Zurich North America, and St. John's University's Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance, and Actuarial Science and The Tobin Center for Executive Education, are pleased to announce the launching of the new Middle Market Risk Manager (MMRM) professional designation program. Three brokers sent their producers to the first round of trainings this year, including WTW, Hylant, and IMA.
The MMRM program is the first and only professional designation of its kind in the insurance industry, focused on providing the skills financial service professionals need to address the unique risk management and insurance programming challenges of middle market organizations.
While there are a broad range of definitions of what a “middle market” organization is, the program defines it as an organization generating anywhere from $50 million to $1 billion per year across a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, technology, healthcare, real estate, hospitality, among others. In addition, middle market organizations include publicly-held, privately held, and non-profit entities. And approximately 80% are family-owned businesses, which present their own unique challenges, including succession planning, and intra-family issues and disputes.
The MMRM program consists of nine courses, including:
- Understanding the middle market organization
- Middle market organizational structures
- Analyzing the financial statements of the middle market organization
- Insurance programming for current and emerging loss exposures
- Comprehensive enterprise risk management for the middle market organization
- International risk management & insurance for the middle market organization
- Executive Compensation and employee benefits for the middle market organization
- Presenting the middle market organization to underwriters
- Protecting against malpractice claims
The program is highly interactive, and uses a comprehensive case study to reinforce critical skills and concepts. The program is highly interactive and engaging, with team building being an important part of the program. Middle market organizations typically require multiple advisors who need to work together seamlessly and efficiently. The program itself culminates in a competition in which multiple teams compete to win the account of the business featured in the case study. Recent graduates have said the following about the program:
“Private Equity firms often target middle market companies for investment. The MMRM designation has afforded me the ability to serve IMA’s PE firms and their middle market portfolio companies. I am better positioned to understand and address the risks associated with the unique needs of a middle market organization. The MMRM program has given me useful insights and perspectives which will help me do my job better.” -Meredith Milley, CPCU, MMRM, Project Manager/Team Lead, IMA Private Equity Group
“My focus is on the healthcare, education and non-profit sectors. These sectors have a lot of stakeholders who try to influence the organization. The MMRM program does a really good job of sensitizing you to the different and often conflicting objectives of diverse stakeholders , and provides strategies you can use to reconcile these objectives in order to accomplish organizational goals. Armed with these insights, I believe I can help my clients become more sustainable, resilient and successful over the long haul.” -Derelynn C. Williams, MMRM, Vice President/Account Executive, Parker Smith and Feek.
“The MMRM program gave me a broader, more holistic view of the middle market client. I feel I can now be more strategic in the ways I approach and advise these organizations. One of the best training programs I’ve received…” -Ryan Hemphill, Client Executive, P&C - Trade Credit, Hylant Insurance Group.
MMRM graduates finish their training armed with strategies, insights, and information designed to provide a significant competitive advantage in the pursuit and retention of Middle Market accounts. All candidates for the MMRM designation are required to take and pass a written final exam before receiving a cobranded Certificate of Achievement Zurich North America and St. John's Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance, and Actuarial Science. Graduates also receive a digital badge and CE credits available in most states. For more information about the MMRM program, click here or contact:
Bart Shachnow, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CPCU, MMRM Director, Zurich Academy bart.shachnow@zurichna.com
Larry Pistell, ARM, APC (NYU), M.A., WCP, MMRM pistelll@stjohns.edu