Meeting brought together area experts and brought topics such as compliance and cyber risk

By: Priscila Palacio

“ABGR will work to ensure that companies have risk management and with the deserved recognition of the need to develop risk awareness in large companies.” With these words, Marcelo D’Alessandro, executive secretary of the Brazilian Association of Risk Management (ABGR), opened the 18th Annual Meeting of the ABGR Electric Sector Committee, held in Campinas, São Paulo.

The meeting brought together about 150 professionals and began with a technical visit to Usina Solar Tanquinho, the first of its kind in the state and run by CPFL Energia, the ambassador of the meeting. During the visit, the participants visited the plant’s photovoltaic power system and visited the facilities of the CPFL Institute.

At the opening, D’Alessandro said that the objective is to expand ABGR’s approach by approaching segments that are not aware of the entity. “We are supporting a number of events to be known by the companies and at the same time to bring them closer to the association. Our electric sector committee, for example, brings together 30 companies.”

Compliance and insurance bond

One of the most anticipated panels was the “Anti-Corruption Compliance / Risk Prevention and Mitigation”, conducted by Mateus Cunha, a lawyer and partner of T4 Compliance. According to the expert, for the great majority of brazilian companies, compliance is a recent issue. Cunha emphasized: this is a global paradigm shift in the way of doing business. “Brazilian law enacted in August 2013 and popularly called the anti-corruption law is one of the most rigid in the world from the point of view of accountability of legal entities. From the administrative point of view, the fine can reach 0.1 to 20% of the company’s gross sales or R$ 600 million. There may be asset blockages, loss or impediment of receiving benefits from the government and the suspension may be total or partial of the company’s activities.”

In the panel “Insurance Insurance Projects OCIP”, Solange Cristina Fernandes, superintendent of underwriting risks of Junto Seguros, spoke about insurance guarantee in the energy sector. For the executive, the market is very lively and has transformed rapidly in the last three years. “We have the entry of new players and the restructuring of this market. Within this scenario, we developed a fairly detailed risk analysis. ” According to Solange, the insurance-guarantee covers the role of the energy buyer, seller, transmitter, distributor and generation. “The opportunity to talk about the product to such a knowledgeable audience generates the possibility of innovation,” he says.

Paulo Leão de Moura Jr., chairman of THB Brasil made an explanation about the OCIP (Owner Controlled Insurance Program) insurance. According to Paul, it is “a very complex insurance.” He emphasized: “It is a policy that incorporates the basic engineering risk cover and will incorporate all the liability cover inherent to the big enterprise,” he explained.

In the spotlight

Patrícia Marzullo, head of engineering and power underwriting at AGCS South America, revealed in the panel “Insurance for Renewable Energies” that it is expected to start three hundred works this year, all practically related to renewable energies. “I want to leave an alert about the importance that renewable energy is taking in Brazil.” Patricia presented the “Allianz Risk Barometer 2019” report, based on a survey in which 86 risk managers from all over the world answered which types of risks are the most worrisome for the next twelve months. Fear of business interruption led the list, followed by cyber risk.

In fact, cyber risk was the theme presented by Marta Schuh, cybersecurity specialist at Marsh JLT, in the panel “Cybersecurity Insurance/Management”. According to Marta, the cyber product, in two years, became something relevant to the risks that the companies face and the Brazilian market had a great evolution in this question. “The energy industry is leading the companies that have the most target for cyber incidents.” Marta, however, warns: “The fact that it has not happened to you so far does not mean that it will not occur” and finalized predicting that the incidents will become more and more common.

Opportunity for networking and reflections

The ABGR meeting took place eighteen years ago and aims to provide access to recent updates through interactive discussions, promote networking, integration between risk managers and insurance companies in the Brazilian electric sector and the approach to the insurance market. Emilyn Lisboa, responsible for the insurance and financial guarantees of the Raízen group, participates in the event for five years, considering it fundamental for the exchange of information of the managers. “The power industry is very mature in terms of risk management and with every new opportunity I come out with a huge baggage to bring shareholders to the best practices in this field.”

Rafael Pol, commercial director of AON, believes that this is an opportunity to reflect on management, understanding and risk awareness. “It’s a sector that is on the rise. The country only grows if it has investment in infrastructure and energy. Having this concern and sharing with a group of experts, risk managers and people involved with insurance is a great opportunity. Many companies still do not have the knowledge of risk. Such an event contributes a lot to the industry”, he concludes.