What’s New: In Brief (June 18, 2007)

The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) has sponsored publication of a new handbook to help people make sense out of that nebulous area known as Enterprise Risk Management (ERM).
The title of the book which would be familiar to anyone who sees the ubiquitous presence of its yellow-and-black design in bookstores through the country is called Enterprise Risk Management for Dummies.
The book has been penned by members of RIMS ERM Development Committee. The guide will be sent to RIMS members this month and to new members for a limited time.
“The risk management responsibility within our members companies is changing to be more involved with a broad array of business uncertainties previously not considered to be within their field of responsibility, John Phelps, member of RIMS board of directors and director of business solutions for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc., said in a release. Risk managers now offer more strategic value as they help their organizations optimize their risk taking decisions. As a result, RIMS has seen a demand from the risk management community to learn more about ERM.

Frank Rieder, senior vice president at Benfield, has been appointed to the companys international reinsurance and non-marine retrocession team.
With his extensive industry experience and strong relationships throughout the resinsurance community, Frank will be a tremendous asset to Benfield and our customers, Dominic Christian, chief executive of Benfields international division, said in a release.
I am excited to be part of the team, Rieder said.