AXA Corporate Solutions has always been highly involved in the risk management community and has therefore built tight links with Risk Management Associations worldwide :

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In May 2009, Spanish risk managers gathered in Madrid for the 20 th Congress of the Asociation Espanola de Gerencia de Riesgos y Seguros, Daniel San Millan, vice-president of AGERS and risk manager at Madrid-based construction group Ferrovial SA said that risk management was moving up the boardroom agenda of Spanish companies. The association also presented an analysis of entreprise risk management and how to make it work.

In 2009, the UK’s Association of Insurance and Risk Managers launched several new initiatives.It introduced career development as a new strategic objective and created the AIRMIC Academy. It then launched a career structure model. AIRMIC also published data about the type of directors’ and officers’ insurance purchased by risk managers, and investigated the concept of risk appetite. Claims have been another key focus. AIRMIC reached an agreement to limit the use of "reservation of right" letters, a notification that the insurer may not accept liability. Seven of the biggest insurers agrees not to issue the device within 90 days of the receipt of a claim. AIRMIC also announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement to guarantee that big claims are settled promptly.

The French Risk Management association AMRAE (Association pour le Management des Risques et des Assurances de l’Entreprise) is the biggest in Europe. AMRAE welcomes around 1.500 delegates to its annual conference. Recent moves include the creation of a risk management training arm, the AMRAE Formation. AMRAE’s president and corporate risk officer at Yves Rocher, Gerard Lancner, also announced the creation of a think tank, the Observatoire des Risques. He called on Risk Managers to work together :"We cannot accept that some threats remain outside the domain of Risk managers", he said.

In March 2009, ANRA (Associazione Nazionale dei Risk Manager e Rasponsabili Assicurazioni Aziendali) elected Paolo Rubini, Risk Manager of Telecom Italia, as its new chaiman. He succeeded Roberto Bosco, corporate risk manager at media company Mediaset,. Paolo Rubini delivered a new set of strategic objectives. ANRA seeks to promote Risk Managers in Italy and improve corporate risk ratings. The association also intends to spread the culture of risk and insurance management into small businesses in Italy and the public sector.

In 2000, the Belgian Risk Management Association opened its doors to insurers, brokers, consultants and auditors. There are currently about 100 Risk Managers in the association. It has specific working groups organised around the topics of claims management, insurance, pension schemes and liability matters.

At the German Risk Management association Deutscher Versicherungs-Schutzverband e.V., there is a special focus on questions arising from the economic crisis, such as counterparty risk and credit insurance. The association has battled with a number of other themes : the EU Block Exemption Regulation, which excludes parts of the insurance market from certain competition rules. The association is of the opinion that coinsurance as it is practised in Germany is a very efficient and desirable way to obtain cover for large risks. "DVS makes all efforts to ensure that this type of coinsurance will remain available to both customers and insurers," DVS President Sigulla adds. DVS is one of the strongest supporters of the creation of a public private partnership to provide coverage for large terrorisme risks. Creating more transparency in the remuneration system is another key topic for the association.

Established in 1974 and based in Brussels, FERMA (Federation of European Risk Management Associations) is the umbrella organisation for all the Risk Management associations in Europe. It represents around 4000 members at a European level. FERMA is engaged in discussions on Solvency II, the insurance block exemption, financial oversight and collective redress. His Chairman is Peter den Dekker, corporate insurance risk manager at Storck B.V., Netherlands.

The Institute of Risk Management (IRM) is Risk Management’s leading international professional education and training body. The Institute provides high quality education, training and professional development in Risk Management at a range of levels, from introductory to expert.

IGREA (INICIATIVA GERENTES DE RIESGOS ESPAÑOLES ASOCIADOS) is a private, independent, apolitical, non-profit making association not attached to any institution or organization. The objectives of the association are : the promotion of Risk & Insurance Management and the development of Enterprise Risk Management within companies, to foster and encourage the Risk & Insurance Manager profession, the foundation of a representative body of Corporate Risk Managers and Insurance Buyers’ interests in the insurance market arena , the exchange of experiences and knowledge sharing within its members, the development of best practices in Risk & Insurance Management in the market and within the companies, to be a meeting point and discussion forum for its members with regards to the different methodologies applicable to Corporate Risk Management and risk control and analysis, to maintain close and regular contact with the Insurance Regulators, professional associations, academic entities and other bodies with these same or similar objectives in Spain or abroad and finally to exchange opinions, experiences and knowledge of Corporate Risk Management and risk control and analysis.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management. Founded in 1950, RIMS represents more than 3,500 industrial, service, non profit, charitable and governmental entities. The Society serves more than 10,000 risk management professionals around the world.

In April 2009, the Bern-based Swiss Association of Insurance & Managers elected Dieter Berger, head of insurance energy provider Alpiq, as its new president. Berger succeeded Beat Affolter, director of risk and insurance for Schweizer Post. The association discussed new regulations in Switzerland concerning risk reporting. In addition, SIRM opposes a prerule change in Switzerland that says brokers must be paid only by insurance buyers.

© Nathan Skinner, Strategic Risk, « The view from Europe », Sept. 2009