For immediate release: 30 September 2002

UK LAUNCH OF A NEW RISK

MANAGEMENT STANDARD

A new Risk Management Standard developed and produced by the three major
risk management organisations in the UK has been launched in London.
(Monday, September 30).

The Institute of Risk Management (IRM), The Association of Insurance and Risk
Managers (AIRMIC), and ALARM The National Forum for Risk Management in
the Public Sector, have pooled their professional expertise and knowledge to
formulate the new Risk Management Standard.

It is anticipated that members of the three bodies will move quickly to adopt the
principles of the Standard, providing a major step forward in formalising the risk
management framework within their individual organisations. It is anticipated that
the Standard will become widely used both nationally and internationally.

The new Standard can be downloaded free of charge from all three founders’
websites — www.airmic.com www.alarm-uk.com www.theIRM.org Despite
considerable costs in the development and production of the Standard it is felt by
the three sponsoring organisations that it should be made as widely available as
possible at no cost in order to advance risk management.

A handy pocketsize summation of the Standard risk management process and its
key risk drivers has also been published together with the ISO/IEC Risk
Management Vocabulary which has been used throughout in the Standard.
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Senior members of the IRM, AIRMIC and ALARM answered questions about the
18-page Standard, when it was presented to the media by risk management
expert David Ovenden, who helped draft the concisely written text.

“The successful formulation of the Risk Management Standard is the result of

committed work by a team drawn from AIRMIC, ALARM and the IRM. The
project has been a collaborative effort throughout. The Standard has been
rigorously examined by professional and authoritative groups throughout the
business and regulatory community and stands as a seminal work for the risk
management profession,” said David Ovenden.

David Gamble, executive director for AIRMIC, commented: “By addressing the
upside and downside of risk, the new Standard will meet the requirements of
today’s working risk managers. In establishing best practice process, structure
and terminology for risk it will give organisations the essential framework to
create an appropriate ‘risk culture’ — recognising the risks and making the right
management decisions upon them at the right time, for the right reasons.”

Sheila Boyce, chief executive of ALARM, added “Risk management is vital at

both the strategic and operational level for all organisations and for all activities
whether short or long term. There are many ways of achieving the objectives of
risk management so it was never intended that the Standard should be
prescriptive or a box-ticking exercise. By meeting the various component parts of
this standard, albeit in different ways, organisations will be in a position to report
that they are in compliance, and assess their performance.”

Steve Fowler, executive director for the IRM said: “Where possible the Standard
has used the terminology for risk set out by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and considered other existing best practice texts.
However, we recognise that risk management is a developing discipline and it is
intended that regular modifications will be made to the Standard in the light of
evolving practices.”
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Risk Management Standard Launch....3

The general launch and first public discussion on the Standard will be at the IRM
Conference at Robinson College, Cambridge on October 2-3.

END

For more AIRMIC information contact:

John Burbedge on john.burbedge@ntlworld.com ,mobile 0797 9696567 or

Stuart Hyslop at Surrey House on 01372 460111 or
stuart.hyslop@surreyhouseuk.com

For more ALARM information contact:

Gemma Rogers at Talking Heads on 01223 568222 or gemma@talking-heads.co.uk.

For more IRM information contact:

Lee Coppack on 020 8318 0330 or lee@coppack.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

AIRMIC (The Association of Insurance and Risk Managers) is the leading UK

organisation representing the views and interests of risk and insurance managers in
the private and public sector. It has over 160 corporate members, and almost 1,000
individual members, many of whom represent top-ranking FT200 companies as well
as local authorities, higher education, charities and NHS Trusts. AIRMIC members
control risk premium well in excess of £2 billion. AIRMIC is dedicated to raising the
profile and standards of risk management, and promotes research, development and
education on various risk management issues.

AIRMIC website: www.airmic.com

ALARM, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, represents almost 1,400
members across the UK public sector. The Association's aims are to enable public
sector organisations to develop and implement successful Risk Management practise,
to promote education, training and research and to disseminate information.
ALARM website: www.alarm-uk.com
IRM (The Institute of Risk Management) promotes excellence in the practice of risk
management through the provision of relevant quality education, training and
continuing development. The worldwide membership of around 1600 members is
drawn from industry, commerce and the public sector, and from a wide range of risk-
related disciplines including insurers, auditors, accountants, project managers, health
and safety professionals and engineers. Membership is recognised as the sign of a
qualified risk management professional.

IRM website: www.theIRM.org