We cover clients in a range of sectors from banking and insurance to corporations and public sector organizations and lending to balance sheet and portfolio management so that you can make informed decisions and navigate risk with confidence Whether you’re looking for structured finance expertise or macroeconomic data and more—help you proactively mitigate risk Our latest research and insights on interconnected risk Need more information or can’t find what you’re looking for ORSA was introduced as part of the Solvency II regime in Europe but its origins can be traced further back: Given that ORSAs vary greatly from institution to institution Figure 1 outlines the definitions used by three key regulatory bodies Four common elements exist within the definitions that help guide insurance companies in developing their ORSA: which issued its Solvency Modernization Initiative (SMI) followed by the Risk Management and Own Risk and Solvency Assessment Model Act (#505) requiring large and medium-size US insurance groups and/or insurers to regularly conduct an ORSA starting in 2015 The NAIC has also issued its own ORSA manual which sets out requirements broadly similar to those of EIOPA: The current effective date for ORSA in the US is January 1 with insurers expected to file their first ORSA Summary Report during that year insurers should already be tracking and collecting appropriate data during the 2013 calendar year It is perhaps worth noting that a major difference between the US and Europe is that NAIC does not specify the capital measure that should be used in ORSA but instead gives freedom to the insurer to use whatever measure they think is appropriate Figure 2 is a global map with notes on ORSA regulations in various regions Another example is the South African Financial Services Board‘s (FSB) Solvency Assessment and Management (SAM) framework which includes ORSA requirements based not only on EIOPA but also experiences from the Canadian regulator (OFSI) the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) As a unique process defined by each particular insurer The ORSA framework illustrated by Figure 3 is recommended based on the current regulatory guidelines and Moody’s best practices Each of the listed elements form the building blocks of the ORSA and may be customized to meet both internal business needs and external regulatory requirements: an insurer will have to define its risk profile but the ORSA will act as a catalyst to formalize and monitor them The scope of stress testing in ORSA is comprehensive and should include: Insurers should also perform reverse stress testing to identify and quantify those scenarios that could result in business failure and other circumstances considered appropriate by senior management and the board Scenarios should reflect plausible events (both severe and optimistic) that may happen over the business planning projection period (e.g. It can be time-consuming to derive and quantify the impact of the scenarios it is insightful to go through the process of discussing possible scenarios It is important to note that the stress test program should be duly structured an insurer may consider different types of scenarios Although ORSA is largely a regulatory initiative it should be at the heart of the insurer’s business decision-making process The ORSA is the responsibility of the board and the senior management and should be regularly reviewed and approved They are also responsible for ensuring that the ORSA is administered by personnel with the relevant skills and expertise The ORSA should be appropriately evidenced and documented Some examples include methods valuing assets and liabilities The effectiveness of the ORSA should be independently assessed This review must be carried out by different people from those performing the ORSA ORSA should be a continually evolving process and while the regulators expect that the initial processes might be flawed The ORSA process should by design enable entities to estimate changes in capital requirements and the economic balance sheet since the last full calculation process A full calculation may be required if a firm’s risk profile changes significantly Our differentiated solutions bring together technology and brokers address their most complex challenges and make better decisions with confidence – therefore helping to close the insurance gap and drive performance Note: Moody’s Corporation is comprised of separate divisions. Moody's Ratings publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on a wide range of debt obligations, programs and facilities, and the entities that issue such obligations in markets worldwide, including various corporate, financial institution and governmental obligations, and structured finance securities. Moody's Ratings products are set out here All other products and solutions described on this site are provided by Moody's ratings.moodys.com and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively Note: Moody's does not post ratings to its social media accounts Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon The best of Los Angeles straight to your inbox We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news Sign up for our email to enjoy Los Angeles without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush) Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Los Angeles This Michelin-starred Japanese-Italian restaurant is the pride and joy of local chef Josef Centeno who also runs nearby Tex-Mex joint Bar Amá This reasonably priced five-course tasting menu ($150) offers the right mix of value and flair genre-bending dishes might see spot prawns scallops and uni in a flower-dotted rice porridge (a $49 supplement or seasonal cucamelons and heirloom tomatoes with kanpachi global inflection and a deep understanding of balance in these dishes that make every meal enjoyable it's still one of the less eye-poppingly expensive fine dining experiences around town The tasting menu changes on a seasonal basis and the chef is typically generous with additional dishes unlisted on the menu.  Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! twitterinstagramspotifyAbout us Contact us Time Out magazine the Superintendence of Private Insurance (“SUSEP”) published CNSP Resolution No which establishes the rules applicable to own risk and solvency assessment (“ORSA”) and capital management for insurance companies open supplementary pension entities (“EAPCs”) capitalization companies and local reinsurers S4 and Special Purpose Insurance Companies (“SSPE”) The ORSA is the process periodically carried out by the supervised company to assess the suitability of its capital and liquidity under regular and stressed conditions considering the risks of its current and planned operations Based on the results obtained from this self-assessment and the risk appetite the supervised company must manage its capital and monitor control levels on an ongoing basis and take the appropriate action if they are breached The main rules introduced by CNSP Resolution No the contingency plan must be formally registered approved by the supervised company’s highest management body disclosed to its employees whose roles and responsibilities are associated with implementing the plan and reassessed at least once the ORSA has been implemented CNSP Resolution No. 471/2024 has been in force since it was published on September 25, 2024. The full text is available on the SUSEP portal Health and Private Pension team is available to provide any clarification on the new regulation and any corresponding legislation aalarcon@demarest.com.br cprado@demarest.com.br lpelegrini@demarest.com.br mcicarelli@demarest.com.br We use cookies on our website to provide the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking "Accept," you agree to the use of all cookies. Read our Privacy Policy Os cookies necessários são necessários para habilitar os recursos básicos deste site, como fornecer login seguro ou ajustar suas preferências de consentimento. Esses cookies não armazenam nenhum dado de identificação pessoal. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article But Josef Centeno’s adaptive, graceful version of excellence in the maelstrom is one reassuring answer. On a culinary level, complexity has always defined his career. No one cuisine or style can express his hyperdrive creativity; his bio includes the poshest tasting menu settings as well as hidden barebone pubs. He runs four restaurants. Bar Amá downtown and Amacita in Culver City channel the Tex-Mex heritage of Centeno’s native San Antonio. The cooking at Bäco Mercat in DTLA begins in the Mediterranean regions before pingponging around the globe. Then there is Orsa & Winston, which opened next door to Bar Amá in September 2013. With its 35 seats, the 1,200-square-foot restaurant has always functioned as a workshop for Centeno’s evolution as a chef and leader. Food Post & Beam is an essential Southern California experience a special night out where people dress up yet feel at ease and Orsa & Winston serves a multicourse menu that successfully bridges Japanese and Italian flavors; rice porridge pooled in Parmesan cream with seafood (perhaps uni or Hokkaido scallop) became a dish that synthesized his aims Centeno constantly parses ingredient pairings to find the connections between the two cuisines — abalone grilled over binchotan charcoal with a Cal-Ital duo of kumquat and garlic leaf a tart of ume and preserved apricot with yuzu curd — but he never contorts food into bizarre conflations in service of the restaurant’s premise If a berry clafouti or sardine escabeche finds its way into the mix — well The fluidity between cuisines feels organic to Centeno’s cooking and to the pluralism of Los Angeles Neither did the restaurant restrict itself to tasting menus: Last year brought a ramped-up a la carte list of “snacks” (arancini with blue cheese Calabrian chile and mozzarella; squid ink spaghettini puttanesca; salmon in green tea dashi) that could easily stretch into a meal Savoring homemade pastas at lunch was a noontime escape Then the pandemic detonated, and Centeno suspended dine-in service at his restaurants six days ahead of the mandatory mid-March shutdown. For a few weeks he closed altogether, spending his days cooking for hospital workers and dying fabrics for his clothing line, Prospect Pine. (Yes, he makes masks.) His businesses have reopened with skeleton crews. We asked 15 chefs and restaurant owners in and around L.A everything that makes Orsa & Winston special feels magnified in the crisis Centeno built a takeout window into the restaurant’s façade: For comfort he serves cheeseburger sandos on milk bread; for nourishment there is a grain bowl of brown and black rice with jammy shoyu egg yuzo-oregano dressing and whatever vegetables the weekly markets provide Those willing to venture out for a special occasion can book a safely distanced table for two encircled by planters that create an improbably romantic oasis Centeno continues to create tasting menus that muster the world while framing L.A.’s sense of place: Last week he served Dungeness crab brightened with yuzu kosho cream and grilled Wagyu flatiron steak jolted with a relish of umeboshi and shiso the welcome kind of mystery in uncertain times For the delicious ways it reflects the cultural mosaics of our city — and for the resilience of its chef-owner whose warmth and ingenuity inspires when we need it most — Orsa & Winston is Restaurant of the Year Bill Addison is the restaurant critic of the Los Angeles Times. He is recipient of the 2023 Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award from the James Beard Foundation, among numerous other accolades. Addison was previously national critic for Eater and held food critic positions at the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News and Atlanta magazine. World & Nation Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Team Infatuation Orsa & Winston was once one of the most coveted reservations in LA, a Downtown gem serving creative Japanese and Italian dishes no one had ever seen before. It was a place we were excited to bring friends to try everything from chicken katsu sandwiches to scallop chowder with pickled grapes to chilled soba noodles with pesto, uni, and abalone. But sadly, after years of pandemic-related tweaks and changes, it's hard to see what the point is anymore. Downtown LA neighborhood-y Tex-Mex restaurant from DTLA’s best chef Japanese Culver City Eat the Japanese meal of your life at N/Naka. 10 LA restaurants that are always worth the (hefty) price. Hire a sitter, put on a clean pair of pants, and book a table at one of these 19 great date-night spots. Show Search Search Query Submit Search Don't Miss Cody Long is a former video journalist and producer for the Los Angeles Times who focused on food video Long received his bachelor’s in art with an emphasis in photography from San Diego State University He has produced Emmy award-winning content for the San Diego Union-Tribune and has had clients including Sony