Mid-market companies slightly lag the national average in their adoption of property risk management best practices, according to an Advisen Ltd. analysis.

Nearly 53% of midsize firms polled in Advisen's “Current State of Property Risk Management and Best Practices” said they have partially or fully implemented an enterprise risk management program, but only 38% of those companies include property risks in their ERM strategy. That compares with 61% and 44% of all employers, respectively.

Safety engineering has seen about the same rate of implementation among midsize companies as it has for employers on the whole, though integration of those operations with risk management functions is considerably less prevalent in the middle market, according to the analysis released Tuesday.

Fifty-seven percent of surveyed risk managers for mid-market companies — defined as companies with $250 million to $1 billion in annual revenue — said their firm has a dedicated safety engineering department or similar function, vs. 60% of risk managers across all company sizes.

While 80% of all risk managers surveyed said their safety engineering personnel report to or have regular communication with their department, only 53% of mid-market risk managers said that was the case.

“Property risks are fundamental to most companies, but managing them effectively has never been more challenging,” the report's authors wrote in their executive summary. “Property-related exposures are continuously evolving and therefore require a risk management approach that is both creative and flexible. The question for many is how to accomplish this?”

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One best practice the report recommends is integrating risk management personnel in strategic discussions and decisions, including construction planning, property acquisitions, supply chain management and emergency preparedness planning.

Eighty-nine percent of mid-market risk managers said their department is involved in their firms' emergency planning, but only 50% said their department participates in some or all decisions regarding construction and property acquisitions. Only 26% of mid-market risk managers said their department plays a role in managing supply chain risks apart from purchasing insurance.

“Best-in-class risk managers not only excel at developing relationships with third-party vendors, they also cultivate relationships internally, especially with senior management,” the report's authors noted. “Far too often, risk management is looked at as a cost center and independent of core operations and functions of a business. In most instances, this could not be further from the truth. The best-in-class risk managers understand the importance of aligning risk management with corporate objectives.”