On May 15^th, 2019, Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe hosted another successful Executive Briefing titled “Lions, Tigers and Bears – Oh my! The Risks Business Owners Should be Aware of”. The briefing, held at the Historic Dubsdred Ballroom in Orlando, touched on recent trends and hot topics in the insurance and risk management areas of business operations. The panelists included Jeff Kiser, Chief Sales Officer of HUB International Florida, Andrea Caro, ZKS Shareholder and litigator and Zach Daniel who was General Counsel of Palm Casual Patio Furniture at the time of the Briefing, but has since joined ZKS as an attorney in the firm’s Corporate practice group.

The scope of the panel’s collective experience, ranging from Mr. Kiser’s expertise in the offerings of insurance and risk mitigation products, Mr. Daniel’s in-house management of corporate exposure, and Ms. Caro’s complex litigation experience in defense of alleged corporate liability, offered a comprehensive review on the topic of risk management from A to Z.

Issues discussed by the panel ranged from how business owners and managers should consider securing industry-specific insurance coverages that cater to their particular business exposures, cost-saving steps that business owners can take (outside of obtaining insurance) to help prepare for and mitigate risks and liabilities that may arise, and what to expect when the “unavoidable” or “unthinkable” occurs and your company’s risk management plans are put to the test. The panel cited interesting real world examples to address these issues for the audience, including recent news involving a Tiger Woods-owned restaurant’s alleged negligence in over-serving alcohol to an employee. Mr. Daniel also shared stories and strategies adopted during his time at NASCAR as in-house legal counsel to assist in mitigating sports properties’ exposure when fans are injured while attending sporting events.

Thanks to great participation from the audience, the panel was able to conduct an engaging conversation on how each business enterprise must regularly analyze its specific needs and exposures in order to adopt and then maintain compliance with a tailor-made risk management plan for its company. The panel agreed that, unfortunately in today’s litigious society, “risk elimination” is impossible. This makes it critical for business owners to adopt a proactive approach to identify and rank the various exposures their companies are most likely to face, and then activate a risk management strategy against those risks to reduce potential liability in an effective and cost-conscious manner. 

Guests of ZKS enjoyed a delicious networking lunch at Dubsdread prior to the panel discussion, providing a valuable opportunity to mingle and connect with other attendees and colleagues at the event. Be on the lookout for future announcements from ZKS on more Executive Briefings to come, which promise to offer insightful conversations with local business, government and legal leaders in our community on the hottest topics of the day.