Should risk managers have knowledge on insurance?

Yes. Insurance is a method of handling risk. It involves the transfer of certain types of risk of financial loss to an insurer in return for the payment of a periodic premium.

The alternative to transferring risk to an insurer is the retention of the financial risk of loss by the business enterprise. The transfer can be whole or partial. This paradigm is also one way to think of a consumer's collision insurance deductible. A deductible is the amount for which the insured is individually liable before the insurer's responsibility for payment is triggered. Therefore, an insurance consumer can choose a higher deductible and a corresponding retention of a larger part of the risk of loss. This will generally result in a lower premium, because overall, the insurer assumes less risk. Conversely, a lower deductible will generally increase the premium because the insurer is accepting a greater risk of loss.

A risk manager is generally an officer or at least an employee of a business enterprise. His/her job is to assess the types of and potential magnitude of risk to the enterprise. In collaboration with others in the business, the risk manager makes recommendations as to how to handle risk exposures. The decisions will be based upon many factors. The factors include the financial ability of the enterprise to retain a level of risk exposure, an evaluation of the likelihood of the triggering event occurring, and the potential magnitude of the resulting financial loss to the enterprise.

Against the foregoing, a risk manager needs sufficient knowledge of insurance and the losses for which insurance may be obtained, and its cost. Further, insurance markets do not exist for all types of losses or business activities, and the insurance that is available may not be comprehensive in form or amount. That is, there may be exceptions or exclusions to coverage that leave gaps in the protection. These gaps would have to be filled by the business enterprise's own funds or assets. Even if coverage is available, the cost of it may be disproportionately great relative to the protection afforded.