On three consecutive days in July (6th, 7th and 8th) they will climb the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon.

Hanger’s Heroes supports a range of smaller charities providing activities for younger disabled people and also helps fund Dorset Search & Rescue.

Rich Narramore, Network Administrator at RiskSTOP, who is taking part on the challenge, said: “I’m expecting things to be tough from day one. After flying up to Scotland the evening before, we’ll be taking on Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis. I’ve never climbed or even seen any of these peaks before, but I’ve been researching online and it’s safe to say there are no hills quite like them here in Dorset.

“But it’s all for a worthwhile cause, and I know all of us are determined to do our very best for Hanger’s Heroes.”

RiskSTOP Manager, Lisa Beaton, who has also taken up the Three Peaks challenge, added: “I’m overwhelmed by just how many of our staff are willing to give up a great deal of time and energy to support local charities.

“As ever, they’re going beyond what’s expected of them with the Three Peaks. I’m hoping it will be a truly memorable and terrific experience for them, and that they achieve whatever fund-raising goals they’ve set themselves.”

RiskSTOP and Hanger’s Heroes have set up a special Virgin Money Giving page for anyone wishing to make an online donation via the RiskSTOP Group or any of the individuals taking part. This can be found at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RiskSTOP

Please show your support.

More information on Hanger’s Heroes can be found at www.hangersheroes.co.uk

Shaun Small, currently a RMA (Risk Management Adviser) Team Leader at RiskSTOP starts his training programme on 1 March. When his training is completed Shaun will become a RiskSTOP Risk Consultant with the kind of expertise needed to carry out commercial surveys on behalf of many of the UK’s largest insurers.

Shaun has progressed through the ranks at RiskSTOP. He began his career there as a trainee Risk Management Adviser, providing telephone assistance to businesses across the UK whose insurers had called on them to make risk improvements.

Having built up his knowledge and excelling in the field of customer service, he was promoted to RMA Team Leader. Now he’s been given the chance to develop further and deliver risk management know-how out in the field as one of RiskSTOP’s growing team of Risk Consultants.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me,” said Shaun. “I’m excited about getting out and seeing face to face the diverse risks our insurer clients call on us to assess. Becoming a RiskSTOP Risk Consultant requires a lot of knowledge and expertise. There’ll be much to take in, but this is a role I aspire to and I’m really looking forward to the period of learning ahead of me.”

Danny Lillington, RiskSTOP Managing Director, commented: “Shaun really deserves this opportunity. His progress here has given him a good understanding of risk management. But perhaps more importantly, Shaun has proven his worth as a true people-person. Only last year he went out of the way for one of his RiskSTOP colleagues whose young son had suffered from a serious illness. He walked coast-to-coast to raise funds for a relevant charity. Going beyond expectations is something we look for in our surveyors, as we know this leads to higher standards.”

More information about the RiskSTOP ACADEMY and its Risk Consultant Development Programme can be found on the RiskSTOP Group website here.

Mr Cameron said:

“We will investigate the demands made by insurance companies on businesses to ensure that levels of compliance do not force businesses to go far beyond what is actually required by the the law to secure their insurance cover.

“We will write to the Chief Executives of all major insurance companies, asking them to set out what they will do to deal with this problem – and they will be invited to a meeting at Downing Street next month to set out their plans.”

The figures quoted below are based on data gathered from over half a million surveys conducted either by insurers or on their behalf by RiskSTOP.

Overall, we estimate that insurers carry out face-to-face inspections (surveys) of around 5% of all businesses they provide cover to.

Following a survey, on average insurers require commercial policyholders to implement around 3 different risk improvements. Often these requirements relate to the health and welfare of employees, such as the installation of a fire fighting equipment (extinguishers) or machinery guards to protect employees from injury. It is important to note that these requirements are not imposed because of statutory obligations placed on businesses by Government, but following an insurer’s in-house or outsourced assessment of the risks presented by each business.

Where RiskSTOP is involved, around 95% of all requirements imposed by insurers are complied with.

RiskSTOP gathers customer satisfaction data following its involvement in the survey and risk improvement process. We also do this in cases where we provide additional assistance to businesses to help them meet their statutory obligations (such as with health, safety and fire regulations). On average, each business produces a customer satisfaction score of 4.86 – where zero is “poor” and 5 is “excellent”.

RiskSTOP director, Trevor Smith commented: “Our data and experience suggests that overall insurers place ‘demands’ on only a small proportion of business policyholders and that any risk improvement requirements they impose are based on assessments by experienced risk experts rather than the gold-plating of health and safety laws or other regulations.

