AIRMIC, the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce, has published a white paper on the value that standards and accredited conformity assessment can play in the management of risk. The report states that there is plenty of evidence that organisations perform better when they adopt voluntary quality standards, yet for the most part, insurers ignore these standards when setting terms and conditions for policyholders.

Standards assure customers and other stakeholders of consistent quality in products, services, processes, systems and people. They are based on the practical experience of sector professionals, and are a means by which organisations can demonstrate assurance about the quality of their risk management. The paper builds on a study commissioned by BSI and conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research earlier this year, which underlined the economic and practical value that standards can have.

UKAS and the IIOC (Independent International Organisation for Certification) contributed to the paper on how the wider quality infrastructure, namely accreditation and the conformity assessment community, play a supporting role in the management of risk for the insurance sector. The report contains case studies that demonstrate how insurers are using accredited services to evaluate risk and therefore provide discounted premiums or improved terms and conditions. This work forms part of ISO’s engagement strategy to raise awareness of the quality infrastructure tools in the insurance sector, and follows a workshop with leading insurers and the publication of an ISO briefing paper.

The paper titled Standards: Supporting Risk Management and Adding Value was published at a press conference during the AIRMIC annual conference on June 11th.