I agree that the insurance companies are often used to give cover to corporate decisions. It's always nice to have a scapegoat. But insurance is only one aspect of risk management, and good businessmen will implement policies to try to prevent claims even though they have coverage.

So when someone says, our insurance doesn't allow....., they might mean that the corporate risk management team chose not to.

The effect is the same. My homeowner's policy protects me in the event someone slips on the ice in my driveway. Even though I'm covered for slip accidents, I may (and do) choose to shovel the snow, or spread gravel or do whatever I can to prevent the slip in the first place.

Also, regardless of the general policies, insurance carriers will often send their own risk managers to advise (or require) that certain practices are put into place. You may still have coverage, but the carrier is telling you what he wants to see done. In my warehouse, my property carrier sent an inspector who gave me a laundry list of suggestions and requirements, from installing traction strips in stair treads (suggestion) to replacing all the circuit breakers and panels made by a certain company (a requirement to maintain then policy with 90 days to comply), to all sorts of other housekeeping, safety and fire prevention recommendations, some suggestions, some requirements. They'd be back every 3 years for a fresh review.

So you never know who, but the traffic flow rules for parking areas may be set by the city building inspector, corporate risk manager, or insurance company risk manager.

As an example of how this can get. My warehouse had a large fuel oil tank above ground in the basement. The fire code specifies it be 1/2 buried in sand. The county has since passed a code which says the tanks have to be fully exposed so they can be checked for leaks more easily. I used to have the issue revisited every 3 years, and wasn't going to dig it out, then bury it back and forth, so I printed both codes, above and below on a sheet of paper, and had it to the inspectors saying that when they get the story straight, I'll do it. (tank remains 1/2 buried in sand (so far).