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Scenario 6:
Trunroll is a fast-food chain headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, specializing in wraps, burritos, and quick-serve snacks through both company-owned and franchised outlets across several states. Recently, the company identified two major risks: increased dependence on third-party delivery platforms that could disrupt customer service if contracts were to fail or fees rose sharply, and stricter health and safety inspections that might expose vulnerabilities in hygiene practices across certain franchise locations. Therefore, the top management of Trunroll adopted a structured risk management process based on ISO 31000 guidelines to systematically identify, assess, and mitigate risks, embedding risk awareness into daily operations and strengthening resilience against future disruptions.
To address these risks, Trunroll outlined and documented clear actions with defined responsibilities and timelines. Regarding the dependence on third-party delivery platforms, the company decided not to move forward with planned partnerships with third-party delivery apps, as the risk of losing control over the customer experience and rising costs outweighed the potential benefits.
To address stricter health inspections across franchises, Trunroll invested in stronger hygiene protocols, mandatory staff training, and upgraded monitoring systems to reduce the likelihood of violations. Yet, management understood that some exposure would remain even after these measures. To address this risk, they decided to use one of the insurance methods, reserving internal financial resources to cover unexpected losses or penalties, ensuring the remaining risk was managed within acceptable boundaries.
Additionally, Trunroll set up a cloud-based platform to document and maintain risk records. This allowed managers to log supplier inspection results, training outcomes, and incident reports into one secure system, while also providing flexibility to update and scale applications as needed without managing the underlying infrastructure. In doing so, Trunroll ensured that all risk-related information is documented in progress reports and incorporated into mid-term and final evaluations, with risk management being updated regularly to monitor changes and treatments.
Based on the scenario above, answer the following question:
Based on Scenario 6, which insurance method did Trunroll use in which internal financial resources were reserved to cover unexpected losses or penalties?
The correct answer is A. Self-insurance. ISO 31000 recognizes that not all risks can be fully eliminated or transferred and that organizations may choose to retain residual risk while ensuring they have adequate financial capacity to absorb potential losses.
In Scenario 6, Trunroll explicitly reserved internal financial resources to cover unexpected losses or penalties arising from health and safety inspection outcomes. This approach aligns directly with self-insurance, where an organization deliberately sets aside its own funds to cover potential losses rather than transferring the risk to an external insurer.
While reserve funds may be colloquially mentioned, in risk management terminology under ISO 31000 and PECB guidance, self-insurance is the formal risk treatment approach that involves internal financial provisioning. Contingent credit lines involve borrowing arrangements, which were not described in the scenario. Risk pooling involves sharing risk across multiple entities, which also did not occur.
From a PECB ISO 31000 Lead Risk Manager perspective, self-insurance is appropriate when risks are predictable, manageable, and within the organization's risk tolerance, and when the organization has sufficient financial strength. Trunroll's decision ensured that residual risk remained within acceptable boundaries while maintaining operational continuity.
Therefore, the correct answer is self-insurance.