Mid-Year Update: RIMS Legislative and Risk Management News

Jul 1, 2025

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Justin interviews RIMS General Counsel and VP of External Affairs Mark Prysock about the RIMS Legislative Summit in March 2025, how it went, and what to expect next. Mark mentions the registrant participation records they set and the connections they made as they lobbied.

As Mark exits, Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle of RIMS Risk Management magazine enter the studio to talk with Justin about the mid-year in risk and four Q2 articles in RIMS Risk Management magazine on tariffs, the 2025 hurricane season, the USDA budget cuts and food safety, and minimizing risk while using AI for innovation. After lessons from the articles, Hilary invites listeners to submit risk management articles to RIMS Risk Management magazine. If you publish in the magazine, what opportunities will that open for you?

Listen to learn more about the highlights of the first two quarters of 2025 and what to prepare for the rest of the year.

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS and RIMScast.

[:17] About this episode of RIMScast. We've got three guests today. We'll get a RIMS legislative update from Mark Prysock, and we will look back at major risk management news from the first half of 2025 with Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle of RIMS Risk Management magazine.

[:48] RIMS-CRMP Workshops! The next Virtual RIMS-CRMP exam prep, co-hosted by Parima, will be held on September 2nd and 3rd.

[:58] The next RIMS-CRMP-FED virtual workshop will be led by Joseph Mayo on July 17th and 18th. Register by July 16th. Links to these courses can be found on the Certification Page of RIMS.org and through this episode's show notes.

[1:16] RIMS Virtual Workshops! We have a day-long course on July 24th, "Risk Taxonomy for Effective Risk Management." On August 5th, we have a day-long course about "Emerging Risks." RIMS members enjoy deep discounts!

[1:31] The full schedule of virtual workshops can be found on the RIMS.org/education and RIMS.org/education/online-learning pages. A link is also in this episode's notes.

[1:42] If you tuned in to the recent episode featuring James Lam, you will know that he is hosting a new six-module workshop for us, the "RIMS-CRO Certificate in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management".

[1:56] The inaugural summer course is completely sold out! We are filled to the virtual capacity! Don't worry, in the Fall, the bi-weekly course will begin on October 9th. Registration closes on October 2nd. A link is in this episode's notes. Check it out and register today!

[2:15] Mark your calendars for November 17th and 18th for the RIMS ERM Conference 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is being built. Soon, we will distribute a Call for Nominations for the ERM Award of Distinction. I'll update this episode's show notes when that link is ready.

[2:38] Think about your organization's ERM program or one that you know of, and how it has generated value. We will have more on that in the coming weeks.

[2:47] RISKWORLD 2026 will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 3rd through May 6th. RIMS members can now lock in the 2025 rate for a full conference pass to RISKWORLD 2026 when registering by September 30th.

[3:01] This also lets you enjoy earlier access to the RISKWORLD hotel block. Register by September 30th, and you will also be entered to win a $500 raffle. Don't miss out on this chance to plan and score some extra perks.

[3:14] The members-only registration link is in this episode's show notes. If you are not yet a member, this is the time to register at RIMS.org/membership.

[3:24] On with the show! Mark Prysock is the RIMS General Counsel and VP of External Affairs. It's always wonderful to have him on the show.

[3:32] He is here to remind us of the RIMS legislative priorities, how they were addressed during the RIMS Legislative Summit in March, and what else we can expect in the way of public policies that RIMS would like to prevent and those we'd like to support.

[3:46] There are lots of links in this episode's notes, as well, including ones to RISK PAC and an upcoming fundraiser. Let's get to it!

[3:54] Interview! Mark Prysock, welcome back to RIMScast!

[4:14] RIMS's top legislative or advocacy priorities for 2025 include opposing legislation on taxing non-profit associations. RIMS is working with other associations on this. The tax would have a significant impact on RIMS.

[5:26] Another issue is the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act, which would allow individuals to use college savings 529 plans to pay for certifications like the RIMS-CRMP. It's a very popular issue in the association community.

[5:55] Third-party litigation funding has become a very big issue, followed by nuclear verdicts. What can we do to stop that? That's an issue that's been growing in both the House and the Senate. RIMS is working within a broad coalition to address that issue.

[6:14] RIMS believes, at a bare minimum, there needs to be disclosures when third-party litigation funding agreements are in place so that everyone understands who stands to benefit from a nuclear verdict. It's not the plaintiff.

[6:37] The last issue is the National Flood Insurance Program.

