CIFFA Forwarder Magazine

29 THE FORWARDER | WINTER 2025 Moderated by: • Christian Sivière, President, Solimpex Panelists: • Manish Bissa, Senior Vice President – National Transportation & Logistics Leader, Marsh • Terrie Sapronetti, Partner, Executive Vice President, Underwriting, Avalon Risk Management • Ady Sharma, Senior Vice President, Cyber Growth Leader (Canada), Aon Launching off the panel on insurance was a discussion about the transportation insurance industry dealing with a tremendous amount of fraud. There are a lot of claims, said Terrie Sapronetti, Partner, Executive Vice President, Underwriting, Avalon Risk Management. Fraud in the industry today amounts to about $U.S. 6.6 billion dollars annually. “It’s an absolute crisis,” she said. “Make sure you have the insurance to protect yourself.” There are three categories of cargo theft, warehouses, terminals and parking lots (as there is a shortage of safe parking) especially in the U.S. so truckers are forced to pull over to the side of the road. “Straight theft has surpassed strategic theft. As you’re vetting your carriers, this is something to keep in mind,” said Sapronetti. A new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rule will go into place in January for a USD $75,000 bond. “If there are freight charge claims against your bond, and you are posting $10,000, you have a 7-day window to get the ten thousand back into your account. Make sure you know your surety claims department very well. This can lead to suspension or cancellation,” she said. With so many different arms within the transportation industry, it’s essential that you have the right coverages in place. There is a part of the risk you can turn over to your insurance program. As well, noted session moderator Christian Sivière, President, Solimpex, not everything can be insured. “Often we come across shippers who don’t want to take insurance, due to cost etc. Due to carriers’ limits of liability, customers should always take cargo insurance.” Cyberliability is another whole new perspective, and one that is taking on much greater prominence. “Cybersecurity is one of the top risks for the past three AON surveys,” said Ady Sharma, Senior Vice President, Cyber Growth Leader (Canada), Aon. “It really is a risk organizations are concerned about regardless of their geography. Cyberinsurance helps to protect organizations- it’s very much an established product and data driven. Ransomware (infiltrating an organization’s computer systems), is one of the most popular threat actors used. It is the most popular form and the most accessible. The success rate is also very high and is also versatile as created,” he added. What are you being held hostage for? This varies with industry, company etc. “Threat actors know how interconnected the various supply chain players are. They are not always going to go after the most valuable organizations. Many claims are coming in from micro SMEs,” Sharma said. What kind of tools are available to protect us, asked Sivière? Sharma said, from an enterprise risk management, “assess the risk, constantly assess the cybersecurity list. Understand what different types of cyber events would look like on your balance sheet-in dollars and cents. We see so many organizations under The Evolving Insurance Environment