The year 2023 showed growth from the investment markets and resolutions of significant claims. Only one major storm struck the United States mainland and the damage it caused was manageable. Wildfires caused major damage to the island of Maui, with only three Adventist-owned and -insured buildings affected. We have received several casualty claims, which are in process and typically take months or years to resolve. Adventist Risk Management, Inc. (ARM) is ending 2023 stronger than a year ago, as 2022 was a challenge in the insurance industry and for ARM.
Cost of property insurance has increased dramatically even as we see some signs of moderation on the horizon. We are concerned for the escalation in replacement cost attributable to inflation in the construction market. In addition to inflationary trends in construction, many churches are housing congregations too small to adequately use or maintain the facility. We are offering guidance on these challenges to administrators across the North American Division.Internally, ARM’s workforce is largely remote and celebrating the freedom to live where we want and serve our church from our chosen locations. The current workforce is young, diverse, and engaged. We have a passion for the Adventist Church and the ministry we perform. We will be participating in direct mission both domestically and overseas this year, consistent with the Mission Refocus initiative from the General Conference.
ARM is moving from two older, poorly supported IT platforms for underwriting and claims to a new integrated system that will be up to date and less expensive to operate. The new system, Origami, is currently in rollout, and you may witness a few bumps along the way as we navigate the transition. Ultimately, we foresee strong improvements and efficiencies from this change.
This year we introduced online training platforms specifically for educators. Further development continues on other modules. These can be found at our Risk Training Center through our website. Our account executives and other team members are on the move to entities and workers' meetings across the division. In turn, you may get the opportunity to interact directly at those events. We encourage you to let us know if you have an upcoming event that would benefit from our presence and training.
This year we unveiled our insurability project. This gives hiring entities the opportunity to check the names of prospective hires against our sexual misconduct claim records. It would seem rare that an individual whom we have paid a claim against would apply for work with an NAD entity; however, within just a few months of running our insurability project, this situation has presented itself. Combined with criminal background checks and prior employment vetting, this should provide another layer of protection for our entities and all vulnerable members of our churches and schools.
Everything we do at ARM is to preserve, protect, and restore the ministry assets of the Adventist Church. Please help us to help you by providing feedback on our services, both positive and negative. We want to hear about it and use it to improve our service to you. As always, our ministry is to protect your ministry.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
