How brokers can gain competitive edge in risk management

RIMS has partnered with Brokerslink, a global broker network, to offer its risk management certification to its affiliate members. The partnership aims to establish a global standard for risk management knowledge. 

As Steve Pottle, director of risk management at Thompson Rivers University puts it, the certificate program will provide affiliate brokers with a baseline for risk management, which “translates nicely” to being a broker.   

“The traditional broker is there to be the intermediary between the risk manager and the insurer,” says Pottle, who’s also the immediate past chair of RIMS Canada. “But I think a lot of brokers are realizing, [it] may not only be that service that you offer our clients. 

“That comes from learning that there’s more to risk management than just the insurance transaction.” 

Upon its launch, the globally accredited RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) certification will be offered to Brokerslink members via a multi-year program. 

Maurizio Castelli, CEO of Milan-based risk management consultant Augustas Risk Services SpA, says commercial businesses, particularly medium-sized ones, often want their brokers to be a one-stop-shop that includes risk management solutions.  

“It is an important retention tool, because their clients — if they ever need risk management and they don’t find it with their incumbent broker — might go to someone else,” says Castelli, who’s also the lead of Brokerslink’s risk management practice.  

The certification will also help brokers earn new business, “because they can target new prospects and new clients in a much broader way,” he says. “Because it’s not just about selling insurance, but is about selling integrated risk management solutions.” 

The partnership aims to strengthen the relationship between brokers and risk managers. 

As Castelli puts it, the program will allow risk managers and brokers to speak the same language, “because risk management is becoming more and more advanced and specialized and with its own language, its own terminology.” 

Manny Padilla, vice president of risk management and insurance at MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, says the certification helps establish more credibility and stability to the overall risk management process. 

“We expect that our brokers understand the marketplace,” says Padilla, who also serves on RIMS’ global board of directors. “[RIMS-CRMP] really defines or describes all of the mechanisms that are involved or required by the risk management team, as well as others outside of the risk management team that the risk manager depends on to gather information.” 

He explained that the certification demands more effort — or as he puts it, “sweat equity” — from stakeholders in the risk management process.  

“It’s kind of a sausage-making type of process when everybody understands how it gets there. It gives it more credibility in the information that’s provided.” 

The certification can also help local Canadian affiliates perform on the global stage, says Pottle.

“From a Canadian perspective, we need to see more risk managers, more chief risk officers, if you will, in our fields,” he says. “[The certification is], in some respects, breaking down the borders between the U.S., Canada, and the world by having a global designation.” 

 

Feature image by istock.com/ridvan_celik