Interactive modest prices and exquisitely sourced produce that have once again nudged the city into the front ranks of world cuisine Centeno was chef de cuisine at David Kinch’s Manresa the influential Northern California restaurant known for its intimate relationship with its garden and first became known to Los Angeles diners when he became the chef of the tapas-driven Spanish restaurant Meson G an odd Koreatown place driven mostly by rushing through dinner before shows at the adjacent Wiltern The open-ended tasting menus at the restaurant were a connoisseur’s secret: two courses or 20 everything from crudo to abstracted pupusas to elegant vegetable presentations from all over the globe it could have been izakaya or it could have been Venetian cicchetti but it felt like a new version of a degustation menu tailored for adventurous Angelenos rather than for the tamer European palate Opus should have been the most successful restaurant in Los Angeles While there has been a lot to admire in all of Centeno’s ventures since Opus his stint at Lazy Ox and his own restaurants Bäco Mercat and Bar Amá there was also the sense that he was holding back were just placeholders until he moved back to form It is technically possible to wander into the dining room and order a plate or two and a glass of wine but the basic unit of consumption at Orsa & Winston is the tasting menu five or eight small courses that can vary wildly depending on the evening you come in veering between traditional Spanish flavors and new French classics rustic Alice Waters-like arrangements and sushi bar chic There is a team of chefs in the open kitchen and a big wood oven and countless hours of prep but you are aware only of the food in front of you in the dim is a tiny glimpse into Centeno’s obsessions So one day may include fennel panna cotta with cypress seeds; a bright egg yolk in its shell with pancetta crème fraîche and sherry vinegar in the manner of Paris’ l’ Arpege; a bit of truffled sunchoke soup with pickled muscat grapes; and seared celtuce a kind of early-spring Chinese celery root toasted brioche crumbs and a bit of hedgehog mushroom gravy — a California-French meal straight out of the eclectic 1/10 Grilled needlefish is stuffed with rosemary sprigs from Orsa & Winston in downtown L.A.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 2/10 Scallops with shiso ravigote.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 3/10 Japanese egg custard chawan mushi flavored with sunchokes celtuce and smoky wild mushrooms.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 4/10 Uni rice made with satsuki rice with geoduck chowder.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 5/10 Chef and owner Josef Centeno multicultural influences and sourced produce.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 6/10 Centeno is also the owner of nearby Bäco Mercat and Bar Amá.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 7/10 Orsa & Winston   (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 8/10 The dining experience at Orsa & Winston centers on the tasting menu five or eight small courses that change daily   (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 9/10 Wine chills on a counter.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 10/10 Decor in a dim corner of the restaurant.  (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) A week later you may be served instead raw big-eye tuna wrapped in fried veal a composition of yellowfish head — sautéed sinew a scoop of cheek tartare seasoned with the Japanese spice paste yuzu kosho — followed by courses of sautéed jack mackerel crusted with sesame seeds grilled needlefish stuffed with rosemary sprigs and rare roasted pigeon breast You could be at a progressive Japanese izakaya even given that the shad roe is drizzled with a bit of Italian-style salsa verde that the squab comes with a bit of French-style demiglace and that courses of Italian-style charcuterie English-pea soup and squid ink pasta with uni and nettle pesto come in between What might a plate of grilled greengage plums with fresh ricotta rhubarb and tamarind have in common with a take on the Japanese egg custard chawan mushi flavored with sunchokes and of global products — those plums are from New Zealand — when they’re not The will to mix traditions without losing sight of the fact that they are traditions: Raw Tasmanian sea trout is garnished with Japanese yuzu kosho California pink grapefruit and microherbs presumably from Ohio one of Los Angeles’ most influential young chefs Location: 122 W. 4th St., Los Angeles, (213) 687-0300, orsaandwinston.com Prices: Prix fixe only: five courses, $60; eight course omakase, $85; chef’s counter, $195. Details: Open 6 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays. Credit cards accepted. Beer and wine. Street or nearby lot parking. Jonathan Gold was the restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. He won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2007 and was a finalist again in 2011. A Los Angeles native, he began writing the Counter Intelligence column for the L.A. Weekly in 1986, wrote about death metal and gangsta rap for Rolling Stone and Spin among other places, and was delighted that he managed to forge a career out of the professional eating of tacos. Gold died July 21, 2018. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Yul Moldauer is going to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as a member of the Team USA men's gymnastics team Moldauer, who competed on the OU men's gymnastics team from 2016-2019 earned his Team USA men's gymnastics team spot after competition in the U.S Moldauer is joined by five-time NCAA champion Brody Malone Here are five things we know about Yul Moldauer As a member of the OU men's gymnastics team from 2016 to 2019, Moldauer earned several honors he was the winner of OU’s eighth Nissen-Emery Award awarded to the top male collegiate gymnast in the country Moldauer finished his OU career with 18 All-America honors tied for first in OU history with Jon Horton and tied for second in NCAA history Moldauer, adopted from South Korea as a baby boy by Peter and Orsa Moldauer, has not had an easy journey. When the Moldauers brought Yul back to their farm outside Fort Collins He’d been born prematurely to a chemically dependent mother.  Peter and Orsa Moldauer’s young son would scream so loudly the folks next door could hear him “I couldn’t be more blessed,” Moldauer said in a 2019 article in The Oklahoman Orsa Moldauer wanted to adopt from the time she was young She had a friend who’d been adopted from South Korea they decided they didn’t want to have any more biological children but still wanted a son The couple saw a photo of Kyung Tae (pronounced Ky-uhng Taah) and the Moldauers immediately knew he was meant to be theirs They renamed him Yul Kyung Tae Moldauer — Orsa borrowed the first name from the always-bald actor Yul Brynner because her new baby boy had almost no hair “It shouldn’t be normal,” Moldauer told The Oklahoman “Asian-Americans shouldn’t have to go through the name calling The surge in anti-Asian hate crimes all across the United States has made an already difficult year even more complex for Moldauer He has emerged from all of that with his Olympic dreams largely intact But with Asian-Americans facing a growing wave of racism it has added another layer of resiliency to Moldauer’s story Yul Moldauer was hindered by back spasms at nationals Moldauer finished runner-up to Brody Malone and ranked in the top three on four events The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson contributed to this report Community Safety Department Director To Resign Amid Tension With Cambridge Police Department From Lab to Startup: Harvard’s Office of Technology Development Paves the Way for Research Commercialization People’s Forum on Graduation Readiness Held After Vote to Eliminate MCAS 8 Takeaways From Harvard’s Task Force Reports Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter. Curry held a number of positions at Miami in the recreational sports department including director of intramurals club sports and summer camps and director of the recreational sports center Awards are given based on a number of criteria including significant contribution to the promotion and growth of ORSA through the cultivation of individual or institutional ORSA membership and contribution in the development of students and young professionals on campus and within ORSA We pride ourselves on providing internal and external audiences with the latest information on Miami news and events as well as administrative information for members of the Miami community   Board members and senior executives working across the EU and UK insurance industries and many firms described climate change risk in “generic terms without assessing (…) the specific impact on the firm” there is significant variation in terms of insurers’ use of climate scenario analysis in their ORSAs though many have cited intent to develop these capabilities in future reports general insurers have typically focused on physical risks and the impact of more severe and frequent natural catastrophes while life insurers have tended to focus on impacts on investment portfolios Insurers across the board have also frequently referred to regulatory risks arising from increasing climate disclosures and supervisory requirements Whilst we do expect insurers to have progressed in this area since EIOPA conducted its survey in the last year we believe there is still much to do before the March 2023 deadline and beyond With the UK starting to actively supervise firms against the expectations set out in its SS3/19 ‘Enhancing banks’ and insurers’ approaches to managing the financial risks from climate change’ from 2022 All insurers need to perform a materiality assessment of their climate risk exposures outline in their ORSAs how they are capturing these risks in their solvency assessment and managing them it is no longer sufficient to list climate risk as a distant ”emerging risk”; for many firms this should be pulled out as a strategic risk with the potential to affect the business in both the short and long term The purpose of this blog is to provide our view of how insurers can consider the financial impact of climate risk and reflect it in their ORSAs We have divided up this process in four different stages as illustrated below we have developed key considerations for insurers which incorporate recent views of the PRA and European regulators on the topic A framework for bringing climate risk into the ORSA The first step is for insurers to identify all the climate risks they are exposed to, whether material or not. This exercise should be comprehensive and cover all lines of business on the liability side of the balance sheet, as well as all assets. Insurers should identify exposures to all three of the major climate risk categories: physical, transition and liability risks This is likely to be a significant exercise for many insurers and will involve a granular review of individual insurance policies and associated policy wordings to understand the scope of cover We do not think it is necessary to describe this entire process in the ORSA but supervisors will likely expect at least a high-level overview and conclusion to feature in the ORSA we have set out below a mapping table which non-life insurers could use to map various climate risks against traditional prudential risk categories Insurers will need to adapt the climate risk categories on the left-hand side to their individual business model and based on their own materiality assessment; for example all insurers will not be materially exposed to liability risk once insurers have come up with their own table it will provide them with a comprehensive view of exactly where their climate exposures are and where they may need to take further action to manage the risks effectively Insurers with exposures to liability lines of business should engage a multi-disciplinary team (including legal actuarial and claims representatives) to understand potential climate exposures and consider a wide range of legal interpretations of various policy wordings ”income at risk” is a commonly used quantitative metric to assess financial materiality Insurers could think about other suitable metrics including for example % of Gross Written Premium (GWP) or reserves potentially exposed to climate risks Many insurers will have to invest in developing and training their second line of defence teams so that they can add insightful and robust challenge on climate risk as part of the ORSA content and overall process This is essential for all the areas outlined in this blog not least when it comes to the risk identification and materiality assessment there is still a lot of work for insurers to do in terms of upskilling their second line of defence capabilities Risk identification and materiality assessment – Key considerations Training and upskilling of second line of defence teams to ensure robust challenge of climate