RIMS on the march as ISO-backed CRMP certification drives global expansion

The US-based international risk management association RIMS is continuing its international expansion drive on the back of its successful RIMS-CRMP certification, which it hopes will become firmly entrenched as the global risk and insurance management standard.

The US-based society is the biggest risk management group in the world by a large margin, and RIMS has expanded in recent times to offer its educational and networking services to the worldwide risk and insurance management community, particularly in emerging parts of the world where risk managers and associations are thin on the ground but demand is rising fast, particularly for professional education.

The society now has a membership of roughly 10,000 risk practitioners representing 3,500 organisations, who are located in more than 60 countries. It has 80 official chapters. Sixty-six of those chapters are located in the US, ten in Canada but also now one each in Japan, Mexico, Australasia and, most recently, New Zealand/Pacific Islands – the creation of which was announced in January of this year. This is no longer just a North American risk management community, this is now global.

RIMS has identified India, China and the wider ASEAN region as a potentially healthy growth area and has been increasingly active in the region, hosting recent events with local partners and government officials in India, China and Singapore.

The Indian initiative appears to be particularly promising for RIMS. The society has just announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Insurance Academy based in Pune, the risk and insurance educational body established in 1980 jointly by the Ministry of Finance – Government of India and leading state and private sector insurers, to develop enhanced risk management educational opportunities aligned with the RIMS-CRMP certification.

RIMS board director Jennifer Santiago, who is one of 300 individuals so far who hold the RIMS-CRMP certification, said: “The RIMS-CRMP is gaining recognition throughout the world’s risk management community as a highly regarded mark of achievement that demonstrates the individual’s expertise, industry knowledge and commitment to professional growth. “We are proud to be here in Pune, to meet with the National Insurance Academy’s leadership and to initiate this important relationship, which aims to achieve our shared goal of advancing the practise of risk management in the country.”

One of the appeals of the RIMS-CRMP certification above others is that it is the only risk management certification in the world to hold accredited status. It received official accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under ISO/IEC 17024:2012 in late-2017.

RIMS CEO Mary Roth told Commercial Risk Europe in an interview just before the opening of the annual conference in Boston, that the ANSI accreditation shows that the institute recognises the competence of RIMS to carry out certification activities in accordance with requirements defined in international standards, and confirms approval by government and peer review assessments.

Ms Roth explained that RIMS’ activity in Asia really began to pick up steam in 2017 and has continued into 2018 and 2019. She even does not rule out the potential creation of an Indian chapter of RIMS if demand is there. This would be a huge step for the society, in what is a huge and rapidly growing economy in need of risk management expertise and education.

“A number of years ago, we looked at where there was a need for the development of professional risk management and education and identified India, China and the wider ASEAN region as an opportunity. Three years ago, our first delegation went to India and met other associations, government entities and other corporate partners to assess the lay of the land,” Ms Roth explained.

“We also formed a formal advisory group to focus on Singapore and China, to identify the needs in these increasingly important markets. In November 2017, we held the inaugural China Forum in Beijing in partnership with the Insurance Society of China. This was attended by 200 people including Chinese government officials, state-owned enterprises, large private entities, academics and local risk management and insurance professionals,” she continued.

On 5 April this year, RIMS organised its first-ever masterclass in Singapore, focused on cyber resiliency, business continuity and enterprise risk management. The potentially really big move in India was set up last November when RIMS held its first forum – the RIMS Risk Forum India – in Mumbai.

This two-day forum featured a wide range of educational opportunities presented by risk management leaders from around the world. “This really enabled us to assess the risk management educational and information needs. We also formed a regional advisory group for India to assess what is needed in this huge economy,” explained Ms Roth.

“There are large organisations in India with sophisticated risk management approaches, but also many companies that do not adopt formal risk management structures and approaches. There is also an increasing number of North American RIMS members whose companies are expanding to India and the wider ASEAN region and they are clearly interested in seeing the development of professional risk management in the region too. There is no single approach. What works in North America is not necessarily the correct approach in other parts of the world, such as China and India. We could have a chapter in India if our advisory panel says that it is needed,” she added.

While India is by no means a simple country in which to operate, China is even more complicated. It was made more difficult for representative groups such as RIMS to operate in the country when it introduced the Foreign Non-Governmental Organisation Law in 2017.

But RIMS is far from giving up on this massive market, which is clearly in need of sophisticated risk management educational support, particularly as Chinese companies continue to expand into worldwide markets.

“We are hoping to work with other organisations. We are active in Hong Kong, developing a framework for RIMS-CRMP, which continues to gain international traction and recognition. Last year, Roop Kumar Nagumantry and David Cui became our first RIMS-CRMP holders in India and China, respectively. We are hoping to hold our first forum in Beijing or Shanghai later this year.”

India and China remain very much a work in progress with much potential but, for now, they offer an uncertain outcome. RIMS’ expansion into Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands is well underway.

Ms Roth explained that the creation of the New Zealand and Pacific Islands chapter of RIMS was a result of the success experienced as part of the RIMS Australasia Chapter, itself launched in 2013.

She said that “exceptional” participation from risk professionals in New Zealand, strong leadership and the region’s diverse geographic landscape were among the factors considered by RIMS’ board of directors, when deciding whether to go for a separate chapter.

“Risk professionals in New Zealand have already demonstrated tremendously sophisticated programmes that continue to pave the way for their organisations’ success,” said Ms Roth. “Guided by a dynamic group of former RIMS Australasia Chapter leaders, our newest chapter is poised to deliver exceptional resources, educational opportunities and will undoubtedly foster the exchange of ideas and best practices.”