[7:01] Mark and his team spent Day 1 of the RIMS Legislative Summit in March prepping the registrants so they understood the ins and outs of the issues. They all received one-page leave-behind documents to take to the Congressional offices.

[7:18] Panellists had talked to them about the issues. The registrants were prepped to be lobbyists on these issues.

[7:30] On Day 2, the registrants went to the Hill and lobbied on behalf of RIMS.

[7:39] There were over 60 registrants this year. That was a RIMS Legislative Summit record. They had around 100 Congressional meetings, also a RIMS Legislative Summit record.

[8:15] Mark says holding the event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building is fantastic. It's a classic D.C. building that everyone knows. It's fairly close to Capitol Hill. You can get all the speakers you want to come and meet with your group there. It's perfect for the Summit.

[8:49] A couple of years ago was the first time the Summit met at the Chamber building. Going back this year confirmed that it's going to be the new location for the Summit. Mark says it was an enriching experience for the attendees.

[9:33] The Summit lobbyists focus on committees in both the House and Senate with jurisdiction over insurance.

[9:47] The House Financial Services Committee has a Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance. Most of the legislation the Summit is concerned about comes from the House.

[10:04] That Subcommittee has a new Chair, Congressman Mike Flood from Nebraska. The Summit has made inroads with his office and with other offices, too.

[10:28] The Summit's focus is on establishing relationships with newer Congressional offices that are in a position to impact RIMS's legislative priorities.

[10:52] Mark says, typically when we meet with a Member of Congress, it might be that we're talking to them because they're well-situated to talk to us about NFIP.

[11:02] On other issues, we don't know that they necessarily align with us, but we know that with what we're trying to accomplish with the NFIP, they are going to be a great ally. That's our foot in the door to discuss other legislative issues.

[11:24] Marks says the Summit is looking to establish long-term relationships with Members of Congress and educate them on the importance of different issues.

[11:58] The RIMS Public Policy Committee will continue hammering on these issues for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026. The tax issues are likely to be resolved in RIMS's favor in the Omnibus tax bill Congress is wrestling with now.

[12:18] The One Big Beautiful Bill does not include language for imposing new taxes on non-profits, but it does include the language about liberalizing the use of College 529 plans, which RIMS supports. Mark thinks that it will be wrapped up soon.

[12:39] NFIP has been reauthorized through September 30th, the end of the Federal Government's Fiscal Year. There is legislation out there to reauthorize it for a longer period. The RIMS Public Policy Committee is talking with Members of Congress about that.

[12:57] Third-party litigation funding is an issue to keep working on for the next couple of years.

[13:04] The RIMS Public Policy Committee will be working closely with the RISK PAC Trustees to figure out how they can help to raise more money for the PAC. They have some ideas for things to do at RISKWORLD 2026 in Philadelphia.

[13:22] They have a fundraising event in Philadelphia in the middle of July. They'll be sending out Calendar invites to the RIMS membership. 2026 will be an election year, so they want to raise as much money as they can for RISK PAC and the right re-election campaigns.

[14:02] At RIMS.org/advocacy, you can see that the RIMS Legislative Summit 2026 will be held from March 16th through 18th. Mark is more excited than ever for next year's Summit! It's an election year. They've got the details nailed down. They'll be at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

[14:53] They will have a hotel block nailed down soon. They'll start promoting this event far in advance. Mark your calendars, please! As you build your chapters next year, please include some money to send your Advocacy Ambassador to the Legislative Summit 2026 in March.

[15:20] We've got the link in this episode's show notes and at RIMS.org/advocacy. You can reach out to Mark Prysock directly through his email address on the RIMS Advocacy page. Write to him if you have questions about what it takes to get there or how you can contribute.

[15:43] As Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle walk into the studio, Justin thanks Mark Prysock for being on the show.

[16:04] Plugs! The very first RIMS Texas Regional Conference will be held from August 4th through the 6th in San Antonio at the Henry B. González Convention Center. Public Registration is open.

[16:17] Hotel cut-off for the discounted rate is available through July 7th. The full Conference Agenda is now live, so you can start planning your experience. Don't miss the post-conference workshop, the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Course, available onsite.

[16:33] This event is open to any RIMS Chapter member. If you are local to the area, you might consider becoming a RIMS member today, so that you can get all the benefits and begin networking with your new RIMS Texas peers. Links are in this episode's show notes.

[16:48] You can also visit the Events Page of RIMS.org for more information. We look forward to seeing you in Texas!

