TERRORISM: A VERY BROAD EXPOSURE
Jessica E. Govic, CLCS
Area Senior Vice President, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co - Public Sector
Joey Sylvester
Director of Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. - Public Sector
With tragedies striking almost daily, it is important to think about how your community would respond. Who would help you manage a major disaster? How could something of that magnitude affect your entity’s bottom line? What insurance policies, protocols, and plans will you need to respond effectively? For risk management professionals, these are pertinent questions on how their public entity would react in the event of a crisis.
As insurance professionals, we often receive questions about how our clients' policies would respond in the event of a terroristic attack. Insureds may think that if a policy references ‘terrorism’ it means that any type of terrorist event would be covered, but that is seldom the case. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) coverage is very specific; however there are policies available that provide broader coverage. For example, Lloyd’s of London offers such policies that do not rely on the Federal Government certification process. If there is a religious, political, or ideological motivation behind it, standalone terrorism policies will cover the financial impact of the attack. However, if the motive for the attack is unclear such as the theater shooting in Lafayette, LA, then a standalone policy may not provide enough coverage. Fortunately, there are policies that will respond and we recommend that you ask your broker or agent for specific options.
More often than not, an emergency situation arises outside of an entity’s owned locations. Whether the tragedy happens at a shopping mall, a movie theater, or even a local restaurant, the municipality and/or county must be involved when it comes to crisis response. This can lead to lots of unbudgeted overtime and internal resources. Generally, the financial impact is not covered by your insurance policies as your owned buildings are not directly impacted. We know that previous terrorist attacks have cost public entities many millions of dollars in loss of tax revenue and expenses – and they did not even occur at the entity’s owned buildings.
The financial impact of these attacks can be extensive, but often the most neglected part in major catastrophes is the human element. Who is going to take care of the families of the victims, the traumatized employees and first responders, the surviving victims themselves? When the media is swarming and the public information requests are coming in by the hundreds, it can be difficult at best to stay on top of the situation especially when you still have your day job to do. Planning for such eventualities is crucial. Having additional resources to call upon when needed can help tremendously. We’ve seen it time and again: how you respond, how you treat the families, and how you handle the media can have long lasting consequences for your reputation as an entity.
The recent tragedy in Orlando serves as a harsh reminder that we are all vulnerable to acts of terror. With news from just about every major news source that ISIS is encouraging more attacks on the West, we as insurance and risk management professionals need to consider how we will respond to such events. Insurers and brokers have solutions to help manage the unthinkable.
By: Jessica E. Govic, CLCS
Area Senior Vice President, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co - Public Sector
Summary of Qualifications
Jessica Govic is an area senior vice president of Arthur J. Gallagher’s Public Sector Division at their headquarters in Itasca, IL. She has been involved in the insurance industry since early 2007. During that time she has specialized in the sales, management, and implementation of public entity insurance cooperatives, alternative risk financing options, and first dollar property and liability insurance products. Jessica graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Northern Illinois University. She is a member of many government associations including GFOA and ICMA and has been recognized by Risk and Insurance magazine as a Power Broker in the Public Sector both in 2015 and 2016.
Responsibilities
Works primarily with municipalities, counties, and special services districts structuring and placing insurance programs for all property, liability and workers' compensation coverages.
Heads up a sales team out of Gallagher's Headquarters in Itasca, IL.
Works directly with 4 public entity pools and is very familiar with the organizational steps and regulations that comply with each state.
Business Experience
Jessica has been a producer at Gallagher since graduating from college. Her entire career at AJG has been focused in the Public Sector Division. She currently oversees the sales team at the AJG headquarters in Itasca, IL. Jessica also serves on many local government boards, most importantly the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association (IGFOA) where she serves on the Partners Forum.
ERM Experience
Jessica is a new member of the Gallagher Enterprise Risk Management Practice Group. She has undertaken the ERM training directed by Dorothy Gjerdrum, and has assisted in conducting a few "decision making" projects with her clients.
Professional Affiliations
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA)
Education
Bachelor of Science in Finance from Northern Illinois University
Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS)
By: Joey Sylvester
Director of Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. - Public Sector
Summary of Qualifications
Joey Sylvester is the director of strategic initiatives and special projects for Arthur J. Gallagher's Public Sector division based in New Orleans, LA. He has been formally involved in insurance and risk management for 3 years since joining Gallagher from his previous life as an HR professional. During that time, he has specialized in unique insurance product development and sales including terrorism, violent acts coverage, and disaster management.
Joey graduated from NYU with a master's degree in industrial/organizational psychology and is very active in both PRIMA National and his local chapter, having presented at the national conference. He brings a wealth of knowledge in the field of organizational culture and its relationship to risk management.
Responsibilities
Works primarily with public sector and higher ed clients
Oversees all aspects of new exclusive insurance products including creating marketing materials, internal and external communications, application process, quoting, and binding coverage
Liaison to Lloyd’s underwriters to obtain required underwriting information and premium quotations
Business Experience
Producer and program manager with Gallagher for last 3 years
Previously was an HR professional specializing in compensation and benefits
ERM Experience
Joey is a member of the Gallagher Enterprise Risk Management Practice Group and an assisting consultant. He brings a deep understanding of organizational culture and psychology to ERM projects and assists with risk assessments, evaluations, data management and plan development. In 2015, Joey joined the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO 31000. He has represented the U.S. at an international work group meeting and is currently a member of the Human and Cultural Factors Work Group.
Professional Affiliations
Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA)
Education
Master of Arts, Industrial & Organizational Psychology, New York University
Mentor, Organizational Development Association – NYU Chapter
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, LSU Honors College Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
