Economy Drives Down RIMS Attendance

Another sign of the economy?s impact on the insurance industry surfaced this week with a 30% drop-off in attendance at the Risk and Insurance Management Society?s annual conference in Orlando.

RIMS President Joe Restoule said it?s clear the organization is not immune from the overall financial climate. Attendance as of April 21 was listed at 7,342, down from last year?s figure of 9,568 in San Diego. He said there was a sense that public entities had not shown up as strongly as in the past.

?But we are seeing a lot of global presence,? Restoule said.

Restoule said this year?s event at the Orange County Convention Center included more than 300 first-time registrants. As for the foreign presence, he mentioned representation from Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, Russia, Mexico, Japan and his home country, Canada.

?I met with a contingent today from Peru,? he said.

Restoule and other members of RIMS leadership met with the media to discuss developments at the conference and the society?s agenda moving forward. Restoule, the leader of risk management at Calgary, Alberta-based Nova Chemicals Corp., took over as president in January. Since then, he said he?s traveled to Bogota, Colombia, to meet with risk managers as well as Japan to collect international feedback on enterprise risk management, an overriding theme at this year?s conference.

The ERM strategy advocates taking an over-arching view of a company?s entire risk posture. Delegating ownership of that risk and reporting channels is still a challenge.

?We think there should be more reporting directly to the board about the enterprise risk management strategies of the organization,? Restoule said.

As for RIMS legislative agenda, the organization is awaiting reintroduction of federal legislation that would cap tax deductions for reinsurance paid from U.S. affiliates to foreign-controlled parents offshore (BestWire, April 6, 2009).

The issue is contentious as some companies claim it is difficult for domestic-based insurers and reinsurers to compete those who utilize a tax-friendly jurisdiction such as Bermuda.

RIMS Board Member Deborah Luthi said the organization was opposed to any legislation that would increase the cost of insurance for its members. Luthi cited a recent study by the Brattle Group, an economic consulting group, which estimates the reinsurance supply would dwindle by 20% under such legislation and have an overall impact of $11 billion on insurance consumers.

?We are working with a coalition of consumer groups and reinsurers and we?re in opposition to that bill,? said Kathy Doddridge, RIMS? director of government affairs.

(By Al Slavin, senior associate editor, Best's Review)