NU Online News Service,Jan. 14, 2:48 p.m. EST

NEW YORK—The ex officio of The Riskand Insurance Management Society praised the New York StateInsurance Department for tackling the issue of producercompensation disclosure when no other department would.

Terry Fleming, director, Division of RiskManagement, Montgomery County, Md., made his comments at areception welcoming new RIMS President Scott B. Clark, risk andbenefits officer for the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Fla.,for the 2011 term, effective Jan. 1. Attending the event was NewYork department Superintendent James J. Wrynn.

"We're part of the process, the dialogue andimplementation of the new regulation in New York dealing withbroker compensation," Mr. Fleming said

"Supt. Wrynn is here," he said. "He knows RIMSwanted a much stronger regulation, but in my experience I foundthat when you leave the negotiating table and you feel like youleft something on the table, or you didn't get everything youwanted, it's usually a sign of a pretty good compromise."

Mr. Fleming noted that New York "stepped up tothe plate on this and really came through. I'd like to thank thedepartment for allowing RIMS to be part of that process."

He also pointed out that New York tackled theissue of broker compensation "when no state did before and no statehas done it since."

In his address, Mr. Fleming outlined four itemsthat were his focus in 2010:

â–ª Legislation and regulation

â–ª Moving forward with ERM

â–ª Moving ahead with RIMS internationalstrategy

â–ª Student outreach

On student outreach, he said, "many of ouractivities in student outreach are related to RIMS financialposition."

He continued, "I'm pleased to say that RIMS isvery strong financially. Consequently, we were able to commit to adonation to the Spencer Educational Foundation of $450,000—ourlargest donation ever." The foundation is affiliated with RIMS.

Mr. Fleming said RIMS also is donating $50,000to the William H. McGannon Foundation, a similar group inCanada.

He spoke about the rebranding of RIMS, with theaddition of a new tagline, announced this week.

"Last month RIMS' board approved a rebrandingof RIMS, now The Risk Management Society, and I thinkcertainly we're moving into the 21^st century," Mr.Fleming said.

RIMS also replaced its symbol, previously aunicorn, with three stripes representing its "key areas ofservice to its members: resources, networking and education," RIMSsaid in a statement.

"More conceptually, the stripes also representupward movement, symbolic of growth and action. They join togetheras they grow, demonstrating the integration of risk managementwithin an enterprise and the effectiveness of collaboration," thestatement added.

Mr. Fleming concluded, "This debate on our logoand our brand has been going on at RIMS ever since I can remember.So I'm pleased we were able to make that commitment and moveforward."