risk in ORSA and ORSA process Consideration of methodology to identify climate risk exposures covering assets / liabilities Evidence that all climate risks have been covered (physical Second-order effects when assessing climate risk exposures Mapping of climate risk to prudential risks (e.g Potential correlation risk between assets and liabilities Quantitative and qualitative materiality thresholds with supporting analysis Consideration of methodology and assumptions used to assess materiality to set out a scenario for them in their ORSA” Many of the most commonly used disclosure frameworks (including the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures - TCFD - framework) also require firms to do climate scenario analysis Other issues include the long-term nature and horizon of climate risk (presenting a challenge for non-life firms with renewals in particular) as well as system-wide considerations such as the evolution of protection gaps Insurers should use the results from the industry-wide stress tests both as a starting point to develop their own internal climate stress and scenario testing and as a benchmark to understand where they are compared to peers These exercises do not only provide insurers with different scenarios and parameters but also an indication as to what areas in relation to climate risk supervisors will scrutinise While some smaller countries may currently struggle to review ORSA climate scenarios because their supervisory authorities lack the necessary expertise Analysis of reliance on third party vendors for climate stress testing and modelling data and modelling updates to improve capabilities product oversight and governance requirements Insurers can also adapt to climate risk by reflecting climate exposures in capital management and business strategies including for example by incorporating the heightened level of risk into product pricing Other common adaptation measures include using exclusions to eliminate climate risk from insurance policies or books of business altogether or increasing the role reinsurance and retrocession play in their capital strategies  Insurers can also contribute to innovative measures to pool climate change risks through Public-Private Partnerships or other industry collaborations In the meantime, the PRA has been clear that insurers are required to identify their material exposures and demonstrate they are “holding adequate capital against them where relevant” as part of their ORSA In order to demonstrate progress in this regard insurers need to first develop a comprehensive understanding of their material climate risks exposures and come up with effective strategies to manage them The second step is for firms to come up with a proactive strategy to improve its ability to capture the capital impact of climate risks over a multi-year period While issues around data and modelling are commonly cited as constraints to performing an accurate capital impact assessment, supervisors have been clear that this is no excuse for inaction, and according to the PRA firms must adopt “alternative approaches to address these gaps in the short to medium term” insurers should come up with near-term plans to address data and modelling issues and gaps even if they are likely to change in the longer term They should also put in place processes to monitor new market and technological developments in the area of climate risk in order to be able to update those plans as necessary This will provide some assurance and demonstrate to supervisors that they are making some headway in terms of quantifying climate exposures All insurers will ultimately have to demonstrate their ability to assess and manage their material climate risks While some insurers will be more exposed to climate risks than others supervisors are expecting all firms to go through a similar exercise in order to reach that conclusion as EU and UK regulators continue to investigate whether and how climate risks should be formally captured in the insurance capital framework insurers will need to work on deepening their understanding and management of their climate risk related exposures.  © 2025. See Terms of Use for more information Deloitte LLP is the United Kingdom affiliate of Deloitte NSE LLP, a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”). DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL and Deloitte NSE LLP do not provide services to clients. Please see About Deloitte to learn more about our global network of member firms Deloitte LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC303675 and its registered office at 1 New Street Square, London EC4A 3HQ, United Kingdom. A list of members of Deloitte LLP is available at Companies House. is turning that restaurant over to a yakitori concept for January and February Centeno — also the chef/owner of Bäco Mercat Bar Amá and now Ledlow Swan (the newly renamed Pete’s Cafe) — says that come spring he’ll go back to the restaurant’s original tasting menu and super-omakase menu Centeno told me that he and his crew had so much fun at their two-day O&W Yakitori-Ya pop-up event in late November that they decided to do a longer run “In two nights we grilled more than 1,000 skewers We made shochu and sake cocktails and served lots of Japanese beer Now they’re planning to do it for two months “I thought taking a break from tasting menus-only would be refreshing I’m going to travel to Japan for a week in January and hopefully come back even more inspired,” Centeno said Another reason he cited is that the tasting menus are so ingredient- and seasonally-driven “And January and February aren’t my favorite months he’s planning to do the tasting menus in spring and autumn when he can get the ingredients that excite him the most And the rest of the time he’ll open the restaurant up to a wider audience with the yakitori-ya menu There will be a six-skewer set menu with the option to add on skewers such as a satsuki rice bowl with various toppings Yakitori will be by reservation and by walk-in Orsa & Winston’s tasting menus will start up again on March 3 for which they’re already taking reservations Orsa & Winston, 122 W. 4th Street, Los Angeles (213) 687-0300. orsaandwinston.com Follow @sirenevirbila for more on food and wine. The word omakase is used to describe the prix fixe format or elaborate 20 courses skew more Cal-Italian than Japanese and change with Centeno’s whims—which is how he cooks best One night there might be a splendid pile of sea urchin-coated spaghettini or gauzy testa (head cheese) with rolls of Japanese milk bread and some dishes would fit in better at the less splurge-y Bäco Centeno’s fancy pants might need a little breaking in Thelma Golden will celebrate Lauren Halsey and U.K.-based singer Griff will take the stage featured A-list designers and Otis College standouts who earned scholarships for innovation in Fashion Design lawyers say Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe showed injuries consistent with a dog attack and plan to present a case against Chloe a German Shepherd who was re-homed by the owner's of the house where the cop's body was found in a snowbank Magazine’s takeaways on five notable topics from President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term consumers are stocking up on household items and bites from THEBlvd and Hinoki & the Bird Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Paul Mozak is not a man who likes to sit on his laurels In his 12 years at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Mozak has led a myriad of contributions to the risk function and beyond he started work to build BCBSM's enterprise risk management function which has become embedded in the thought processes throughout the organisation He initiated the creation of a captive reinsurance company in 2015 which helped return over $100m in dividends to the insurer reduced premiums for many coverage lines and increased BCBSM's risk-based capital (RBC) ratio He also took responsibility for the company's treasury function growing assets under management to about $10bn today Under his direction BCBSM also filed its first own risk and solvency assessment (Orsa) in 2014 pre-empting the Michigan Insurance Department's Orsa filing requirements by two years Mozak's work has helped drive BCBSM's growth in surplus from $3.2bn to over $5.8bn since 2015—improving the RBC by more than 160 points over the period Mozak has also sought to extend his role beyond traditional ERM work—for example in developing strategic tax initiatives and internal health initiatives for employees he developed a set of comprehensive responses to report on the impact of Covid-19 by business lines which could be relayed to regulators and rating agencies he also helped establish a capital planning process to accommodate new scenarios presented by the pandemic that resulted in a new capital plan for the company His 12 years in charge have also seen Mozak champion diversity and inclusion at the insurer regularly participating in diversity events and carrying out volunteer work in the community These rounded set of qualities makes him a worthy winner for this year's CRO award Subscribe to InsuranceERM to benefit from: article In-depth special reports and analysis verified Commentary and insight from leading industry specialists This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more here Print Name of restaurant: Orsa & Winston Chef: Josef Centeno of nearby Bäco Mercat and next door Bar Amá where he worked at Daniel and La Côte Basque Concept: Japanese- and Italian-inspired fine dining The 33-seat restaurant will feature three fixed-price menus (five- “Orsa & Winston is a small restaurant named after (the chef’s) two small dogs.” Koshihikari rice with sea urchin and geoduck The risotto-style Japanese rice with uni (currently sourced from San Diego) was luxurious and comforting Note: Throw any carb-counting out the window and indulge in Centeno’s freshly made milk bread focaccia and oregano butter Smartly dressed couples with smartphones at the ready It was the first night of service after all Appropriate for...: The intimate room with an open kitchen is perfect for couples and small groups Uh-oh...: Orsa & Winston opens Thursday Check the restaurant website or follow @OrsaWinston on Twitter for opening updates Yamahai Tokubetsu Junmai Sake (beautifully paired with the koshihikari rice with uni) Info: 122 W. 4th St., Los Angeles. (213) 687-0300. https://www.orsaandwinston.com Twitter @OrsaWinston Scarpetta’s for $8 happy hour Scratch Bar: Inventive presentation in a casual setting Carnitas el Veneno: Tijuana-style juicy carne asada tacos The Scouting Report is a quick look at restaurants worth a visit. Scouts were selected by restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, who may or may not agree with a single word. potential discrepancies between it and the SCR – all these issues were discussed at an InsuranceERM/SAS roundtable where there was general agreement that Note: this is the first of a two-part report on the roundtable Field: Would you say the own risk and solvency assessment (ORSA) is one of the most challenging parts of Solvency II because it is pulling together so many sub-processes really You have to get all the underlying process sorted out before the ORSA is really going to mean anything It does challenge you quite a bit and you then you have a separate challenge in trying to make sure that having brought together all these sub parts it then meets primarily the business' need to actually mean something to the board Borrett: I think one of the early challenges was that the term ORSA was coined wih very little definition as to what an ORSA was; what the regulator would expect from an ORSA; and whether it should be integrated as a core part of risk and capital management or to what extent it was an additional form of reporting for an organisation Field: Do you think the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority has given enough guidance on this Borrett: I think that it is actually right that the organisation drives the approach Documentation need not be an Encyclopaedia Britannica; it is more of a Reader's Digest The report pulls out from your dynamic ORSA process the most salient aspects of the risk profile capital management and capital optimisation Deighton: The ORSA should in theory be relatively easy because it is meant to be something that effectively just feeds off the rest of the processes that you are required to build under Solvency II you could argue that actually there is far too much guidance being given already and any more would be unwelcome there is also a requirement to file the ORSA with the regulator They will inevitably apply the same sort of approaches they are applying to every other part of Solvency II they will run through that guidance; they will draw up checklist of every single statement in the guidance; and if you do not meet all of them Baxter: I would actually hope that we would not have too much guidance around the ORSA as it needs to be a management tool: maybe it is