<s>
A	O
risk	O
management	O
information	O
system	O
(	O
RMIS	B-Application
)	O
is	O
an	O
information	O
system	O
that	O
assists	O
in	O
consolidating	O
property	O
values	O
,	O
claims	O
,	O
policy	O
,	O
and	O
exposure	O
information	O
and	O
providing	O
the	O
tracking	O
and	O
management	O
reporting	O
capabilities	O
to	O
enable	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
monitor	O
and	O
control	O
the	O
overall	O
cost	O
of	O
risk	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Risk	O
management	O
information	O
systems/services	O
(	O
RMIS	B-Application
)	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
support	O
expert	O
advice	O
and	O
cost-effective	O
information	O
management	O
solutions	O
around	O
key	O
processes	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
RMIS	B-Application
facilitates	O
the	O
consolidation	O
of	O
information	O
related	O
to	O
insurance	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
claims	O
from	O
multiple	O
sources	O
,	O
property	O
values	O
,	O
policy	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
exposure	O
information	O
,	O
into	O
one	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
,	O
RMIS	B-Application
applies	O
primarily	O
to	O
“	O
casualty	O
”	O
claims/loss	O
data	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RMIS	B-Application
products	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
provide	O
their	O
insured	O
organizations	O
and	O
their	O
brokers	O
with	O
basic	O
policy	O
and	O
claim	O
information	O
via	O
electronic	O
access	O
,	O
and	O
most	O
recently	O
,	O
via	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
the	O
acronym	O
RMIS	B-Application
,	O
the	O
word	O
“	O
risk	O
”	O
pertains	O
to	O
an	O
insured	O
or	O
self-insured	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
important	O
because	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
RMIS	B-Application
,	O
insurance	O
company	O
loss	O
information	O
reporting	O
typically	O
organized	O
loss	O
data	O
around	O
insurance	O
policy	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advent	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
PC	O
and	O
UNIX	B-Application
based	O
standalone	O
RMIS	B-Application
was	O
in	O
1982	O
,	O
by	O
Mark	O
Dorn	O
,	O
under	O
the	O
trade	O
name	O
RISKMASTER	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
the	O
best	O
solution	O
for	O
an	O
organization	O
depends	O
on	O
whether	O
it	O
is	O
enhancing	O
an	O
existing	O
RMIS	B-Application
system	O
,	O
ensuring	O
the	O
highest	O
level	O
of	O
data	O
quality	O
,	O
or	O
designing	O
and	O
implementing	O
a	O
new	O
system	O
while	O
maintaining	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
state-of-the-art	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
major	O
insurance	O
companies	O
(	O
carriers	O
)	O
,	O
broker/agents	O
,	O
and	O
third-party	O
administrators	O
(	O
TPAs	O
)	O
offer	O
or	O
provide	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
external	O
RMIS	B-Application
product	O
to	O
their	O
insureds	O
(	O
clients	O
)	O
and	O
any	O
brokers	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
insurance	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
commonly	O
,	O
RMIS	B-Application
products	O
allow	O
individual	O
claim	O
detail	O
look-up	O
,	O
basic	O
trend	O
report	O
production	O
,	O
policy	O
summaries	O
and	O
ad	O
hoc	O
queries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
advanced	O
products	O
allow	O
multiple	O
claim	O
data	O
sources	O
to	O
be	O
consolidated	O
into	O
one	O
“	O
Master	O
RMIS	B-Application
,	O
”	O
which	O
is	O
essential	O
for	O
most	O
large	O
client	O
organizations	O
with	O
complex	O
insurance	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
users	O
of	O
RMIS	B-Application
are	O
risk/insurance	O
departments	O
of	O
insured	O
organizations	O
and	O
any	O
insurance	O
broker	O
involved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
much	O
less	O
common	O
for	O
the	O
insured	O
's	O
safety	O
department	O
and	O
vehicle	O
operations	O
department	O
to	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
RMIS	B-Application
despite	O
similar	O
interest	O
in	O
the	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
,	O
safety	O
and	O
vehicle	O
