Expert Sees Link between Corporate Reputation, Loss Prevention; GE Insurance Solutions' Luis Arango Outlines Key Imperatives at 2006 Industrial Fire World Conference.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The demands of today's global economy have put increased responsibilities on corporate risk managers to implement more sophisticated loss prevention policies and processes. That's the assessment of Luis F. Arango, a chemical technical specialist with GE Insurance Solutions' Global Asset Protection Services unit. By doing so, Arango said, companies will be better positioned to meet shareholder, regulatory and insurance provider expectations and requirements.

In a presentation at the 2006 Industrial Fire World Conference in Baton Rouge, La., Arango recommended companies embrace the Highly Protected Risk (HPR) concept to help management properly mitigate risk exposures. The HPR concept is based on six key principles:

--Proper risk management programs and "concerned" management

--Construction exposure protection

--Adequate interior protection

--Protection against special hazards

--Adequate exterior protection and water supply

--Protected surveillance

Arango cautioned that while the absence of some of the above elements may not lead to a large loss, not having all elements in place can result in a higher potential for property loss and subsequent business interruption. He said, "A loss usually affects many of a company's stakeholders. In many cases, it can tarnish the image or goodwill of the business, and require significant resources to help it recover."

He added, "The current environment of corporate mergers to increase synergies and enhance performance for shareholders has created significant demand for proper risk evaluation and loss control. Those pressures can increase a risk manager's responsibilities, when faced with fire, explosion or other types of property damage, to protect the resources and assets a company needs to remain competitive and provide uninterrupted service."

Luis F. Arango is a chemical technical specialist for the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Team of GE Global Asset Protection Services. He has 28 years of experience providing loss prevention and control engineering services in the energy, chemical processing and manufacturing industries. Arango is responsible for the development of loss prevention reports, fire protection engineering, risk assessment, process hazard evaluations and mitigation, loss prevention auditing, training, development and evaluation of risk management programs for Global Asset Protection Services.

Arango is a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, the National Fire Protection Agency and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

GE Insurance Solutions (NYSE: GE) is a group of companies that protects people, property and reputations. With more than $50 billion in combined assets, GE Insurance Solutions is one of the world's leading providers of commercial insurance, reinsurance and risk management services. For more information, go to www.geinsurancesolutions.com.