a vain hope Deighton:There is a lot of emphasis on being sure that you are capturing discussing and assessing all of the risks in the ORSA But if you are on the internal model route the requirements of the internal model have made sure that you have actually assessed quantified - where you can - and thought about all of the risks So it would be slightly strange if this once or twice a year process suddenly popped up with some other risk that you had completely forgotten about then there is quite a lot in the guidance about understanding whether the standard formula is actually appropriate to your risks although it clearly says that the ORSA is not meant to be a capital assessment exercise that it turns into exactly that for a standard formula firm the regulator will focus on all the parts of the ORSA that require you to increase the standard formula and give very little credence to other parts that might actually be suggesting that the standard formula is too strong Kirby: Are you concerned that the regulator will actually use the ORSA almost like a stick against you In the sense that they may look at your SCR [solvency capital requirement] and say your SCR value is down here; your ORSA value is up here: why such a disparity?' And you think they will use that as leverage against you Deighton: I think there is a real danger of that even though it's not really playing by the rules of the game Field: Is it not different in the time horizon though you have to start with an assessment of the current position the forward-looking aspect is another thing that could be latched on to because then there may be a lot of pressure from the regulator to put more capital into the business now in order to deal with that rather than rely on a promise that it will get put in when you need to Goddin: That would suggest then it is quite important for a firm to be able to reconcile the difference between the ORSA value and the SCR value and explain very clearly what the differences are so that if the regulator does challenge them Field: Is the materiality and proportionality principle a fairly movable feast I think you would need to do the ORSA to a comparable level to the materiality and proportionality that is in your internal model Field: What is the most difficult part of the ORSA to fulfil then Deighton: The forward-looking bit is definitely the bit that we have found most difficult so far because our old systems were really not built to do that Deighton: We took a fundamental decision at a very early stage to scrap all of our existing actuarial software and build something new which we are building on the Mo.net platform Field: The technology is quite important to you in getting this process right Deighton: I think the technology is clearly important in doing the numbers but it is only a part of it a coming together of all of the elements of the risk framework The other issue between the SCR and the the ORSA is the concept that the ORSA can be your own view of the appropriate capital requirement 'I believe in this model and I believe in these assumptions sufficiently well that I use them to make decisions,' and then at the same time you may be presenting the ORSA paper to the board which has a set of numbers on a completely different basis Baxter: The SCR is actually moving away from economic reality Sometimes you are forced to actually look at your own view contract boundaries: we are getting an uneconomic view of contract boundaries built into the SCR should you be looking at your position from an economic basis?' And 'How do you rationalise that within the ORSA?' You could also ask if there is an opportunity here because if you have to give up the argument with the regulator on the SCR then you have another chance to put it in front of them on the ORSA Field: Is the frequency of the ORSA an issue Borrett: How frequent can that exercise be Legislation clearly provides for an ad hoc rerun of the ORSA in the event of a significant change of certain circumstances I think it is around adequate trend data which allows you to drive revised assumptions Field: Is quarterly what is laid down at the moment We have moved this year from a pillar one basis to being a pillar two company largely as a proxy for Solvency II until our internal model comes fully on stream We are therefore running the model quarterly on a pillar two basis Goddin: I think though you can distinguish here between the ORSA report and the ORSA process to a degree I agree that the ORSA process should be running far more frequently than annually if not more frequently depending on the area of risk you are talking about a full ORSA report documenting the process can certainly be an annual exercise but the process itself should definitely be ongoing throughout the year to get any sort of value from it Coombes: I think we were all hoping that the internal model approach and Solvency II in general would adopt an economic view of the company's assets there have been increasing signs recently that it is moving away from an economic view management teams will inevitably take their own economic view of the circumstances and requirements looking forward Then there will be a divergence between the ORSA assessment and the SCR Deighton: The SCR will be seen as a financial constraint on your own planning process driven by your own view of capital we have lost a lot of the original purpose and benefit of Solvency II there is a precedent and it should come as no surprise Field: Does your ORSA differ very much from your current SCR Coombes: We are still continuing to review some of our calculations the assessment of the capital requirement under the standard formula was perhaps at the highest level then at an SCR or internal model level was slightly lower and at an ORSA level was slightly lower still the regulator would obviously keep us to the SCR amount at least There are areas where we could see that some of the requirements of the internal modelling of the SCR are uneconomic and on an own-risk basis we would consider we need less capital Kirby: The FSA [Financial Services Authority] had this perception that the standard formula and the SCR calibration were more or less aligned to the BBB rating from Standard & Poor's (S&P) I always had this view that most insurance companies would want to be better capitalised than BBB Coombes: I think we are still in a moving feast We still have things like contract boundaries out there which could be uneconomic; we have the FSA reviewing technical provisions and where we thought that they were meant to best estimates there are now murmurings that they actually ought rather to be prudent If the starting point is prudent and then a risk margin is required on top if the FSA saw as a result of a whole lot of internal models a significant amount of capital was going to be released from the industry as a whole they might feel a little bit uncomfortable about that and start putting in buffer requirements There is a lot of uncertainty over the final outcome The murmurs we have heard recently tend to suggest that we are going to end up with a more cautious regulatory regime the ORSA and an economic basis might well come up with a lower figure of what management think is really required economic capital Kirby: Capital add-ons go against an SCR only I understood that it is meant to be a temporary measure only and only applied on the basis of an underlying risk factor or risk deficiency Borrett: You are absolutely right that add-ons were a feature of the ICA [individual capital assessment] I think that has been replaced now by a rhetoric of prudence and on a very practical level in very volatile economic circumstances it would be a brave regulator who in introducing a new solvency regime chose as one key piece of evidence of that to see firms releasing capital Coombes: However much the economy might need that Borrett: And however much your own risk profile suggests that is appropriate I too would question the calibration of SCR to S&P rating We in the UK have a standalone S&P rating for Unum and it does not correlate to a BBB against our assessment Deighton: As we go through the process of actually building the models and getting them agreed we are already seeing evidence of the drift that comes from the benchmarking approach The quantitative tools that the FSA have developed are effectively just benchmarking exercises You will get see a continuation of the process whereby companies that are below the average of the benchmark distribution are persuaded to strengthen which obviously results over time in the average creeping up The chef keeps shuffling things on Centeno Square by giving his tasting menu restaurant a break Josef Centeno should know that the corner of 4th and Main is destined to become Centeno Square, what with four restaurants within a earshot of each other in Historic Core. And his highest concept place, Orsa & Winston, is turning into a casual yakitori shop for two months come January, reports S Irene Virbila at the LA Times Daily Dish blog AM Best has affirmed the A- (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating and the “a-” (Excellent) Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating for Hong Kong-based FuSure Reinsurance Company Limited (FuSure) The strong ratings reflect FuSure’s very strong balance sheet and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM) The ratings are also supported by Tencent Holdings Limited (Tencent) FuSure received a significant capital injection from shareholders doubling its paid-up capital to RMB 1.75 billion by year-end AM Best expects the company’s risk-adjusted capitalization measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) to stay at the strongest level through 2027 Get the latest reinsurance news direct to your inbox twice a week. Sign up here The company follows a conservative investment strategy focusing on investment-grade fixed-income securities and cash equivalents FuSure has successfully diversified its retrocessionaire panel which includes a sound credit rating reinsurance panel its relatively modest capital size and the risks of expanding its client base were noted as challenges FuSure’s operating performance is considered adequate with double-digit growth in gross premiums written projected from 2024 to 2027 The company maintains a low single-digit return on equity with stable investment yields from short-duration fixed-income investments Underwriting volatility is limited due to the stable nature of its key health coverage treaties Focusing on health and accident insurance in the Greater China region FuSure leverages Tencent’s business development and distribution support to build market presence Although its portfolio is concentrated in health insurance as the underlying policies are short-duration personal health insurance FuSure plans to diversify its products and geographic reach in the medium term While facing higher operational and business execution risks as a startup these are mitigated by an experienced management team and strategic support from Tencent FuSure’s ERM framework was deemed suitable for its risk profile a three lines of defense governance structure The company performs annual Own Risk and Solvency Assessments (ORSA) submitted to the Hong Kong Insurance Authority AM Best expects further enhancements to its ERM framework FuSure also benefits from strong support from Tencent Tencent’s substantial financial resources and commitment to FuSure giving FuSure a competitive edge in product design and pricing Get the latest reinsurance news direct to your inbox twice a week. Sign up here [Photo: Thrillist] The restaurant will open with no a la carte menu options Though Orsa & Winston doesn't open until next week Centeno is hosting exclusive dinners for MasterCard cardholders through the 28th Head to Eater LA for more photos and details. >>> The freshest news from the food world every day Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again. SearchNews Product Reviews By John Milbank Consumer Editor of Bennetts BikeSocial Date reviewed: September 2018 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £79.99 | www.planet-knox.com The Orsa MX gloves (not to be confused with the CE-approved all-leather Orsa road gloves) are designed for ‘high-performance off-road/enduro’ use I’m neither high performance nor an enduro expert but I’ve used these on and off for at least ten years but any off-road work I’ve done has been in these I’ve also worn them a fair few times on-road… My only criticism (and keep in mind that these are the MkIs not the latest MkIIIs) has been that the left thumb is a bit tight at the end thanks to the use of stretch material on the sides of the fingers I always find Knox gloves an excellent fit for my Size L hands giving plenty of air flow – exactly what you need off-road a synthetic leather that’s claimed to be a high-performance alternative that stays soft even when it’s cold and wet The material’s manufacturer claims it’s more abrasion resistant than leather; I’ve not had a serious crash on tarmac in these gloves