Ustadha, “The Door Between Us”

We were galaxies in collision— two stars who knew fire, but not the cost of burning. We said goodbye like architects of our own silence, each believing the other would knock once the dust settled. But time… Time is a clever thief. It steals the courage you once had to say, “I miss you.” Now we move through separate suns, our shadows still touching in places we’ll never admit. I write you in dreams. I fold unsent letters in my chest where your name still echoes like a psalm too sacred to speak aloud. You see, we loved like prophets— but pride is louder than prophecy. And so we linger on the edge of old doorways, palms hovering inches from the handle, but hearts… hearts too haunted to turn it. Not because we don’t care— but because we care too much to bleed again. So we wait. Two ghosts in daylight passing through memories, each hoping the other might be the brave one. HEicH

An Ocean Without Shore~ ustadha

Radiance from shore, take some away, bring fresh sand from lands far, let's play, Sands of time, they grind and chime, stories deep, ain't just a rhyme. From desert dunes to coastal spray, These grains got secrets, they don't betray. They hustle, bustle, on the move, Whispering tales, in their grooves they groove. They don't just tumble, shift, and swirl, They're global travelers, make your head whirl. From pyramids high to a tropic shore, Sands bring vibes from lands galore. They sling memories, oh so sly, In each tiny speck, you can't deny. Two worlds colliding, in every grain, A history, a legacy, ain't that plain? So, when they drop on your favorite beach, Know they're more than just within reach. Sands of time, they don't just stand, They're the beat, the flow, in this world band. In every step, they got stories to pour, In their rhythmic dance, they just implore.

hEicH

desert dust

Our opponent has the more uses for nooses,

He is calculated, brutal, ruthless

Yet the people are blind, clueless

Sulaiman said, A draw is a win for Losers,

One must learn to maneuver with the inconspicuousness of a peasant and the mind of a ruler.

Safa & Marwa

There should be a sacred connect between the heart and the brain,

 

See now  we bleed, this time we went for the jugular vein,

A broken connect on my part,makes me oblivious to the pain,

Now see I've done the ugliness in Loves name,

Precious words I won't waste, it's paramount we change,

Time flows by in a daze, my mind lost in a maze

Causing you such mixed emotions, now distance between us, like safa and Marwa, backwards and forwards I will traverse mama 

Hold my hand,I promise thee no more drama.

Hatta Frasha

The following ain't no lie, I would hold you close, look into your eyes,
Leave you in a phase, no chance to lower your gaze,
I will traverse your mind,
See what's inside,
Clear to tell you're one of a kind,
Coz its like you are the Center between where my future and my past is,
Throwing my world off it's axis,.

hEicH

Cyber Risks Insurance

Cyber insurance

Cyber insurance covers the losses relating to damage to, or loss of information from, IT systems and networks. 

Technology, social media and transactions over the Internet play key roles in how most organizations conduct business and reach out to prospective customers today. Those vehicles also serve as gateways to cyberattacks. 

More and more attacks are likely to occur and can cause moderate to severe losses for organizations large and small. As part of a risk management plan, organizations routinely must decide which risks to avoid, accept, control or transfer. Transferring risk is where cyber insurance comes into play.

Do I need it?

As a business of any size, it is likely you will rely on information technology (IT) infrastructure to some degree.  If so, you will be exposed to the risks of business interruption, income loss, damage management and repair, and possibly reputational damage if IT equipment or systems fail or are interrupted.

A UK Government survey estimated that in 2014 81% of large corporations and 60% of small businesses suffered a cyber breach. The average cost of a cyber-security breach is £600k-£1.15m for large businesses and £65k-115k for SMEs.

While existing insurance policies such as commercial property, business interruption or professional indemnity insurance, may provide some elements of cover against cyber risks, businesses are increasingly buying specialised cyber insurance policies to supplement their existing insurance arrangements, particularly if they:

hold sensitive customer details such as names and addresses or banking information;rely heavily on IT systems and websites to conduct their business;process payment card information as a matter of course.

What does it cover?

With its roots in errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, cyber insurance began catching on in early 2000's

Cyber insurance covers the losses relating to damage to, or loss of information from, IT systems and networks. Policies generally include significant assistance with and management of the incident itself, which can be essential when faced with reputational damage or regulatory enforcement. 

Generally cyber risks fall into first party and third party risks.  Insurance products exist to cover either or both of these types of risk.

