Gavin Searle starts Econorisk Consulting
Gavin Searle, former Senior Executive of Alexander Forbes Risk Services, has returned to the industry after a few years’ sabbatical, to start up Econorisk Consulting. Based in Durban, Econorisk Consulting is a division of Johannesburg-based Econorisk. Econorisk Consulting’s areas of expertise are risk management, insurance broking, strategic risk analysis, risk finance / self insurance, risk and insurance reviews, brand reach (consumer insurance) and claims management.
Searle began his career with Alexander Forbes (then Price Forbes) in 1986 and remained with the company for 16 years. In addition to heading up the European Retail Business, he was also responsible for the performance of their specialist risk consulting and risk finance operations in Europe.
Rob Sylvester, CEO and founder of Econorisk, comments, “Econorisk is very excited at the prospect of working with Gavin – he brings a different skills set to the Group and, with his vast knowledge and experience, we feel that he will add tremendous value to the company and our clients.”
Searle adds, “This is an exciting time for me to be re-entering the insurance world, and I look forward to meeting the challenges the current climate has brought to the industry. There is more pressure than ever on service providers to not only be cost effective, but to deliver sustainable solutions that are unique to each customer. With the local and global pressure on risk underwriters to deliver improved performance, we believe that a strong shift to clients managing their risks more proactively has gathered momentum - and will continue to do so. The insurer’s focus will be to provide cover for losses of a sudden and unforeseeable nature. With the huge fluctuation in interest rates and investment performance, insurance companies are being forced to be more prudent about delivering underwriting returns. A reduction in investment income has, in most cases, resulted in significant reductions in the return insurers are providing their shareholders. As a result, insurers will be adjusting their underwriting practices accordingly.”
Searle says that it is therefore essential for a service provider to understand and assess the operational and strategic risks facing each client, in order to ascertain what cover the client should purchase, as well as the level of cover required: “For any financial solution to be sustainable, there has to be a strong base of quality risk management in place.We assist in evaluating this and in providing improvement recommendations,” he concludes