“Where such expertise is provided to businesses, or in the case of our own enhanced service where we offer assistance to businesses to help them meet their legal obligations, the vast majority of firms are very happy to receive some risk management support.”

Fraser joined the company in 2005 as Project Manager. Before then he worked as an independent consultant. This followed 5 years with Aon, where he was an Internal Consultant with Aon Risk Solutions and an Associate Director within the automotive insurance division.

Fraser’s new role within RiskSTOP Group will involve managing relationships with new and existing clients, negotiating contracts, developing sales and seeking further growth. He will continue to be based at RiskSTOP’s Dorchester headquarters and will report to the Group’s General Manager Tom Lillington.

Tom Lillington said: “Fraser has proven to be a highly effective member of our team. He has an undeniable flare for looking after people and developing solutions to match their needs. These are skills our clients value highly and will undoubtedly serve him well in his new position.”

Fraser himself added: “I’m relishing the challenge this new role will bring. I’m passionate about our unique range of risk management products and will be seeking to promote these to a wider audience.”

The British Standards Institution (BSI) recently carried out a full on-site assessment of RiskSTOP’s information security management systems. It found RiskSTOP to be compliant with ISO 27001, which is the only auditable international standard for information security.

RiskSTOP Group Managing Director, Danny Lillington, said: “It is part of our everyday activity to handle sensitive information linked  to our clients and their customers. We understand that security of this information is vitally important, which is why we are delighted to demonstrate our compliance with ISO 27001.

“I hope this latest achievement will further enhance the confidence all parties connected with RiskSTOP have in our corporate governance controls.”

Danny went on to praise the RiskSTOP team who worked towards achieving ISO 27001: “The extent of the controls and documentation required by BSI as part of the certification process is hugely demanding,” he said. “The fact that we met this stringent standard at the first time of asking is testament to the hard work and dedication of those responsible for our information systems.”

ISO 27001 is a best practice specification developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is designed to help businesses and organisations throughout the world develop a “best-in-class” Information Security Management System (ISMS). BSI is accredited by ISO to carry out audits and grant certification in connection with ISO 27001.

RiskSTOP has recently published a brochure entitled TRUST, which highlights its Corporate Governance Controls in areas such as security, business continuity, health, safety and more. The document can be viewed at:
http://www.riskstop.co.uk/about/governance/

A full copy of our press release concerning this announcement can be downloaded at:
http://www.riskstop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/RS_27001_051011.pdf

With civil unrest spreading from London to other areas of the UK, and showing no signs of abating at present, we want to take the opportunity of emphasising to you that we continue to be available to support you and your policyholders through these very troubling times for us all.  If you or any of your policyholders require any risk management advice from a property or life safety aspect then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Whilst the scale of the arson damage and looting is unprecedented in the UK, there are some additional measures that can be taken to minimise the arson risk in particular. It appears from news footage that vandals are igniting wheelie bins and other loose external combustible material in streets and yard spaces, and these small fires are threatening buildings, with the fire service not always in a position to intervene and prevent fire spread.

Policyholders should therefore look to remove any such easy targets from the streets and in proximity to buildings, even if this means temporarily retaining bins within premises (we appreciate this may contravene policy warranties in certain cases but you may wish to consider this in the short term).

If we provide you with SURVEY services, we are sure you will appreciate that the safety of people is of paramount importance. Every effort is being made to complete surveys on schedule, but our team is of necessity placing greater emphasis than normal on policyholder/surveyor safety. If the level of unrest does not quickly abate there will be an inevitable effect on our field survey activity. We may, for example, be unable to safely reach some premises in inner city areas due to personnel/policyholder safety concerns or where areas are cordoned off by the Police. We will endeavour to accommodate urgent post loss surveys on request subject to these considerations.

Where the ASSIST service is provided, we will continue to follow up current risk improvements and advise you via the underwriter of any issues that become apparent for risks within impacted areas. When discussions are taking place with policyholders, our Risk Management Advisors will reiterate the importance of vigilance around security and waste control.

The site provides further information about RiskSTOP’s suite of risk management propositions and is in keeping with its new look branding.

“We wanted our site to be easier to navigate and much simpler in appearance,” said RiskSTOP Managing Director, Danny Lillington. ‘We also wanted to provide more dynamic content, so that people can keep up to date with developments at RiskSTOP through our news section.

“This new website gives us a strong platform for further online development. RiskSTOP is committed to providing innovative risk management solutions to the insurance sector, and we are keen to capitalise on the opportunities the internet can provide.”