Trade body offers alternative to membership of Airmic

A trade body has been set up for independent risk managers rejected by the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (Airmic).

Risk manager Danny Cooper established the organisation, called the Federation of Independent and Insurance Risk Managers (Fiirm).

Airmic often rejects risk managers who have set up independently because they are “third party” and not employed by a company, said Cooper.

He continued: “I set this up thinking there has to be a lot of people like us out there who are not recognised in the traditional market?”

Cooper formed his own firm, called The Risk Manager, to handle insurance for SMEs. Services include negotiating with brokers, risk management advice and dealing with paperwork.

An Airmic spokesman said: “Airmic has strict membership criteria and we accept that there are some categories of risk manager, especially those who provide consultancy services, who are not eligible to join our organisation.”