Eikos Risk Applications
director Hugh
Reimers has put his
weight behind moves
for a modal shift from road to
rail which he believes would
have a significant impact on
cargo security.
Infrastructure issues haven’t
changed over the last five years.
If rail was taking more traffic
off the roads we would see less
damage to the infrastructure
and a concomitant reduction in
accidents, in his view.
“There are far fewer
claims on rail and thanks to
containerisation and Transnet’s
significant spend on risk
management, rail claims have
come off significantly in the
past five or so years – although
there is also less volume,”
Reimers told FTW.
Issues around efficiency and
predictability have however
done little to achieve any
significant modal shift.
High volumes of highvalue
cargo are therefore
continuing to move by road,
and tracking is no longer a
‘nice to have’ but an imperative,
says Reimers. “In
our experience,
with proper risk
management,
theft and
hijacking risks
can also be
dramatically
reduced.”
And while
proper risk
management
is expensive, in
the long term,
if claims are
reduced there should be a
commensurate reduction in
premium over time.
New and more sophisticated
products are constantly being
developed, says Reimers,
and the insurance industry
has an interest in
fostering research and
development.
“We have been involved in
R&D with some of our clients
around mechanisms used to
lock vehicles and containers,”
he said, “and are approached
on a regular basis by
companies who
believe they
have a better
locking or
tracking
device.”
INSERT & CAPTION
With proper risk
management, theft
and hijacking risks
can be dramatically
reduced.
– Hugh Reimers