[16:56] Just a month later, we will be up North for the RIMS Canada Conference 2025, from September 14th through 17th in Calgary. Registration is open. Visit RIMSCanadaConference.CA and lock in those favorable rates. We look forward to seeing you in Calgary!

[17:15] On October 1st through the 3rd, the RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held in North San Jose at the Santa Clara Marriott. The agenda is live. It looks fantastic! Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and register today.

[17:31] Let's Get on with the Show! It is July 1st. We have reached the midpoint of 2025. On RIMScast, we like to take stock of the year in risk, so far. Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle are going to break it all down for us.

[17:54] Morgan O'Rourke is the RIMS Senior Director of Content and Publications. Hilary Tuttle is the Managing Editor of RIMS Risk Management magazine. That's our flagship, at RMmagazine.com.

[18:07] We will look back on the Q2 digital issue of RIMS Risk Management magazine and discuss some of the news and trends that have been driving the risk profession. We'll talk about tariffs, AI, and more. Let's get to it!

[18:23] Interview! Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle, welcome back to RIMScast!

[18:50] We are here to talk about the mid-point of 2025 in risk and what it has meant for the profession and the reporting on the profession. The Q2 digital issue of RIMS Risk Management magazine is now available. The link is on this page.

[19:26] A big story from this quarter was tariff volatility. In April, Neil Hodge wrote a great article "How to Navigate the Volatile Tariff Landscape." Many companies underestimate their exposure to tariffs through lower-tier suppliers.

[20:06] Hilary says the number one tip is to map your exposure to tariffs via suppliers. Also, think about finished goods as well as what hypothetical future scenarios would mean. We've seen that tariffs are consistently volatile. Map different scenarios to see how they will play out.

[20:43] In the article, Neil also mentions alternatives such as near-shoring, alternative suppliers, and technicalities about working within the system. Morgan mentions contract management. Another tip was tariff engineering by modifying your product design or where it's assembled.

[21:35] Morgan shares an example. Converse All Stars have a layer of felt on the bottom, which classifies them as slippers, which have a lower tariff. They tweaked the product so it could be classified differently. Morgan just bought a new pair and saw the felt he had never noticed.

[23:24] Morgan says certain auto imports may leave out features that would classify them as commercial vehicles, so they don't have a commercial vehicle duty.

[24:08] Equipment that was bought before steel tariffs will be more expensive to repair after steel tariffs, and insurance that was in place before the tariffs may not cover the drastically more expensive repairs. This will affect heavy machinery. Revisit your insurance coverage.

[25:06] Considering what major assets may be changing with tariff changes would be a helpful next step for people. Morgan refers to finding alternate suppliers or diversifying. If you're starting a new relationship with a supplier, tariffs need to be part of the contract conversation.

[25:42] If tariffs are a risk you have not been accounting for in your supplier agreements, you may want to build more flexibility into future agreements.

[26:03] Justin mentions the 2025 hurricane season and accurate weather reporting. That relates to supply chain. Hilary includes replacement values, as materials cost more.

[26:33] Hilary wrote an article, "The 2025 Hurricane Season Outlook." Hilary says it's interesting to tell similar stories every year in different ways. She looked at the outlook for this season and compared it to the results from last year.

[27:35] She looked for the key trends that drove the results last year and that will impact this year. It's an outlook and also a strategic input. How does your organization need to adapt to this outlook? It's about seeing the overarching trends and figuring out how to act on them.

[28:20] Hurricane Beryl came in the summer of 2024. It was one of the earliest major hurricanes to form. It reached Category 5 in 42 hours. What strategies should organizations take to address fast-developing storms?

[28:43] Rapid intensification is a major trend with hurricanes. This is fueled by above-average ocean temperatures and other impacts of climate change. Storms are getting worse faster. The energy at the surface level contributes to faster-building hurricanes. Then there are trade winds.

[29:09] It is a very big challenge for governments and private industry because you need to prepare much faster. You might only have a day of notice between a tropical storm and a Category 3 hurricane.

[29:29] Preparedness is a state of being, not something you deal with if and when a storm arises. It needs to be a constant state of readiness. This year there have been significant budget cuts to NOAA and FEMA. This affects weather forecasting and the number of emergency staff.

[30:22] Organizations need to understand that they need an increased amount of self-reliance. You cannot count on the cavalry coming. Preparedness means more than ever this year.

[30:38] Morgan says it's less about coordinating with Federal agencies and more about making sure you have your ducks in a row. You may not have access to outside resources. You might be able to coordinate with other companies and organizations. Cooperation helps.

