A collaborative approach with key partners including brokers and insurers is a significant factor in the risk management philosophy followed by Brian W. Merkley as global director of corporate risk management at Salt Lake City-based chemical manufacturer Huntsman Corp.

“It's something I feel very strongly about,” Mr. Merkley said. “Certainly, they have a better understanding of you as a client and your needs. It also allows them to bring forward solutions or ideas that can help improve things.”

One example of this approach is Huntsman hosting insurance conferences at various venues that include its brokers and underwriters, where the company's senior leadership talks about its business, plans and strategies.

Underwriters “come away from these experiences with a much better understanding of who we are, what our risks are and what we do to manage them,” Mr. Merkley said. “The other thing I make a point to do in terms of building collaboration with our brokers and underwriters is to actually take them out to our manufacturing facilities, not only here in the U.S., but around the world.”

“I've taken my broker or underwriter, sometimes both, to facilities in China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany,” he said.

A trip to northern Italy is being planned, as well as another to sites in Germany and Finland, where Huntsman bought some significant facilities last year as part of an acquisition.

However, sometimes a trip can turn into more of an adventure than they bargained for.

Mr. Merkley said he was on a trip with his broker and underwriter in 2010 when the plan was to stop in Saudi Arabia on their way to India, which happened to coincide with the turmoil created by the Arab Spring. “We wound up having to scrap the trip,” he said. “Stuff just happens.”

On another occasion, Mr. Merkley was on a train between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Netherlands, when the company launched a test of its corporate crisis response plan. Mr. Merkley is only given a general idea of when these are scheduled.

“These are pretty involved drills” where “you'll get a text or a phone call, and such-and-such just happened at this location.” Mr. Merkley is then supposed to notify broker partners and key underwriters who might be involved.

As part of this particular drill, on Mr. Merkley's checklist of things to do was to notify Huntsman's casualty broker and property underwriter. “Funny enough, they were both sitting across from me at the moment on the train, so I got the call and said, "Okay, you're immediately notified.' “