Associate in Risk Management (ARM)

An associate in risk management designation is a nationally recognized educational program for dedicated risk management professionals, developed by the Insurance Institute of America. The science of risk management includes how to avoid, reduce and manage risk.

A person that holds an associate in risk management designation is competent in the risk management process, including legal foundations of property, personnel and net income loss exposure and can assist in making risk management decisions to any organization's exposures to accidental and business losses. The ARM program consists of three parts: risk assessment, risk control and risk financing.

An ARM designation qualifies a person for taking a job as an associate risk manager. This job involves identifying, assessing and controlling a company's risk. The associate risk manager secures the correct amounts of insurance for a company, or develops a self-insurance program internally.

Risk managers project where things can go wrong, estimate the impact of a mishap and administer programs to help both reduce the chance of potential problems and that factor in the costs of recovery in the event of an incident. They cover a broad range of risks relating of a variety of subjects. Some risks happen within or because of the organization that they cover, like the chance that a manager could quit or a product could fail. Others are external, such as the potential of a storm impacting a company's operations, or a political shift of power making it harder to do business.

ARM certification requires candidates to complete three courses and to pass an examination. The first course, ARM 54, introduces the principles and practices of risk management and delivers a broad overview of what risk is, how to identify and analyze it and how to deal with certain financial risks. The second, ARM 55, encompasses and assesses types of risk including risk to physical property, crime, and risks that come from management and human resource issues. Finally, ARM 56 builds on the other two, covering concepts of insuring against risk and financial strategies and considerations. As an additional requirement, ARM candidates also must pass an exam covering insurance ethics to receive their designations.

The ARM program teaches in-depth knowledge to assess and respond to the numerous hazard risks insurance companies' face. ARM also meets one of the requirements for the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) Fellow designation. RIMS is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management. RIMS represents risk management professionals around the world.