but I have fallen off several times (with enough force to crack ribs and tear my rotator cuff) on hard dirt There’s armour and padding on the top of the gloves and the Knox Scaphoid Protection System (SPS) on the palm – this is a pair plastic sliders on each glove that help prevent your hand from grabbing as you slide on tarmac which can cause the scaphoid carpal bone below your thumb to break I’m ashamed to say that I’ve put these gloves through the washing machine several times it’s testament to how well put together they are I’ll be glueing them back on with Shoe Goo after I’ve written this review Now all motorcycle clothing is deemed to be PPE and with CE-approved gloves a legal requirement in France Knox clearly markets these as being for off-road use The sides of the thumbs are soft terry cloth for a start so they’d be unlikely to pass the required standard for the road – if you want that the goat-skin CE-approved Orsa MkIIs offer improved protection in the same style I’ve worn these a fair bit on-road bikes at my own risk – generally on smaller-capacity stuff – thanks to their real comfort but they are predominantly my off-road mitts They’re a really good option for trail riders though who’ll want the convenience of an off-road glove with a good level of palm protection when they’re on tarmac connections From April 21 2018, all new motorcycle clothing sold in the UK is deemed to be Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). To meet this legislation, it must be tested to a recognised standard. For more information on the new laws, click here. One of the SPS pads has lifted while the other has fallen off – no surprise though, given how long I’ve had them The Orsas feature a Boa wrist fastener – lift the dial to release and slide the gloves on, then push it down and rotate to tighten them exactly as you want. Quick, easy and very secure – there’s no way these will pull off. I was wary of this fragile-looking system when I first got the gloves, but it’s still as good as the day I started using them. The wire is plastic-coated metal, and hasn’t worn or frayed at all. And the button’s as tough as ever. The Boa fastener on the wrist has proven very reliable Besides being through the wash several times, these have been soaked in the rain, as well as all the puddles I’ve fallen in. They dry pretty quickly, and although one of the smaller SPS pads has fallen off (and the other is coming away), they’ve been through a long, tough time, and the damage was more likely done in the wash. The sides of the thumbs are made of terry cloth, so can be used to wipe mud from your goggles. Just keep in mind that any crud that dries on there will be dragged across the plastic next time, so be careful as scratching’s a possibility. The wipe’s useful in the mud, but be careful While there’s some soft lining, most of what you feel is the Clarino palm, which is very comfortable without being sweaty. These are bulkier than some off-road gloves, but they’ve proven themselves realy tough over the years. I’m no motocross rider, so I haven’t been using them every weekend on a track, but given the time I have had them, and the abuse they’ve suffered, I’m very impressed.  For byways and green lanes they’re ideal – perfect for the dirt, but with a good level of protection when you’re riding on the road to get to the trails.  We search our panel of insurers to find you our best price for the cover you need Le fondeur Suédois a remporté aujourd'hui la première course longue distance du circuit Ski Classics Succès de la Norvégienne Astrid Oyre Slind chez les dames.. The women’s race started first and from the beginning the pace was high with Marit Bjørgen the first Sprint of the season was won by Anikken Gjerde Alnes with Johansson Norgren soon taking the lead and winning the second Sprint The pace was still high after the Sprints and with 15km to go a group of 10 women was formed towards the first Climb of the season preparing their ways for the Climb check point Astrid started to show her strength and crossed the line first reducing the front group to just 3 more skiers with Johansson Norgren and Korsgren now 7 seconds back Korsgren took the reins of the chase and tried hard to bring Øyre Slind back but no chance for the duo Korsgren/Johansson Norgren At the last kilometer the gap increased to 28 seconds cementing a great race for Astrid Øyre Slind Øyre Slind won the race with the time 1:23:56.0 Britta Johansson Norgren beat Korsgren to take the second position The men’s race started after the women’s finish and there was no decisive action until they got to the first Sprint check point setting a controlled pace from the beginning and throughout the race Vokuev kept setting the pace and passed first getting the Sprint points ahead of Vokuev and Vylegzanin With 15km to go and before the first Climb keeping a high pace and reducing even more the already reduced main group Team Ragde Charge took the lead and set the pace early on but Vokuev took the reins again and sprinted to win the first Climb points followed by Kasper Stadaas and Magnus Vesterheim Team Ragde Charge took the lead again and increased the pace Novak together with Sundby and Kardin took the lead and set a fast pace preparing the small remaining group for the finish sprint the tireless Vokuev was back to the front and the action was high Russian Winter Team in second place and Kasper Stadaas is also carrying the green bib of the Sprint Competition The Pink Bib for the best Youth are now resting on the shoulders of Ida Dahl and Max Novak the Veteran bib was handed to Anders Aukland The next Visma Ski Classics event is Tre Cime Criterium Les classements complets ICI The Knox Orsa gloves are cool and comfortable for summer with all the protective features you’d expect from Knox They’re CE certified to EN13594:2012 for everything from Design and Construction to the pH value of the leather The certification also includes abrasion resistance; impact resistance with the Knox SPS system and tear and seam strength The Boa lacing system ensures a snug and comfortable fit and the goat hide leather is soft and pliable Specially perforated leather (to meet the CE standard) helps keep the Orsa gloves ventilated Summer is often a time when the safety versus comfort equation comes down on the side of comfort Since getting hot and sweaty in your gear reduces concentration and increases bad temper and impatience But so is riding without adequate protection light textile or perforated leather let air through to your hands but can feel a little flimsy in comparison with thicker winter wear feel totally secure — but are they cool enough Knox kindly sent me a pair of Orsa gloves to review and they arrived in their own branded cloth drawstring bag this is typical of the service you receive if you order direct from the Cumbria The first thing I noticed was how lovely they smelled but there’s a distinct whiff of high end shoe shop when you stick your nose in the glove which made me feel that top quality materials were involved The only splash of colour on these gloves is a few white dots on the scaphoid protectors (NB: the Orsa gloves currently pictured on Knox’s website are slightly more colourful.) as witty souls continue to scrawl on dusty vehicles consisting of a black rubber tab on the back of the wrist Although the knuckle protectors do stand out the Orsa aren’t styled like racing gloves; the ethos is definitely “street style with a little extra protection” These gloves won’t raise any eyebrows on a casual glance but take a closer look and they’re packed with nifty features The end result is a soft and supple glove that feels thick enough for protection while allowing good feel and airflow Neat rows of single stitching — double around the areas which have a second layer of leather — hold the glove together which makes these more comfortable than an unlined glove which turned out to be a great fit at fingers There’s more space than I need in the end of the little finger but it’s best to err on the side of too long for that one when the closure is tightened there is a slight bulge above it where the leather bunches up I was concerned that this would be uncomfortable and that it wouldn’t fit under my jacket sleeve There’s also a gap in the leather at the middle joint of each finger plus the “floating knuckle” protector on the back allow freedom of movement in the hand and fingers The knuckle protector and the areas of reinforced leather at the base of the palm and base of the fingers are backed with a layer of memory foam for increased comfort the tip of the index finger on both the left and right hands is made from touchscreen-sensitive material so you can operate a sat-nav or smartphone without taking your gloves off The overall feel is so good that I typed this sentence with the gloves on though I wouldn’t fancy writing the whole review this way Ventilation is provided by perforations in the leather as well as the sides and undersides of the fingers The knuckle protector means that a biggish area on the back isn’t perforated but there are three vents in the front of the protector itself The gaps in the leather at the finger joints along with a strip a centimetre or so wide between the back of the hand and the thumb I spent quite a lot of time playing with the gloves before I actually wore them on the bike tighten the Boa closure (of which more later) rather like Eeyore repeatedly putting his birthday balloon in his birthday honeypot so he could then take it out I found them surprisingly stiff given the flexibility I’d noted when I was simply wearing them around the house you can’t actually feel the air blasting over your hands On the only really hot day I’ve ridden through this year my hands stayed at a pleasant temperature in town not sweaty at all; I found the level of ventilation perfect for anything above walking pace these aren’t waterproof and I’d advise taking a second pair of gloves along in case you get caught in a shower I can report that the Orsas feel pretty comfortable even when soaking wet They don’t retain water in the way that a glove with a thicker lining would heavy mess when I got caught in a downpour I expected my hands to be purple all over when I finally removed the gloves but to my surprise the dye stayed firmly in the leather with the exception of a distinct line around each finger and one around the base of the thumb The Knox Ora gloves meet the European safety standard (CE) prEN 13594 – 2012 “Protective gloves for motorcycle riders having passed 15 tests covering everything from material content to seam strength The most noticeable safety feature is the protector across the back of the knuckles of gel with a honeycomb structure for strength This area is “floating”; it’s not attached to the glove at the back There are smaller plastic protectors on the back of each finger: two on the index and middle fingers just one at the base of the ring and little finger These are abrasion-resistant and designed to slide in a crash The base of the palm and the base of the fingers have a double layer of leather These prevent everyday wear and tear as well as adding slide protection while keeping hands comfortable on the grips There’s also an extra panel running between the thumb and index finger just where the gloves are likely to rub when holding the bars The Orsa gloves may not have the futuristic Bladerunner aesthetic of Knox’s hallmark Handroid gloves (review) and the short cuff Handroid Pod but they do offer many of the same features These are important enough to merit their own sections The Boa closure system (first described in the Knox Handroid gloves review which is used in sports and medical applications aircraft grade steel laces which are tightened using a reel The laces travel along guides to give an even tightness all round the system consists of a complicated-looking rubber cuff threaded with wires An extra protector is incorporated in the rubber part and sits over what Wikipedia informs me is the styloid process of the ulna (a.k.a the bony bit that sticks out on the outside of your wrist) simply press the knob on the inside of the wrist and turn the dial The laces tighten with a series of tiny clicks and are locked in position when you stop turning You can achieve the precise degree of tightness you want making Boa’s claim of a “dial in fit” entirely justified A quick release means that the closure slackens with a pull on the knob instantly becoming loose enough for you to pull the glove off without further adjustment It takes about three seconds to tighten the closure; not significantly longer than dealing with two hook-and-loop straps The chunky knob with its knurled edge is easy to operate even when one glove is on It doesn’t chafe or move around on the wrist The glove will slide forward along the wrist a little way with a hard pull but there was no way to force it over the hand and off I was concerned the knob wouldn’t fit under the cuff of my bike jacket it’s the work of a moment to release the fastening and remove the glove The system even comes with a