operations	O
of	O
larger	O
organizations	O
typically	O
maintain	O
their	O
own	O
separate	O
database	O
systems	O
of	O
“	O
accidents/incidents	O
,	O
”	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
will	O
correlate	O
to	O
RMIS	B-Application
claim	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Insurance	O
companies	O
normally	O
use	O
a	O
different	O
version	O
of	O
externally	O
provided	O
RMIS	B-Application
for	O
internal	O
use	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
by	O
underwriting	O
and	O
loss	O
control	O
personnel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Occasionally	O
,	O
there	O
could	O
be	O
timing	O
or	O
other	O
differences	O
that	O
could	O
cause	O
data	O
discrepancies	O
between	O
the	O
internal	O
system	O
and	O
externally	O
provided	O
RMIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brokers	O
are	O
normally	O
added	O
as	O
an	O
additional	O
user	O
to	O
the	O
RMIS	B-Application
product	O
provided	O
to	O
their	O
clients	O
by	O
the	O
insurance	O
carrier	O
and	O
TPAs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
information	O
available	O
from	O
RMIS	B-Application
is	O
critical	O
to	O
the	O
broker	O
for	O
interfacing	O
effectively	O
with	O
their	O
counterparts	O
in	O
the	O
insurance	O
carrier	O
and	O
TPAs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
effectively	O
presented	O
RMIS	B-Application
information	O
that	O
shows	O
trends	O
and	O
analysis	O
is	O
essential	O
to	O
successfully	O
marketing	O
their	O
clients	O
 '	O
insurance	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
the	O
claims	O
management	O
system	O
provides	O
the	O
primary	O
data	O
to	O
RMIS	B-Application
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RMIS	B-Application
products	O
in	O
turn	O
provide	O
an	O
externally	O
accessed	O
view	O
into	O
the	O
client	O
's	O
claims	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RMIS	B-Application
products	O
are	O
commonly	O
available	O
directly	O
from	O
larger	O
insurance	O
carriers	O
and	O
TPAs	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
most	O
advanced	O
systems	O
are	O
often	O
offered	O
by	O
independent	O
RMIS	B-Application
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Independent	O
RMIS	B-Application
vendor	O
systems	O
are	O
most	O
desirable	O
when	O
a	O
client	O
organization	O
needs	O
to	O
consolidate	O
claims	O
data	O
from	O
multiple	O
current	O
insurance	O
programs	O
and/or	O
past	O
programs	O
with	O
current	O
program	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
insurance	O
carriers	O
,	O
broker/agents	O
and	O
TPAs	O
that	O
offer	O
their	O
own	O
proprietary	O
systems	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
direct	O
RMIS	B-Application
technology	O
companies	O
who	O
sell	O
to	O
direct	O
insureds	O
and	O
even	O
the	O
carriers	O
,	O
broker/agents	O
and	O
TPAs	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
differences	O
among	O
RMIS	B-Application
vendors	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
RMIS	B-Application
system	O
compatibility	O
varies	O
among	O
carriers	O
,	O
broker/agents	O
and	O
TPAs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
quality	O
independent	O
RMIS	B-Application
vendors	O
by	O
design	O
can	O
take	O
almost	O
any	O
claim	O
data	O
source	O
and	O
convert	O
or	O
map	O
the	O
data	O
to	O
their	O
particular	O
system	O
's	O
file	O
structure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cost	O
of	O
a	O
typical	O
independent	O
RMIS	B-Application
product	O
varies	O
from	O
company	O
to	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TPAs	O
commonly	O
include	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
RMIS	B-Application
access	O
IDs	O
within	O
their	O
claims	O
management	O
pricing	O
to	O
encourage	O
both	O
the	O
client	O
's	O
broker	O
and	O
the	O
client	O
to	O
use	O
their	O
claim	O
look-up	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cost	O
drivers	O
of	O
RMIS	B-Application
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
most	O
carrier	O
and	O
TPA	O
RMIS	B-Application
systems	O
are	O
similarly	O
priced	O
,	O
the	O
independent	O
RMIS	B-Application
vendors	O
 '	O
price	O
range	O
varies	O
significantly	O
,	O
as	O
previously	O
mentioned	O
.	O
</s>
