Page 52 - The Insurance Times October 2025

boards and cross-functional committees help prevent making. Risk culture ensures these are taken seriously,
blind spots. not treated as tick-box exercises.

4. Balance Innovation and Risk Prudence 8. Engagement with Regulators and Stakeholders
With AI underwriting, InsurTech partnerships, and cli- Transparent communication with regulators, investors,
mate-linked products, insurers must innovate responsi- and rating agencies builds confidence. Firms with strong
bly. Strong risk culture helps strike the right balance. risk culture are perceived as more resilient and trustwor-
thy.
5. Transparency and Accountability
A "speak-up" environment ensures employees raise red Conclusion
flags early. Accountability at all levels prevents risks from
being ignored until too late. The case of AIG illustrates that risk culture is as important
as capital and models in insurance. Without a strong cul-
6. Continuous Training and Awareness ture, even the most sophisticated risk frameworks can fail.
Risk awareness must not be limited to risk teams. Train- For insurers today-whether grappling with climate change,
ing underwriters, claims officers, actuaries, and even cyber risks, pandemics, or ESG compliance-embedding a risk-
frontline sales staff helps build a uniform risk-aware aware culture is the ultimate safeguard for resilience.
organization.
AIG's recovery shows that while crises may expose weak-
7. Use of Technology and Stress Testing nesses, they can also act as catalysts for cultural transfor-
Modern insurers must integrate stress testing, catas- mation. For the global insurance industry, the message is
trophe modeling, and scenario planning into decision- clear: risk culture is not optional-it is existential.

125 police district tagged all Road Negligence deaths as 'hit-&-run'

T he Punjab Police catching the driver involved in mara- On the most probable reason for recording most cases as
hit and run, an expert said once such a case is registered
thon runner Fauja Singh's death case within days has
kicked off a debate why police across states can't nab ab- and concluded weeks after the incident, police hardly carry
sconding drivers, instead classifying these cases as "hit and out an investigation.He added that in several cases, both
run" and making no headway in them. Analysis of the NCRB parties also reach a compromise and the victims' kin get the
data of 2022 (the latest published report) show that in 125 compensation from govt rather than pursuing the case.
police districts, 100% of all deaths due to "negligence relat-
The data published by National Crime Records Bureau
ing to road accidents" causing deaths were put under the
(NCRB) show that nearly 85% of all 384 road deaths due to
"hit and run" category.
negligence (section 304A of earlier IPC) in Uttarakhand were
This trend was across most of the states and UTs, including recorded as hit and run. In the case of Uttar Pradesh, this
two police districts in Delhi, NCR cities of Ghaziabad and was recorded as the reason in 16,343 road fatalities out of
Meerut, Dehradun, Nainital, Mathura, Agra, Gwalior, Ujjain, 20,109 death cases that police registered under earlier IPC
Jodhpur, Bokaro, Jalandhar Rural and Nagpur police section. Out of its 78 police districts, 47 had reported all
commissionerate, raising questions over the quality of data road fatalities under hit and run.
and reports that police put in file in case of road accidents.
It was no different even in the case of Madhya Pradesh and
Traffic safety experts and former senior police officers told, Jharkhand where more than 55% of road deaths registered
that it's high time govt reviews how data in road crashes under 304A of IPC were due to negligent driving. While in
and deaths are collected and their sanctity. "It's simply not MP, 15 police districts had all deaths registered under hit
possible that all deaths due to negligent driving are hit and and run, in the case of Jharkhand there were eight such
run cases. In almost all states it's the junior most person police districts. However, there were some exceptions as
officially records road accidents and writes the FIR. The well. States such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala Andhra
mechanism to audit the data before sending to the NCRB Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal where no police district
or publishing is weak. Such reports hardly serve any pur- recorded all road crash deaths as hit and run cases, as per
pose," said a former senior Delhi police officer. NCRB. (Source: The Times of India)

48 October 2025 The Insurance Times