lifetime guarantee The Boa Lacing System was not developed by Knox; it’s a system licensed from Boa Technology Boa headquarters are located in Steamboat Springs which is a high-tech substitute for Velcro and shoelaces The scaphoid can be fractured when a fall is broken by the palm of the hand either by compression — force applied to the palm — or by hyperextension when the hand stops moving but the rest of the body keeps going Given that the instinctive reaction during an off is to protect ourselves by putting our hands down it’s easy to see how these injuries happen especially when leather palms grip the tarmac Since a scaphoid fracture can mean weeks or months off the bike and often discomfort while riding for some time after that Knox’s scaphoid protection system (SPS) consists of two pads at the base of the thumb and the heel of the hand The low friction design allows the hand to slide when it makes contact with the road The system was first used in motorcycle racing but has now been incorporated into gloves designed for leisure riding I find I am slightly aware of the raised pads while I’m riding While the Knox Orsa gloves may not be the ultimate in ventilation (mesh construction is always going to win out over perforated leather) they have kept my hands comfortable in the highest temperatures the UK has managed to throw at me this year And I’m confident they will do the same if I take them to hotter climes these are comfortable all summer long (except when it rains) So rather than only coming out on the really scorching days and I’m confident that the protection offered is more than adequate but for all the comfort and features these ones offer I’m impressed that they come in at £79.95 ($119.95 in the US) Note that there’s also a motocross version From “K” (April 2017): “I’ve been a keen fan of wBW for a while I recently purchased the Knox Orsa based on your reviews and sadly I get some slight numbness while using the gloves the palm area below the pinky seems to get numb What i love about the Orsa is the seamless stitching near the fingertips that was one of the reasons I decided to get the Orsa but I really regret that the numbness and occasional pain don’t seem to go away after about 30 minutes of riding and the comfort level is really high and I don’t get the above problems except my fingertips hurt due to the seams on the index finger My concerns are basically the palm area (I’m riding a BMW R1200GS LC) which seems to need a bit of padding and clean seamless fingertips I also purchased the Grip Buddies but that also caused numbness so I took it off I read with interest now the IXS Vidar gloves (review) or the REV’IT! Cayenne Pro gloves (review) and may wish to spring for either of these two Can you suggest why my palm have these numbness with the Orsa Editor’s Reply: I occasionally hear about an issue with numbness and gloves it’s usually something to do with the geometry of the handlebar the grip and the way the glove presses on the nerves It’s difficult to purchase gloves because even if you try them on in a shop sometimes you don’t know what will happen once you get out on the bike I have a really nice pair of expensive gloves of an old brand and I have the same problem I can’t wear them because something about the way their cut just doesn’t work with my hand position on any bike I’ve tried so far sometimes the problem will become resolved when the gloves are broken in So there’s probably only 3 things you can do: Try to determine where the gloves are pressing on a nerve that is causing the problem then perhaps try to determine if the gloves are broken in differently Perhaps you can return these for a different size or type or brand maybe contact Knox and see if they can help From “E.Z.” (July 2016): “I’d been looking for some summer short gloves for a while and the Mk.II Orsa gloves were released just before I went to pick up my order of the Mk.I Orsa Touchscreen compatibility was something I had been looking for but could not find in a pair of summer gloves with scaphoid protection The Orsa gloves are nicely comfortable (my first gloves with the Boa laces) and well ventilated The only improvements I’d like to see would be additional touchpads on the thumbs to go with the index fingers as many devices now have touch input actions that require multiple fingers to use (e.g And some armour added to the outside of the pinky and/or side of the hand Hopefully Knox update their line of waterproof gloves to add touchscreen fingertips before it starts getting cold this year!” From “G.W.” (July 2016): “I have started to realize the importance of palm sliders and palm impact protection on motorcycle gloves This is an area that I feel frequently gets overlooked by glove manufacturers My enlightenment came after a motorcycle crash in which I broke my wrist when I landed on my palm at ~40mph unless your glove has sliders in this area grips the pavement increasing the force of the jolt More impact protection in this area would probably be a good thing too It is nice to see glove manufacturers like Knox at least start to take palm protection seriously.” We’ve joined selected affiliate programs which will allow us to place advertisements for select motorcycle and motorcycle-related product retailers on the site See our review policies for more information wBW provides subjective opinions and information on hard-to-find and unique motorcycling products Learn more about us Gorgeous if unusual standmount lacks bass weight but is musically adept in its laid-back way information about JAS Audio and its products is limited on both the company's own website and via UK importer Shadow Audio A company statement tells us it's a: "Hong Kong based Hi-End Hi Fi equipment design house The R&D team is a combined force of engineers from US The website shows an extensive range of classy loudspeakers but no information on the company history or its production facilities - most likely the latter is handled by outside suppliers based in China itself which would explain the competitive pricing This £1,395 per pair Orsa is actually the least costly model in the JAS Audio speaker portfolio and it's an unusual design in a number of respects constructed from two separate enclosures that are spaced slightly apart so that the port exit operates in the gap between Both enclosures are beautifully finished in a deep red Makore veneer with multiple coats of high gloss lacquer The front baffles are set at different angles the lower one tilts backwards at 20 degrees from the vertical while the top of the upper enclosure is tilted forward at some seven degrees housing a 150mm bass/mid driver with a 115mm plastic cone/ dome diaphragm in the larger and whether the upper enclosure takes an active role in loading the bass/mid driver is impossible to ascertain from external inspection Company literature makes much of the fact that the port output radiates through 360 degrees claiming that this is the subject of a patent application This is puzzling; any port will invariably radiate omni-directionally since the source will always be smaller than the bass wavelength it's reproducing And floorstanders with downward-firing ports are by no means unknown - witness the Focal The tilts applied to the baffles help spread the internal standing waves and internal damping is supplied by pure wool The rear panel carries a single pair of high quality locking terminals and a switch labelled Reference/Dynamic: the former was used throughout our tests the sound it creates nevertheless has considerable charm especially in the decidedly modest bass extension and exposed treble But there's also decent coherence that is very persuasive and engrossing making it easy to focus one's attention on the music rather than become distracted by sonic limitations the mid-to-upper bass has an evenness and neutrality that's more than fair compensation with decent focus and a reassuring lightness of touch In part because the presence zone is rather too restrained Add in the wide dynamic range and spaciousness that's typical of the fine enclosure control and low box coloration offered by a very substantial standmount and the result is a speaker that is musically rather more than the sum of its fantastic-looking parts even if you include the limited bass weight Tech.co.uk was the former name of TechRadar.com Its staff were at the forefront of the digital publishing revolution and spearheaded the move to bring consumer technology journalism to its natural home – online Many of the current TechRadar staff started life a Tech.co.uk staff writer covering everything from the emerging smartphone market to the evolving market of personal computers Think of it as the building blocks of the TechRadar you love today.  I want to start off by saying that I haven’t been a fan of short cuff gloves for the past several years Concerns over the lack of wrist protection combined with some “less than strong” wrist securing methods had me looking towards full gauntleted options So how did I end up looking at (and then buying) these short cuff gloves Last year when I started looking for a new summer glove I took a look at Knox as I appreciate their focus on safety and protection Among the various glove options offered by Knox were the ORSA MKII Leather gloves These are short cuff gloves with some perforations to combat the summer heat and protective features to combat everything else They appeared so focused on protective features I had to give them a go As one would expect from the name, this is the second iteration of Knox’s Orsa Leather glove. The MKII version is certainly more of an evolutionary than revolutionary update and that’s a good thing. The original ORSA Leather glove was well received and you can read a detailed review over at webBikeWorld where Alice Dryden tried them out in 2016 I somehow missed Alice’s review when looking for new summer gloves Maybe I wasn’t ready to look at short cuff gloves again at that time?) The MKII came out in 2017 and brought with it some subtle The overall styling has been updated and I think the white version Other changes include additional elasticated area and the fit has been “changed” as well I can’t speak to the fit of the previous version but Knox says they changed it The Orsa Leather MKII gloves look all business, and that business is protecting one’s grubby little mitts. This isn’t surprising considering these gloves are part of Knox’s family of “Hand Armor” products which include their Handroid line of gloves The Orsa Leather MKII gloves have hard knuckle protection, Knox’s Scaphoid Protection System, and the BOA closure system which make the gloves look very technical The white colorway that I chose not only makes them more visible but I think helps reduce heat absorption during hot sunny days I also thought they looked pretty slick in white The Orsa Leather MKII gloves are available in sizes ranging from small to XXL and come in either black or the black and white version shown here. There is also a textile based version designed for dual sport and adventure riders It is very similar in design save the difference in material and they do run about $30.00 less The gloves are leather from cuff to fingertips A combination of cowhide and goatskin is used with goatskin making up the palm area The fingers are constructed using internal seams and the fingertips use a wraparound style keeping that area smooth for better feel The interior is lined with a thin and smooth layer of polyester (or nylon?) and there are small patches of elastic between the knuckles on the top both left and right gloves have a touch-sensitive patch on the index fingertip allowing interaction with touch screens These tips work very well and is a welcome feature for taking a quick roadside phone photo without the need to remove one’s gloves Being designed for summer there are perforations on the underside of the fingers as well as the sides of the finger boxes There are a few small perforations on the top side of the middle and ring fingers but their small number (four on each) don’t appear to add a lot to airflow has a lot of perforations and works well when turned towards the oncoming air there is a large patch of the elasticated leather present just behind the large floating knuckle protector This is larger on the MKII gloves versus the originals and this area is also perforated for increased airflow Moving back to the cuff is the ratcheting knob and cables for the BOA closure system The knob is a little bulky if one intends to put their jacket sleeves over the knob but Knox intends one to put their sleeve under the glove The opening does get large enough to do this on most jackets but it may not stay there when one extends their arms Under the wrist is a large piece of TPU which contains the anchor point of the closure system It serves double duty by protecting the BOA cables as well as providing protection to the lower wrist area Moving up towards the palm there are two hard protectors backed by foam at the heel of the hand The thick protectors are the Scaphoid Protection System (SPS) described in the next section If the ORSA Leather MKII gloves appear pretty aggressive you are correct especially since it makes plainly visible all the armor that is protecting your paws Now let’s have a closer look at that protection Here’s where the rubber (or plastic) meets the road. The most obvious feature is the large, floating knuckle protector on the back of the hand. This protector is a type of TPU (plastic) and it has some flexibility to it making it more comfortable than carbon fiber protectors I’ve never been a big fan of carbon fiber usage in these types of protectors because despite its light weight and high strength the stiffness can cause the carbon fiber to splinter on impact I’d rather have something that can absorb impact and flex a bit like this TPU there is a honeycomb matrix gel under the hard portion of the protector and that gel sits on top of memory foam The floating nature of the design makes the knuckle protector unobtrusive to the wearer despite its relatively large size there are small TPU protectors set in an extra layer of leather The palm gets an extra layer of leather with a thin layer of memory foam underneath So far the protection doesn’t seem all that special but as they used to say on late night TV “Wait While the overall protection may not ideal for a track day there is one thing that the Orsa gloves have that I believe should be on all motorcycle gloves SPS consists of a pair of plastic sliders at the base of the gloves These simple sliders can prevent some serious injury to the wrist fall forward we tend to try to break our fall by putting out our hands this can be very dangerous behavior as the impact and subsequent drag on the pavement can wreak havoc in this area SPS prevents the heel of the hand from getting a grip and instead slides on the surface to reduce the level of impact This can help mitigate damage to the scaphoid which is very vulnerable in this situation One area that I felt was missed and that is the outside edge of the hand and little finger It seems like a missed opportunity to not have placed a protector in this area or at least another layer of leather to this somewhat vulnerable area One last feature that I really like is the BOA Fit closure system. It may not seem like a protective feature but since it creates a very strong closure for the cuff I say it qualifies. BOA Fit is often seen on boots and other outdoor gear. My own first exposure to it was on the RS Taichi RS006 riding shoes I reviewed for webBikeWorld in 2014 and I thought it was the coolest closure system I’d seen This system uses a ratcheting knob and a thin coated steel cable to make a secure and highly adjustable fit The implementation of the BOA closure was one of the reasons I considered wearing a short cuff glove again the closure stays firmly in place and will not allow the glove to be pulled off of my hand in a slide I think the rest of the glove will eventually wear away before the closure lets go on the underside of the wrist there is a large section of TPU which is part of the BOA closure system It functions as an anchor point of the closure system and protects the cables (and one’s wrist) from abrasion Right in the center area of TU piece where the cables cross is a rounded “button” that is designed to slide on the pavement like the SPS protectors That’s a lot of protection for a short cuff glove so it’s no surprise that they are CE certified to EN 13594 – 2012 All this protection in a glove often comes at the expense of comfort How do the ORSA Leather MKII gloves end up feeling Fit for these gloves falls between what I would call a European and American fit I usually wear a size medium in gloves from Joe Rocket and Cortech while I wear a large in brands like Klim and Alpinestars My hands measure a size “9” around the palm but my fingers are longer and thinner than what is typically associated with a size “9” glove I landed on Mediums for the Orsa Leather MKII gloves All wasn’t perfect when I received them as they were very snug almost to the point where I considered sending them back I hoped since they were leather that they would break in and stretch to fit better I was skeptical since they were relatively stiff out of the package but I felt that the size large might be too loose Patience paid off and after three weeks of riding a bit restrictive but I accept this aspect for the nice close fit A year later and these feel like they were cut for my hands This is one of the reasons I prefer leather for my gloves they are still not easy to pull on over my hands They certainly do not slip on and even a year after buying them they still require a solid pull while wiggling my fingers about to get them on The plus side is that they certainly aren’t going anywhere in a crash Comfort overall is good and frankly better than expected considering all the protective bits on these gloves Part of this is due to the thin lining that runs throughout the gloves I had been under the impression that the fingers didn’t have a lining in them as they offered excellent feel Once I was able to get one of the fingers turned inside out (not an easy feat) I verified they are lined This also explains why the internal seams are not very noticeable as these types of seams can be an issue in some gloves Another reason for the higher than expected comfort level is the padding used underneath the knuckle protector and the SPS protectors There’s no mistaking these protective pieces are on your hand but the placement and the padding keep them from causing any discomfort The floating nature of the knuckle protector and the increased elastic area on top of the hand also contribute to a better feel than the previous generation based on Alice’s review of the first generation Orsa gloves they are about average for a hot-weather leather glove The perforations do a reasonable job of flowing air but the overall number and placement of those perforations mean they can only do so much having more perforations and/or mesh material would reduce the overall protectiveness of the gloves The Orsa Leather MKII’s are a standout for a summer/hot-weather glove. Considering their short-cuff design, they offer a lot of protection, to the point of passing the 15 tests needed for CE certification Not a bad place to keep one’s hands when riding though I would like to see some extra protection for the little finger area on the gloves Fit is always going to be subjective so if you like a snug fit like me I would go with what your normal size glove is in most cases If you prefer more wiggle room go up to the next size from their top standing in my book and the Kilm’s were $20.00 more I sold my first white pair to get a pair with the touchscreen finger tip but then sold those because they were black and in the summer they run hotter than white I think they are a great value compared to other gloves in their class and if the BOA system doesn’t get in the way of your jacket it’s awesome very nice to see you covering how important palm sliders are While it may seem obvious to those that know of these things I bet there are still many people that learned something here There are couple of stitches poking my fingers And overall comfort ain’t that great but comfort wise I’m thinking to replace it Mantas: I didn’t find them very comfortable at first but after the break in I ended up really liking them They are rather busy and I expect the Pod’s are even busier in their build so I’m not surprised that there is more “stuff” going on that can reduce comfort with those I’m glad you pointed this out as I was considering getting a pair of the Pod’s I do want to point out that this review is a republish of my review I did for my own site last summer. (review: https://www.motorcyclewords.com/2018/07/02/knox-orsa-leather-mkii-gloves ) As such I’m going into my third summer with these gloves and they have held up very well both internally and externally I have been very impressed with these and I also have a pair of the Knox Nexos gloves which I need to review but I’m willing to say here that they meet the same standard for quality and comfort I found in the Orsa II’s they might even be a little more comfortable but they do tend to run slightly larger than Orsa II’s I’ve had these gloves for a couple of seasons and because Knox doesn’t have a distributor here I had a Scottish friend pick up a pair and send them to me but my friend suggested a large would be better; I should have trusted him The medium gloves were fine for finger length I had them soaking in water in a ziplock bag riding from Calgary to Edmonton then wore them in the warm afternoon for the trip back I would still pick up a size large if I found them locally and I’ve found the system to be reliable and convenient and will fit snugly inside my cruiser-style leather jacket cuffs Schnee believes in top-of-the-line service in any situation Distill a Michelin-starred restaurant to its principles Make awe-inspiring food that nonetheless satisfies Present it with service that anticipates all needs including ones you didn't even know existed or the dated notion that fine dining is a privilege roped off to the hoi polloi located walking distance from LA's notorious Skid Row The person in charge of translating that experience from the kitchen to your table is Maxfield Schnee Nothing is more LA than being able to show up in shorts and a t-shirt and experiencing Michelin-level food The 28-year-old Los Angeles native is the general manager of chef Josef Centeno's flagship prix fixe bastion off 4th and Main and the wine director of the Josef Centeno Restaurant Group and the arrival of the first beverage pairing you'll get the feeling that something exciting is about to happen In a metropolitan sprawl stereotyped as being obsessed with the superficial there seems to be no market for the pomp and pretense entailed by fine dining It's partially because LA possesses a natural aversion to stiffness the same one that serves as the muse for the only Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic in America Schnee embodies both ideas with one fundamental principle: Fine dining doesn't have to be stuffy Schnee's process of refining his principles of hospitality began at an early age Grammy-winning recording engineer Bill Schnee was close friends with NBA Hall of Fame center they'd go with the Schnees and tuck in to a late dinner at Wolfgang Puck's flagship restaurant It was then that the younger Schnee was exposed to fine dining Fine dining doesn't have to be stuffy — but it absolutely must deliver "Spago chef Lee Hefter would set up this elite dining room and make dinner for us and I can feel this air of immeasurable hospitality," Schnee says I was exposed to that lifestyle and very much attracted to it He grew up idolizing servers and working as one at the Black Cow Cafe a Montrose local favorite ("They're still crushing the meatloaf game," Schnee says) But when it was time to take his skills to the next level Schnee sought out the tutelage of Osteria Mozza general manager Schnee spent more than two years learning about service at the Nancy Silverton-led institution before taking the next step to Orsa & Winston in Downtown LA Orsa & Winston presents the front-of-house tightrope act of staving off precious and uptight notions of fine dining while still delivering an experience befitting the passion project of Josef Centeno — the former chef de cuisine at Los Gatos' Manresa —  who's practically annexed the intersection of 4th and Main with three other spectacularly successful restaurant and bar concepts The menu at Orsa & Winston poses an additional challenge an intensive foray into the intersection of Japanese and Italian flavors typified by terse ingredient lists like "wild mushroom confit "It tastes like Los Angeles," raved Jonathan Gold in a 2014 review for the LA Times the erudite translator of back-of-house vision The location allows him to welcome suits and cocktail dresses the same way he'll welcome someone in sandals and chambray Centeno's menu combines elements from seemingly disparate cuisines unified by flavor combinations that provide familiar sensations from unfamiliar pairings This gives Schnee ome latitude when it comes to innovative beverage pairings Schnee complements the aforementioned mushroom burrata and Buddha's hand jam bruschetta with a fruity Schnee transmits palpable excitement as he talks about the producer of the sake and offers a concise primer on the production process Because for all the emotional connections Schnee just established with the beverage he withheld mention of the most important thing: The pairing works brilliantly The sake accentuates the contrastive citrus notes in the jam a refined counterbalance that transforms what's otherwise high-concept comfort food into a Michelin-grade experience Dining at Orsa & Winston is this cycle of intrigue repeated with every plate until it's time to start thinking about the next time you can come back It's a fitting tribute that at this restaurant a chef as tremendously gifted as Josef Centeno is only half the story So as