[31:43] Hilary says, after last year, we saw with Hurricane Helene that some of these disasters are increasing and hitting in unpredictable areas that don't have the preparedness or the infrastructure because there is not a legacy sense of being at risk for hurricanes.

[32:05] Preparedness is different in different regions. Taking an assessment, thinking about some of those scenarios is a strategic risk management issue that may need to shift in new ways. In some of those areas, you might not have local disaster resources because it has not been a risk.

[32:38] Prepare by taking a realistic assessment of emergency resources on the ground, what has the historical risk been, and how that is shifting?

[32:51] A Small Break! The Spencer Educational Foundation's goal to help build a talent pipeline of risk management and insurance professionals is achieved, in part, by its collaboration with risk management and insurance educators across the U.S. and Canada.

[33:10] Since 2010, Spencer has awarded over $3.3 million in General Grants to support over 130 student-centred experiential learning initiatives at universities and RMI non-profits. Spencer's 2026 application process is now open through July 30th, 2025.

[33:30] General Grant awardees are typically notified at the end of October. The link is in this interview's show notes. Be sure to visit the programs page of SpencerEd.org.

[33:40] The Spencer 2025 Funding their Future Gala will be held Thursday, September 18th at the Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York. This year's honoree is Tim Ryan, the U.S. President of Lockton, and we hope to have him here on RIMScast this summer. A link is in the show notes.

[34:03] Let's Return to the Conclusion of My Interview with Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle of RIMS Risk Management magazine!

[34:55] Jennifer Post, one of the editors, wrote an article, "USDA Budget Cuts Present Food Safety Risks." Budget cuts may increase the likelihood of an outbreak of foodborne diseases and compromise the USDA's ability to respond and notify consumers of an outbreak.

[36:28] Hilary notes recent outbreaks with cucumbers and tomatoes, which have been deadlier than one might expect. The cucumber recall was for cucumbers that had been sold six weeks before. Hilary has never had a cucumber for more than two weeks.

[37:11] Shifting responsibility to under-resourced states creates uneven safety standards. Private companies will have to incur some of the costs of testing and monitoring their food. Who is responsible for coordinating food safety between states or countries is a question mark.

[37:50] This is not a great solution. It's an area of uncertainty for now. It is likely to increase costs for individual companies. It also increases the risk exposure for companies that are distributing food that makes people sick, but they don't know it.

[38:09] The number of people getting sick and the amount of money a company will lose balloon as a function of time and notice. There are a lot of components to this issue.

[38:30] Hilary says we are also seeing some concern around whether some of the shifting standards are going to create different levels of safety in different types of products or from different regions. This shifts a lot of the burden onto the consumer and private companies.

[38:42] Morgan adds that beyond the cuts to NOAA, FEMA, and the USDA, there are cuts to cybersecurity infrastructure with CISA. These cuts remove a level of oversight that people have come to rely on. The cuts push responsibility for risks further onto states and private industry.

[39:26] Morgan says they were worried about the appetite for change in the government from the Trump administration. The administration is making changes. Some of the fallout is that it has changed the risk landscape regarding storm damage, food safety, cybersecurity, and more.

[39:46] You may have to reassess your risks in the light of these cuts to Federal agencies. Hilary points out that the cuts are not fluff when you realize the functions these agencies have.

[40:21] Hilary quotes a food safety professor from the article. "Oversight is not a bureaucratic formality; it's the invisible line between routine production and preventable tragedy." Hilary thinks that quote applies across a number of the cuts that have been made.

[40:39] The magazine has an article on AI called "Balancing Innovation and Compliance When Implementing AI." Morgan reports that AI is all over the place now. The conversation has to involve implementation issues and liability risks. AI hallucinations and data security are issues.

[42:03] You need to have a level of human intervention and involvement to be looking for things that you might have taken for granted are true, but that are problematic or make you liable for something.

[42:17] Hilary says another big issue is that the technology is drastically outpacing regulation, safety measures, and best practices. You need to be asking, "What do we have a defensible business reason to do, and what are we putting in place to safeguard those?"

[42:44] Some of the AI applications around hiring incur very real consequences in terms of human impact and regulatory impact. You may be dealing with serious employment fines or other things of that nature that regulators will catch up on.

[43:06] AI systems are designed to please you. They are not designed to do the right thing or to make intelligent choices. They guide a user, and the user needs to guide them. Hilary compares using AI to riding an elephant. The elephant can go where it wants to go; you need to control it.

[43:55] Hilary says that a lot of these AI engines perpetuate bias that the people who developed them may or may not have or may not realize that they have. A large company for a while only hired white men because those were the people who had been successfully hired in the past.