First-party insurance covers your business’s own assets. This may include:

Loss or damage to digital assets such as data or software programmesBusiness interruption from network downtimeCyber exhortation where third parties threaten to damage or release data if money is not paid to themCustomer notification expenses when there is a legal or regulatory requirement to notify them of a security or privacy breachReputational damage arising from a breach of data that results in loss of intellectual property or customersTheft of money or digital assets through theft of equipment or electronic theft

Third-party insurance covers the assets of others, typically your customers. This may include:

Security and privacy breaches, and the investigation, defence costs and civil damages associated with themMulti-media liability, to cover investigation, defence costs and civil damages arising from defamation, breach of privacy or negligence in publication in electronic or print mediaLoss of third party data, including payment of compensation to customers for denial of access, and failure of software or systems

More

The Light Within The Dark

he who circumscribes the diameter of your thinking,
controls the circumference of your living......

check yourself,
Are you satisfied and the life your living
you sure tis God you're serving?

who made ol these rules,
wats the purpose of ol these schools?

now they say we need mo lawyers and doctors,
true
but we also need more sons like Walter Rodney
too
mo revolutionist and revolutions whatever their form,
soon

water the dreams of our sons, let them believe wat we preach,
lest they figure we can't teach them manhood so they take to the streets,
find their piece through raising the heat....
we will rest them in peace
as we bury them six feet deep

and the wine press shall be empty, none to serve
and the grinder shall be still, the wheel none to swerve
the silver cord shall break at half
and the cloaked man shall read his verse
for we shall have seen the black hearse
and the bloodied sky shall wet the earth
and every breathe we take shall be one closer to our last
then we will know time has come to pass

and we shall awaken,
our transgressions shaken,
and the sons shall be raised
and the generation praised,
not for not being broken,
but rising above it, towards the word that was spoken,
a great word born to last,
for bringing back the wisdom of the past
for being the continents greatest art,
for being the light that is within the dark.

heich.

Paint you pink

What we is ,
        Not what we not,
What we see ,
         Not what we thought,
Cruel reality,
         Swindling what we bought,

What we give,
        Suffices what we receive,
The air we breath,
        In gloom we sink,
A cancerous need,
        I paint you pink,
And to think,
What I see,  ain’t what it be
Tha purple haze…….,
Destined to carry me away

                        heich

Ballad to Soul

What we is, what we be
Secrets shared between you and me
Dreamy future, what we used to see,
Better if, we’d stuck to reality.

What we thought,
For thirty talents, sold n bought,
Our soul’s n minds, confusion lost
From cruel reality, lessons taught
You and me,
Rebels without a cause,
Battles fought
What we fought for,
Up until now,
For what? we know not
But I guess in this battle fields, tis we, we sought
In pursuit of what we are and what we are not.

Back then,
All we had, we had to give,
Free spirits still, regardless of what we receive
But now see,
Every action conceived,
Like your every action is out to deceive,
With every action I come closer to being bereaved.
Benefit of hindsight, this I didn’t perceive,
That you would be to me, a cancerous need,
A need from which I yearn to be free,
A victim or an advocate, of vanity n greed?
You see it all started with a single seed
A rolling turmoil ever since,
A single vice never suffice,
Hollows the inside before raising the surface.

Gone with half a life, the rest so cold,
True story hushly told
This a ballad to my soul

heich
knowledge of self be the first castle.......

Symptoms za Freedom

The
world

 is hollow yet it's full of crap, prepare to gamble.
I give you a handful of chips
tips on what's to come.
av cried a ton of tears,
drunk a tons of beer.
It's fun and fears
but learn to persevere throughout the years,
kept my ears open, eyes looking mouth locked.
Don't rock the boat- if you can't swim,
nobody may be there with a limb to lend,
a truth painful; yet unbend
too much church got them saying we need a modern day Moses.
new testament in hand, written in the blood of coming generations

But the leaders are scheemers and posers
what we need us is some soldiers
It's a post coloial generation.
the anger in a nation,
got the writing on the wall so clear that I can taste it.
Like a kid sniffin' glue somewhere tryin' escape it,
cause we vulnerable and naked got to show them
we can
we will make it

I Post this Blog

I post this blog, structured thoughts,
and poetry prose, 
pursuit of knowledge here is a source, 
word sound power that's my cause, 
this is HeichSpot. 

Words can assimilate so seemingly, 
make repatriation of the mind be willingly, 
cut through prejudice and blindness, 
eternal profound words from his highness. 

So step right in if you will, 
and let thy iron be tempered into steel, 
pieces of my mind you will see, 
my hopes, fears, faith and belief. 
the truth whispers forget me not, 
this is HeichSpot 

let words transcend through time, 
let thoughts change the world, 
a different perspective to all that we be, 
a paradigm shift to all that we see. 
lest we be stuck like a clot, 
still innocent like the inhabitant of a cot, 
this is HeichSpot. 

heicH

I died in the Malaysian Incident

There she  finds him 
in the Hall of Lost Remembrance
Finds him lost among the arts there
Finds him
wanting . . . something

she can't remember how to speak
Can't remember . . . what words are for
Can't remember . . .
Turns to face him . . . puzzled

she says
“How is it young one
that I do not hear you?”