the petals of Los Angeles's dining scene start to unfurl towards the international spotlight one chef and his staff stand front of house at one of the city's most exciting restaurants — and it's exactly where Maxfield Schnee wants to be Euno Lee is an Eater LA contributor.Maxfield Schnee is the general manager and wine director at Orsa & Winston in Los Angeles. Editors: Dana Hatic and Sonia Chopra Copy editor: Dawn Mobley See all Young Guns coverage here. Print Can you feel the food world listing of Culinary Professionals cookbook nominations Wednesday the website Daily Meal’s list of 101 best restaurants in the U.S and – coincidentally – the James Beard Foundation’s first round of nominations for its restaurant awards Not to be left out, on Thursday up pops GQ magazine restaurant critic Alan Richman’s list of the 25 best new restaurants in the U.S. In fact, No. 2 on the list (behind only Paul Qui’s eponymous restaurant in Austin), is Trois Mec the joint effort of pop-up king Ludo Lefebvre and the Animal guys “Trois Mec is the toughest ticket in a town where a lot of places are that way,” Richman writes which Lefebvre knows how to do better than anybody else “Nothing you will eat tastes conventional: The “snacks,” which would be called amuse-bouches in a fancier place The buckwheat popcorn with rice-vinegar powder quickly got my attention convincing me that the struggle to get in was worth the effort Later dishes are more delicate — tweezers and squeeze bottles are in sight — but there’s also that grill where you’ll watch cabbage go up in flames for a dish that includes bone-marrow flan His version of raw beef layered with caramelized eggplant and smoky yogurt is really just an extreme play on beef tartare The end of the meal heralds the arrival of remarkable petits fours the magic one a mini éclair with hazelnut buttercream and candied chestnut.” Also in the Top 10, at No. 8, is downtown’s Orsa & Winston who also operates the sensational Bäco Mercat offers whatever you might wish — a five-course menu an omakase menu (that word has jumped the language barrier) and what is today the rarest of all dining options genuine bigness in his family-style meal,” writes Richman resulting in masterfully complicated comfort food Imagine squid-ink spaghettini with Dungeness crab Another member of downtown’s new wave of great restaurants, Alma, is No. 14. You might remember it was also hailed as the best new restaurant in the country by Bon Appetit in August a young chef with all the courage in the world and considerable talent to back it up the kind that will both puzzle and thrill you,” Richman continues “He’s particularly adept with salads and vegetables my favorite consisting of compressed beets and apples crushed hazelnuts and malted crème fraiche.” And at No. 20 comes Chi Spacca the meat-centric sibling in the sprawling Mozza-plex served in primitive portions by chef Chad Colby who apparently likes people to eat suicidally,” Richman writes “Even when you think a dish might be light which is made with soft stracchino and turns out to be less like bread and more like a whole cheese pizza all 42 ounces including the best rib bones ever conceived could have fed our entire table and might have The beef and bone marrow pie has an unexpectedly flaky crust and a marrow bone the size of a smokestack sticking out.” Mozza GM David Rosoff leaving after 8 years Young Italians drinking less wine, more beer American olive oil producers ask for more rules Russ Parsons is a former Food writer and columnist and the former editor of the Food section at the Los Angeles Times. The best of Time Out straight to your inbox Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush) Worldwide Visconti's retelling of the Electra story starts with Sandra/Electra (Cardinale) returning to her ancestral home in Italy - and reviving an intimate involvement with her brother (Sorel) which troubles her naive American husband (Craig) - on the eve of an official ceremony commemorating the death of her Jewish father in a Nazi concentration camp he is ambivalently drawn to the decadent society he is ostensibly criticising; and Armando Nannuzzi's camera lovingly caresses the creaking old mansion where the incestuous siblings determine to wreak revenge on the mother (Bell) and stepfather (Ricci) who supposedly denounced their father Something like a Verdi opera without the music has been better rendered as 'Twinkling Stars of the Bear' tiktokfacebooktwitteryoutubeAbout us 1 October 2012LifeORSA: A game-changer for the industry With the 2015 date for the first ORSA submissions in the US fast approaching the question of how best to prepare is a necessary an American insurer will file the first Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) summary report with its domestic regulator the vast majority of insurers operating in the member jurisdictions of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) will have followed suit The ORSA is central in the emerging global risk and solvency regulatory frameworks in response to the revised Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) adopted in October 2011 by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) which governs enterprise risk management (ERM) mandates that solvency regimes should require insurers to regularly perform an ORSA to assess the adequacy of their risk management and current—and likely future— solvency positions with the NAIC including the ORSA as part of its Solvency Modernisation Initiative (SMI) which sets out the principles to be adopted by US regulators expected to be mandated as a result of state adoption of the NAIC’s Risk Management and ORSA Model Act in the words of Pennsylvania state regulator Steve Johnson “a game-changer for the insurance industry” this first filing will be the culmination of efforts by insurance regulators worldwide to enhance regulatory frameworks’ capabilities to withstand economic shocks such as the one that battered the financial services sector and the wider economy in 2008 It will mark the complete integration of a robust risk management function as a basic regulatory expectation getting to that first ORSA may require a significant investment of time this has meant that commercial insurers are now required to file a Commercial insurers solvency self-assessment (CISSA) as part of their annual filings." Various regulatory and supervisory bodies have begun the implementation process around the globe A risk-based supervisory framework allows the regulator to analyse the risk associated with an insurer and ensure policyholder protection.The Bermuda Monetary Authority has stated that understanding the risk associated with an insurer allows the regulator to deploy its supervisory resources appropriately this has meant that commercial insurers are now required to file a Commercial Insurers Solvency Self-Assessment (CISSA) as part of their annual filings the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) began its public consultation process on its Level 3 draft guidance on ORSA in November 2011 The ORSA is an integrated framework using several tools to give a forward-looking vision of the risk and solvency position of an insurer It encompasses both quantifiable and non-quantifiable risks in the near to medium term companies bear significant responsibility for determining their capital standing and adequacy It facilitates an insurer’s full integration of ERM into decision-making the ORSA is expected to be a key part of both the ERM framework and of the supervisory review process While insurers have built ERM and capital management programmes many may be required to consider changes to underlying operations and governance as well as infrastructure changes Some of the key areas of focus are expected to be Almost all US insurers will be subject to the NAIC ORSA requirements an insurer may be exempt from the ORSA requirements if: • The individual insurer’s annual direct written and unaffiliated assumed premium including international direct and assumed premium but excluding premiums reinsured with the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and Federal Flood Program (FFP) all insurance legal entities within the group) annual direct written and unaffiliated assumed premium including international direct and assumed premium but excluding premiums reinsured with the FCIC and FFP even insurers meeting the requirements for exemption may have to comply if their domestic regulator so requires There is also some flexibility the other way Insurers that may not qualifyfor exemption on statutory grounds may request a waiver from the commissioner based on “unique circumstances” According to the draft NAIC ORSA Model Act the proposed effective date of the ORSA under the SMI will be January 1 Insurers normally will need to file an ORSA summary report no more than once each year Regulators expect this to be done soon after a company’s internal strategic planning process is complete Insurers must apprise the commissioner of the expected time of filing Insurers will also have to submit an ORSA filing whenever there are significant changes to the risk profile of the insurer or the insurance group of which the insurer is a member An insurer that is subject to the ORSA requirement will be expected to have a risk management framework regularly assess the adequacy of that risk management framework and the insurer’s current solvency position internally document the process and results and provide an annual high-level summary report to the lead state regulator The NAIC ORSA will represent a major step in the US’s solvency regulation modernisation and may well be considered one of the most significant events in insurance regulation (and ERM in particular) in recent decades An integral part of proposed new solvency regimes globally the ORSA symbolises a commitment by both regulators and regulated to a customised forward-looking system of solvency regulation involving a more holistic real-time assessment of risk and its short- and medium- term impact on insurers regulators may work with management to tweak or seek further information on models and inputs this input from—and interplay with—regulators may allow for more insight into regulatory requirements and lower the possibility of inadvertently failing to satisfy written or unwritten regulatory expectations The information feedback loop provides management the board and other stakeholders with access to information on the risk and capital profile of the enterprise allowing them to evaluate current strategies and their execution it should also serve as an early warning system providing enough time to respond to emerging risks and other potential concerns "Although NAIC's proposed deadline of 2015 may seem far away implementing and fine-tuning their ORSA framework With the 2015 date for the first NAIC ORSA submissions fast approaching the question of how best to prepare may be a difficult but necessary one to answer—and as soon as possible governance and planning may mean adjustments to a company’s operating model must be implemented the ORSAs may help the regulated at least as much as the regulators in moving towards a more integrated relevant and speedier ERM framework that enables undertakings to better identify manage and report the risks inherent in their businesses The structure of the NAIC ORSA reporting for non-exempt insurers could be in any given combination as long as all insurers within the group are covered an insurer’s chief risk officer or equivalent will be required to attest to the accuracy of the ORSA summary report and that a copy has been provided to the company’s board of directors or its designated committee Insurers filing late or incomplete reports may face civil penalties the ORSA represents a sea change in insurance regulation in the US and globally It is expected to have a major impact and may pose significant challenges to insurers even those that already have ERM and capital processes in place Although the NAIC’s proposed deadline of 2015 may seem far away implementing and fine- tuning their ORSA framework There is already regulatory incentive to begin such preparation: the NAIC started training state financial examiners on ORSA in 2012 some states have already been urging insurers to address their ERM framework issued a circular letter to insurers licensed in that state listing its expectations for an ERM function within insurers Insurers whose statutory examination is before 2015 may be asked to answer questions on ERM and whether they will be ORSA-compliant by the proposed deadline Implementing ORSA provides an opportunity for better risk and capital management integrating several existing risk-management processes into one consistent framework and embedding in the whole organisation a risk culture and risk decision-making process in which strategy and risk appetite are aligned Nicole Valadao is ERS director at Deloitte She can be contacted at: nicole.valadao@deloitte.bm Liz Cunningham is an acturial senior manager at Deloitte She can be contacted at: liz.cunningham@deloitte.bm