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WELCOME TO THE NEW YORK RISK AND INSURANCE MANAGEMENT SOCIETY

History of New York Chapter of RIMS

As the first and founding chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), the New York Chapter of RIMS was originally incorporated as the Risk Research Institute (RRI) in 1935.  

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Announced in 1936 by The New York Times as “the first national organization of insurance buyers and self-insurers in the United States”, the NY Chapter of RIMS remains a source of information and resources for risk professionals in the tri-state area. 

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The NY Chapter continues to build upon a long history of service as an organization that was first led by A.A. Schmidt of the Johns-Manville Corporation and headquartered in lower Manhattan- 30 Church Street to be exact. Mr. Schmidt explained that the newly found RRI was so named because of the core belief “that the real adversary of all business enterprises is risk, in the sense of exposure to loss.” To that end, the RRI helped to facilitate the exchange of information for insurance buyers and self-insurers across the United States. 

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For years after its inception, the RRI supported risk managers in their efforts to purchase insurance to address exposure. However, the insurance and risk management world continued to evolve, necessitating changes in the original resource group. The RRI became the National Insurance Buyers Association in 1950, relaunched itself five years later as the American Society of Insurance Management, and in 1975 eventually became the national Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) that we know today. 

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The NY Chapter, in the form of a local association that opened its doors in the 1930s, is proud to have played such a pivotal role in the birth of the national RIMS organization from which have sprouted 80 local chapters, and counting. To honor the RIMS legacy, we continue our efforts to promote a cooperative community of risk management professionals, committed to learning and inclusion.