You do not hear me because I am not here

“How is it I see you
touch you
Know the look of your face
But I cannot know your heart . . . ?”

You can not touch my heart
Because I no longer have one
You can not touch my thoughts
Because my thoughts are my own

“How can this be
I have no small talent in this 
How can this be?”

I died in the Malaysian Incident
was dead for the longest time
in fact was never brought all the way back
And so I feel nothing
nothing at all
I walk through the hole in the zero of everyday

“Young one
should I feel pity for you?”

No more than for any other survivor
And a part of me still wonders
Are all survivors are worthy?

They stand silent for a small eternity
Looked upon by the twisted art wreckage 
The tortured memories of a by gone day

He holds forth a slip of parchment
She takes it
Holds it to the light
And finds the poem written there
By this young machine

William C. Burns, Jr.

Management Or Handling ? A Look at insurance claims

Claims Management Or Claims Handling? Issues & Concerns

The claims settlement and underwriting functions are the two most important aspect of the functioning of an insurance company. On taking out an insurance contract, the customer’s anticipations are:

I. Acceptable insurance coverage, which does not leave them high and dry in time of

Need, at the right pricing.

ii.   Timely    delivery    of   ambiguous    free   policy documents with relevant endorsements /

Warranties / conditions / guidelines.

iii. Should a claim happen, proper communication and quick settlement to his contentment

Here, we shall be concentrating on (iii)- occurrence of a claim, as (i) and (ii) relate to the underwriting function. It should however be noted that proper general insurance underwriting of the risk does facilitate claim settlement. Contrasting life insurance, where all policies necessarily result in claims – either maturity or death. In general insurance not all policies result in claim. It is approximated that around 15% policies in general insurance result in claims. Claim settlements in general insurance thus have their own distinctiveness and therefore require proper handling. It should be noted that how 15% of policy holders are attended to is of great importance since the services being rendered will determine the attitude of the customers. How the service being rendered is perceived by the customer needs to be kept in mind. Do we have a mechanism to find out the same?

Claims Handling

Insurance companies in Kenya and indeed much of

Africa  have  previously  been  handling  the  claims rather than managing them. Typically claims handling involves –

i. As soon as a claim is reported, the insurance company checks as to whether the cover was in force at the time of loss and whether the peril is covered under the policy

ii. A surveyor or adjuster is appointed to do the assessment and submits the report.

iii. Insurance company examines the report, calls for relevant supporting documents.

iv. On receipt of survey report and documents, the same are examined. The claim file is processed and settlement is offered.

In  this  way  claims handling is  thus more process oriented and does not pay adequate attention to the monitoring and  claims cost  aspect  as  also  to  the service parameters.

Claims management aspects to consider

With cut-throat competition in the local market and indeed much of Africa, the insurance companies have

to go much beyond the handling of claims. The following aspects need to be kept in mind.

I. General insurance is a market driven service industry, the customer has to be kept satisfied. With so many options available, a customer once lost is most likely a loss forever. Claim settlement can be used as a marketing tool. In addition bringing in a new customer is more costly than retaining the existing ones.

II. In a largely de-tariffed market such as ours, pricing will be the key factor. Proper claims management & quick settlement at optimal cost will help keep the

Price competitive.

III. A dissatisfied customer is a bad publicity. It has all the   potential   to   damage   the   reputation  of   the company.  A  majority  of  the  customers’  complaint

Relate to claims. It should be the exertion of any prudent insurance company to ensure that such complaints do not occur in the first place and in some cases  if  they  do  occur  it  is  attended  promptly,

Efficiently and transparently.

IV. IRA guidelines on ‘claims management’ effected in July 2012 stipulate certain obligation on the part of insurance  company  including time  limit  for  certain

aspects of the claim process. This is a regulatory requirement and insurance company personnel at every level must understand its implication.

V. Delayed claim settlement generally result in higher

Claims cost. Claims cost is a very important factor to profitability.

Why do delays take place in claim settlement?

