RIMS has taken an active role with federal, state, and regulatory officials to respond to the contingency fee issue on behalf of our members. The past two eventful months since the launch of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s investigation have been full of activity for RIMS’ officials and governmental affairs staff. Leadership at RIMS is working to facilitate regulatory changes to contingency fee structures to benefit our members.
 
As a voice for the risk management community, RIMS has taken the following actions:

• Janice Ochenkowski, Vice President for External Affairs, testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial Management along with New York Attorney General Spitzer, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, New York Superintendent of Insurance Greg Serio, California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, and other high-profile industry and government officials. Her testimony on behalf of RIMS can be found at: http://www.rims.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PressRoom/
Home_Page_Complete_Articles/Testimony_-_November_16_2004.htm

• RIMS’ officials, including myself and Mary Roth, Executive Director of RIMS, met with New York Insurance Superintendent Greg Serio to respond to inquiries regarding contingency fees.

• We worked with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to participate in a public hearing of the NAIC Executive Task Force on Broker Activities, which was held on December 4, 2004.

• RIMS has been asked to testify on behalf of the risk management community at a Hearing before the Insurance Committee of the New York State Assembly, dealing specifically with the allegations made in the Spitzer investigation.

• On December 7, 2004, RIMS’ officials met with the Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly to respond to inquiries and assist in resolving contingency fee issues.

• I have spoken to numerous publications and leading news sources around the world to promote RIMS’ position on contingency fee issues, as has Janice Ochenkowski. RIMS’ position has been mentioned in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Business Insurance, and more.

• I encourage you to access the section of RIMS’ home page designated to providing updates on this issue as it develops. It can be found at: http://www.rims.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home_Page_Complete_Articles
&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8185

Those who are planning to attend RIMS 2005 Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia are invited to register for RM 204 “Broker Contingency Fees… What You Should Know,” which will include in-depth discussions of contingency fee arrangements. RIMS also offers its Quality Improvement Process (QIP) to guide and facilitate communication, effective performance, and evaluate agreements in relationships with industry partners. For more information about the QIP, please see: http://www.rims.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Resources/Quality/Quality.htm

I assure you that RIMS will continue to provide its members with exclusive professional development programs, networking opportunities, tools for business, breaking news, outstanding publications, involvement with legislators and regulators, and innovative technology. These are the benefits of membership that you have come to rely on from us and we are committed to serving you with the best that our industry has to offer.

Sincerely,

Nancy L. Chambers
RIMS President