RIMS 2011 – the risk manager’s Woodstock
Thu 28 Apr 2011
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The annual conference of the Risk & Insurance Management Society is an unmissable event for US risk professionals - and Lloyd’s is there in force
The biggest happening on the risk management calendar, the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) 2011 Annual Conference & Exhibition, kicks off in Vancouver in May 1 – 5.
Over five days, as many as 10,000 risk management professionals will attend more than 120 sessions on a variety of topics such as reputation risk, energy resources, strategic and enterprise risk management (ERM), and other critical risk management issues.
The conference also features keynote presentations from such diverse personalities as Olympic ice skating gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno and Stephen Dubner, co-author of cult book Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics.
Special topical sessions include an exploration of the impact of the Japanese earthquake on businesses globally, such as disruptions to the global transportation network for products, component parts and supplies.
Another session will discuss the risks to consider when conducting operations or sending employees to hostile territories in remote areas or emerging markets, especially Africa and Iraq, Afghanistan and the greater Middle East.
New challenges
Mary Roth, executive director of RIMS said the past year has been particularly “transformative” for RIMS’ member organisations as they have responded to political instability, the earth’s shifting tectonic plates and new business challenges. “These sessions will take on these topics and help attendees adjust their strategies to respond to current conditions,” she said.
John Eltham, head of Miller’s North American broker business, is a veteran RIMS attendee and has witnessed many business cycles. The mood in 2011 is optimistic. He reckons that businesses in North America are no longer in survival mode and are now giving risk managers the green light to engage with their strategic ERM projects.
“ERM is here to stay and North American businesses are harnessing ERM for business advantage,” he says. “Risk managers are better connected with the C-suite in their organisations: they have a voice in the boardroom. But that also means there is better risk appetite awareness among directors.”
The London market is ready to work with risk managers at a high level, he believes. “London has a very sophisticated, well organised set of underwriters that understand esoteric ERM related issues, such as supply chain resilience” Eltham says.
Eltham himself will speak at RIMS on the Monday afternoon in a session titled Reputational Harm: Pushing the Envelope.
Lloyd’s is at the cutting edge in addressing the so-called intangible risk issues faced by North American businesses. “Lloyd’s insurers have a well researched, longterm commitment to this area. The Lloyd’s Franchise Board understands and accepts that, which is very positive for the market and its clients,” Eltham says.
Treasures on display
A big part of the RIMS event is the trade fair that features the risk wares of as many as 400 exhibitors. Representatives of over 30 Lloyd’s insurers and brokers will man the market’s exhibit throughout the conference.
“The annual conference has been running since 1963 and it provides an excellent opportunity for networking and business meetings with clients,” says Lloyd’s events and visits manager Mac Castro. “By participating at this event, we reinforce our position as a leader in the global insurance market and demonstrate our commitment to providing capacity for the US market.”
But the Lloyd’s exhibit put together by Mac places the Lloyd’s market in a historical – as well as industry – perspective too. And the Lloyd’s “treasures” displayed on Lloyd’s stand will be especially interesting to Royal watchers in this Royal wedding year.
Historical documents on show include a menu printed on silk for Queen Victoria’s opening of Lloyd’s Rooms at the Royal Exchange on October 28, 1844.
Also from the Victorian era, there’s a Lloyd’s Diamond Jubilee Commemoration booklet from June 21, 1897 - an event which Lloyd’s held for a “...humble and dutiful Address presented from the ancient Corporation of Lloyd’s to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen on the completion of the 60th year of her glorious and prosperous reign”.
There’s an invitation to the chairman of Lloyd’s to attend the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911. There’s also cine footage from the era, including King George V at the opening of Lloyd’s 1928 building.
Then as now, Lloyd’s was willing and able to cover pioneering risks, as evidenced by the original aviation insurance policy on display at RIMS. Dated 1912, the policy was written just eight years after the Wright Brothers first powered flight!
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