Nobody will buy the excuse that the claimant is not forthcoming with documents and other requirements for settlement of claim. Is it because of the delay in submission of survey reports? If so, who is responsible for this? Are we undertaking necessary follow up steps for timely submission of report? The surveyors are duty bound as per IRA regulations to submit report within a stipulated time. Are there service level agreements with the service providers?. Even after submission of report and completion of other requirements how much time does it take to finally issue settlement cheque and its delivery to the claimant? Do we have a system to monitor it? How about our accounts department people meeting the claimants   or   intermediaries   for   a   change   to appreciate “the sensitivity of the client”

VI.  Claims  documentations must  be  monitored  as they progress. A little time spent thinking clearly right from the start will evade lot of unnecessary and time consuming patch-ups and straightening out later on. Unpleasant decisions bore timely with proper justification of the resolution is better than deferment which is bound to create an unpleasant situation.

VII. Proper underwriting is essential as defective underwriting results  in  complication at  the  time  of settlement of  claims. The  underwriting  and  claims department     should           not          work       in             segregation. Furthermore Flawed underwriting may saddle the companies with unwanted claims. Any defect / ambiguity in the documents issued invariably goes against insurance companies. It is therefore of utmost

Importance that the client is made aware in very clear terms about what exactly is covered and what is not. There should be a strong system of audit for examining the documents being issued.

VIII. Lot of resources are spent when claim cases go to alternative dispute resolution methodologies such as Ombudsman or Court. Besides, adverse comment bring bad name, when we are held liable. Insurance companies are invariably at the receiving end. The “watch and wait” attitude must change.

IX.  Claims-settlement  have  social  service  angle which must be met. In times of natural calamity lot of bad publicity comes to insurance company for delay in settlement of claims. This is in spite of the fact that in such situation insurance companies goes out of their way to settle claims at times even on ex-gratia basis. In any case claims relating to the assets of weaker section needs to be attended on priority. So do the health / medical related claims.

In view of the above, it is necessary that Insurance companies manage the claims rather than handling them. Insurance companies have a corporate claims management philosophy Managing claims involves not only claims processing but goes on to cover the entire range of claims management – strategic role, cost monitoring role, service aspect as also the role of people handling the claim.

Out of the total outgo on account of claims it is estimated  that  around  10  to  15  %  is  because of leakages,  frauds  and  inflated  claims.  In  absolute

terms this will be quite substantial amount. If this can be effectively checked, the benefit can be passed on to the customer by way of reduced premium rates.

Claim Reserving

Claims reserving is also an important part of the overall claim management process. Adequacy of claims reserving is important for any insurance company to meet its claim obligation.

In fact in a study in USA of the insurance companies going “bust” 34% (highest) was on account of insufficient reserves (www.irm.com) the analysis of

reserves and the process that goes into making the same and its comparison with past experience can help address such important concerns as;

·       Company’s   likely   future   obligations   on account  of  claims  and  its  ability  to  meet

them. This aspect is usually reserved under

IBNR (Incurred but Not Reported)

·       Solvency  aspect  and  assessing  the  true picture of the financial health.

·       Analysis of claims trend can help to timely initiate remedial action. e.g. restricting a particular class of business.

·       Effectiveness of loss control measure.

·       Average time being taken for the settlement of a claim and the claim settlement ratio and

how it compares with other operators in the market.

The claims management philosophy involves, the company  having  written  corporate  philosophy  on

claims management setting out the broad approach aiming to provide high quality service. It should specify the nature of claim service at each stage of the claim process, the speed of the claim service.

Attitude of the claims Team

It should be ensured that claim department which has to  deal quickly and fairly with all the claims have competent and well trained staff with right attitude. The claimant should not be treated as an intruder. In fact he is  reason for  our  existence. The  time-gap between reporting of claim and its ultimate settlement needs to be reduced to the bare minimum. System of time-audit for self-check may be introduced. The approach of people handling claims is important. Emerging challenges cannot be faced with past mind set and approaches. The personnel of insurance company should therefore change their present attitude, behaviour and must show flexibility to effectively   respond   to   the   requirements   of   the markets. They should thus exhibit empathy.  Mere

‘Sympathy’ will not do.

Let’s settle the claim gracefully. Let’s enjoy good image on that count. Let’s enjoy the confidence and

Good will of our customer for that is the ultimate litmus test for our service. In the likely changes that are going to take place as can be visualized (that is a topic for another day)

Bench Mark

The differentiating factor amongst the various players in   the   market will   continue to   be   the   pricing, innovative product lines and the quality of service in general and more particular the claims service. If the customer does not get good service everyone is going to pay the penalty and penetration of the industry will continue to be derisory comparatively to other aspects of finance.

Let’s see the writing on the wall and let’s responds to the needs of the hour positively. We are capable of that -- there is no doubt about it. Our capability commitment must be reflected in our conduct and behaviour so as to change the prevailing perception about us and our service.