Deliverable 3 – Plan for Managing Operational Failures

Competency

Evaluate the components of operational risk and the application of corresponding risk management plans.

Instructions

LTD Acceptance is a private property and auto insurance carrier that specializes in sports cars and motorcycles. This organization is owned by LTD Capital, a large equity group with over 15 holdings. LTD Acceptance is the parent company’s single largest holding as it drives 70% of total revenue. Due to the inherent risk involved in that segment of the market, many of LTD Acceptance’s competitors do not offer policies for sports cars or motorcycles. This market segment is underserved which is why the organization has 20,000 active policies for a sports car or a motorcycle.

LTD is headquartered in Houston, TX. LTD does not sell insurance directly to the public. Instead, it uses third-party agents to sell its policies. LTD handles all customer service needs including claims intake, policy services, and general questions. The company operates in four states: California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Currently, LTD does not have an active system in place to ensure that its agents are in fact using LTD guidelines to screen potential policyholders. However, no evidence of negligence has emerged so far as the organization has yet to have a year in which it was not profitable. LTD has also had the good fortune of not suffering losses because of natural disasters or catastrophic events.

Organizations in every sector experience breakdowns or failures that compromise the efficiency and efficacy of their operations. This concept is defined as an operational failure. Operational failures have a direct and adverse impact on profitability. As such, the shareholders want assurance that the risk management team is actively working on mitigating the occurrence of these failures. As the newly hired senior risk analyst, you are responsible for outlining a plan to do just that.
For this deliverable, provide a report to your supervisor which provides a framework for managing operational risk exposures. Your report should include the following:

• Explain why the operational losses cannot be broadly managed. Why do they have to be categorized?
• For each operational risk exposure listed below, provide at least two examples of potential losses from the exposure and reasons why you need to manage it.     

  Internal fraud
  External fraud
  Employment practices and workplace safety
  Clients, products, and business practices
  Damage to physical assets
  Business disruption and system failures

Your conclusion should align the effective management of operational risk exposures with organizational effectiveness.