Third-Party Vendor Risk Management (VRM) and KYC should be a critical component of any Captive Insurance Company’s overall risk management program. Captive insurers rely heavily on vendors for various functions, including technology solutions, actuarial services, and claims processing, etc. So, it is critical for those Captive Insurance companies to manage their third-party vendor risks to ensure that the organization can continue to provide its insured members with the best possible service and protection from potential losses due to negligence or an array of risks.
The first step in effective Third-Party Risk Management for a Captive Insurer begins with defining what types of risks are associated with each service provider relationship. This should include an evaluation of both direct and indirect impacts that may arise, as well as understanding how the activities performed by these vendors could affect operations within your own business structure or even impact external market forces beyond your control. Additionally, it’s important to consider whether certain types of exposures require additional pricing considerations or other modifications prior to entering into contractual agreements regarding those services being provided by third-party providers.
The critical step to vendor risk management is to understand what kind of risks are posed towards your business. Below are eight different types of risks to be aware of when evaluating third-party vendors.
- Information Security Risk
Information security risk refers to ransom, malware, data breaches, and cyber events that occur from third-parties through hacked access to servers and devices. These risks can also come from ineffective cybersecurity controls. Limiting vendor access and reinforcing security controls to sensitive business information and customers’ personally identifiable information is critical to ensure your business protects sensitive information at all costs.
- Cybersecurity Risk
With cyber threats growing in sophistication and speed, it is more important than ever that you monitor both your internal security infrastructure and vendor’s cybersecurity posture. To quantify vendor cybersecurity risk, you first need to identify your organization’s risk tolerance. Once you have defined acceptable risk levels, you can then begin to assess third party-security performance and overall cybersecurity protocols and technology and integrate any changes as required.
It is vital to having robust policies & procedures established around data privacy & cybersecurity measures which all contracted third party vendors must adhere to. Certainly, implementing strong safeguards such as encryption technologies for storing sensitive material in the cloud, along with an array of other necessary cybersecurity technologies, MFA, etc.
- Compliance Risk
Compliance risk arises from violations of laws, regulations, and internal processes and procedures that your organization must follow to conduct business. The laws that apply to each organization will vary by industry and market sector, however, there are some common regulations that cross over industries such as GDPR and PCI DSS.
Non-compliance with these regulations usually results in substantial fines so it is crucial confirm your vendor’s cybersecurity compliance efforts align with regulatory requirements.
- Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Risks
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Risks occur when vendors are not in alignment to set laws or policies your organization has in place in regard to environmental impact, use of resources, treatment of employees, or other sustainability initiatives. If ESG protocols aren’t properly followed by your third-party vendors, your organization could endure repercussions of compliance risks for poor supply chain management, or other threats to business continuity and disruption.
- Financial Risk
Third-Party Financial Risk arises when vendors are unable to meet the fiscal performance requirements set in place by your organization. For vendors, there are two main forms of financial risk: excessive costs and lost revenue.
If excessive costs and substantial declining revenues are not addressed, they can hinder the service providers company growth and lead to excess debt. Your organizations risk management compliance program should include periodic audits to make sure that vendor financials is in line with the terms outlined in your contract. Certainly, this can be a sensitive issue regarding your service providers relationship.
- Operational Risk
Operational risk occurs when there is a shutdown of vendor processes and required manufacturing or services delivery. Third-party operations are intertwined with organizational operations, so when vendors are unable to provide their services as promised, organizations are usually unable to execute their operations. To limit operational risk, your organization should create a business continuity plan so that, in the event of a vendor disruption, you are able to remain operational.
- Reputational Risk
Reputational risk is about the public and industry perception of your company with regard to third-party vendors. Some of the ways they can harm your company’s reputation include: Interactions that are not consistent with company standards, loss, or disclosure of customer information due to negligence or a data breach and certainly violations of any laws and regulations.
- Strategic Risk
Strategic risks arise when vendors make business decisions that do not align with your organization’s strategic objectives. Strategic risk can influence compliance and reputational risk and is often a determining factor in a company’s overall worth. Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) allows organizations to effectively monitor strategic risk as they provide valuable insight into vendor operations and processes.
It Is Critical for Captive Insurance Companies to Implement a Robust Risk Management Compliance Program to Safeguard its Members with the Best Possible Service and Protection from Potential Losses Due to an array of Third-Party Risks!
Modevity Third-Party Vendor Risk Management Services
The Modevity Vendor Risk Management Services will provide clients with a powerful automated branded process for vendor assessment questionnaires and a powerful due diligence vendor risk scoring and risk reporting service with continuous vendor risk monitoring.
Modevity has implemented the full range of powerful database technologies, AI and open-source investigative tools that enable our team of data analysts to quickly obtain a complete vendor risk profile. Our client companies will no longer need to implement costly Vendor Risk Management & Assessment software and FTE staff resources – which will provide substantial cost savings to their organization.
Modevity Contact info:
Tom J. Canova, Co-Founder, CMO
Office: (610) 251-0700
