is Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited with offices in Wilmington, Del.

Mike Anderson

Director, Hazard Risk Management

Xcel Energy Inc.

Minneapolis, Minn.

REFLECTING ON DISGRACE

Dear Editor,

Having taken Roger Crombie to task several months ago on a different issue, I thought I would send him an "attaboy" for the home run he hit with the article "Bermuda at Risk" (Risk & Insurance®, Sept. 1, 2005, page 16). Roger, your prescience is incredibly good: you could have written this article yesterday with the New Orleans debacle in mind.

I have not seen one interview since Katrina made landfall where the elected official on camera took any responsibility for his electorate's predicament.Worse yet, virtually every official in the South has castigated someone else for their own lack of preparation. At a news conference, the New Orleans mayor cursed others and then broke down into tears because (he said) the federal government had sent aid too slowly. It further angers me to see how our liberal news media is shamelessly feeding the "modern holy trinity" to which you referred.

We Americans do contingency planning about as well as your Bermuda utility. But to his credit, its COO admitted his failure where our officials throw tantrums.

Roger, I mourn for the dead and pray for the survivors on our Southern coast. But I pity them their elected officials. Unlike your utility's leader, those folks will never be able to learn from their mistakes because they won't admit they made any!

There must be times when you think "vox clematis" but stay the course. You are right about this.

Kim Holtorff, CPCU

Insurance Planning Associates, LLP

Omaha, Neb.

GIVE RISK A TURN

Dear Editor:

I read the article "The Fast Track to Better Health" by John Williams (Risk & Insurance®, Aug. 2005, page 22) and thought that it offered encouragement for HR professionals who have once tried and failed to offer wellness programs to their employees. Let the risk guys give it the old college try and see if they can make it work.

Mike Polis

Human Resources Manager

Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co.

Montgomery, Ala.

October 15, 2005

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