[44:20] The content online that trains these models is the content that is published online. It requires a certain amount of privilege, experience, education, and life perspective. It doesn't draw on the body of human experience and knowledge for representative bodies.

[44:49] You have to bring a certain diversity of experience, and also check those inputs with either people or other sources. Morgan talks about the feeling you might get that something like an email was written by an AI. The homogeneity starts to erode the quality of things.

[45:27] Morgan has read that one of ChatGPT's quirks is that a lot of responses will have a "not this but that" structure. For instance, "It's not just soup, it's a meal!" Once you see it, you start to see it everywhere. Hilary says a giveaway is the use of inserted emojis.

[46:32] Morgan and Hilary have been editing for quite a while. Morgan can identify who wrote a piece of writing by its style. If you get an email from someone with turns of phrase they would never use, you know it's AI. Losing track of what's going on is not to your advantage.

[47:26] Having AI write an email is an example of something that just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it. Should you be working in an environment in which you don't know how to interact functionally with your coworkers, the length of an email?

[48:13] Engineering prompts are one of the biggest skills people need to learn in working with AI. Prompt engineering is the most important component that Hilary had to struggle to learn in an AI course she took. It makes the biggest difference to AI being usable. Take a prompt class.

[49:05] Justin shares an experience he had using AI to make an email response he had written much shorter and less defensive. It wasn't perfect, but it helped him to revise his message.

[49:47] Hilary said that Justin gave a great example of prompt engineering. You want to tell it who the recipient is, who you are, and what your specific concern is to address. You can also ask it to explain the changes that it makes, so you learn how to write better emails next time.

[50:43] Hilary urges caution on choosing the platform. ChatGPT is decent for writing because you can prime it. You can't prime Copilot, and she says a lot of the results are garbage.

[51:46] The Q2 edition of RIMS Risk Management magazine is online. All the articles are on the site as links and as part of the digital edition.

[51:56] A reminder to the audience: RIMS Risk Management magazine is always seeking contributors and contributions, primarily from the risk profession. The topics that are important to you are the topics that are important to your colleagues. Get your voices out there!

[52:37] A good submission answers two questions: Why this? And why now? Why should other people care about this issue? New regulations? New fines? A recent court case? Is there a nuance you are highlighting? Another question is, so what? What do you do about it?

[53:28] Justin offers, How will the audience be able to do their job better based on the information you're telling them? Morgan comments that the idea is risk management. You want to get to the management part of it so your organization can do something about it.

[53:58] Go to RMMagazine.com and see the Contribute button at the top. That's where you'll find the editorial submission guidelines and the contact information for Morgan, Hilary, and Jennifer. They are open to your ideas, so by all means, reach out. You never know what it could lead to!

[54:58] Hilary says they also welcome feedback on their existing coverage and the challenges you are seeing in the field.

[55:27] Hilary and Morgan are going to rejoin us at the end of the year. We always close the year with an episode when they look back on the year and forward to the next.

[56:01] Special thanks to my RIMS colleagues Mark Prysock, Morgan O'Rourke, and Hilary Tuttle for joining us here on RIMScast! Visit RIMS.org/advocacy to connect with Mark, and RMMagazine.com to connect with Morgan and Hilary, and get the latest risk news and insight.

[56:23] Links are in this episode's show notes, including a link to the Contribute page on RMMagazine.com.

[56:29] Plug Time! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in the show notes.

[56:57] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information.

[57:15] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information.

[57:33] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more.

[57:49] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management.

[68:04] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. You can email Justin at Content@RIMS.org.

[58:11] Thank you all for your continued support and engagement on social media channels! We appreciate all your kind words. Listen every week! Stay safe!

Links:

RIMS Texas Regional 2025 — August 3‒5 | Registration now open.

RIMS-CRMP In-Person Workshop in Texas Aug. 6 & 7

RIMS Canada 2025 — Sept. 14‒17 | Registration now open!

RIMS Western Regional — Oct 1‒3 | Bay Area, California | Registration now open!

RISKWORLD 2026 — Members-only early registration! Register through Sept 30!

RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP)

RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy | RIMS Legislative Summit SAVE THE DATE — March 18‒19, 2026

RIMS Risk Management magazine | Contribute

"How to Navigate Tariff Volatility" (April 3, 2025)

"2025 Hurricane Season Outlook" (June 9, 2025)

"USDA Budget Cuts Present Food Safety Risks" (May 21, 2025)