LA RIMS

A. Class I - Corporations or Other Legal Entities (hereinafter "Member")

A Member corporation or legal entity must:
- subscribe to the objectives of RIMS;
- agree to abide by RIMS' Constitution and Bylaws and this Chapter Constitution and Bylaws;
- have been accepted for membership by the Chapter;
- at all times be represented by a Deputy (subject to eligibility requirements) who is a salaried employee of the Member (or affiliated entity of the same economic family); and
- pay Society and Chapter membership dues as fixed by the respective Boards of Directors.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of a Member that has its own risk management department and/or individual(s) performing the risk management function solely for the subsidiary must have their own membership.
A Member corporation or legal entity may:
- designate two Deputies, a primary and an alternate, for their membership dues. The primary deputy is responsible for exercising the voting rights of the member organization with the alternate serving as the back up; and
- designate additional deputies for a fee set by RIMS Board of Directors.
A Deputy shall be a salaried employee of a Member company or affiliated entity of the same economic family having regular duties in risk or insurance management and/or employee benefits management, who shall have been designated by a Member to exercise the rights of that member.

A Deputy:
must perform one or more of the following risk management functions for the benefit of the Member and if applicable, for an affiliated entity of the same economic family:
- risk administration;
- risk assessment;
- loss control;
- risk financing; or
- funding/selection/administration relative to property/casualty or employee benefits programs.
must not engage in any of the following prohibited activities for any nonaffiliated entities:
- underwriting of insurance;
- selling or brokering of insurance;
- regulating of insurance;
- rating of insurance;
- actuarial services relating to insurance;
- investigation and/or settlement of losses;
- providing risk management or employee benefits-related services, including but not limited to risk management consulting, rehabilitation, mediation, environmental services, disaster recovery, etc.;
- providing legal services; or
- executive recruitment and/or personnel recruitment.
may vote, hold office and chair or serve on a committee.

B. Class II - Honorary Members
An Honorary Membership may be conferred only by the Board of Directors of RIMS on a person deemed worthy of such a distinguished honor. An affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the entire Board of Directors is needed to confer an Honorary Membership.

A Nominee for Honorary Membership:

must have served as an officer or director of RIMS and have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of RIMS, or if not eligible to be a deputy member of RIMS, must have made contributions to risk management/benefits and/or the insurance industry which are considered to be unusually outstanding as determined by RIMS Executive Council;
must not be a deputy member at the time of nomination; and
must be nominated by at least five deputy members in a written statement addressed to the President of RIMS, signed by each, specifying the grounds upon which the nomination is made and documenting the contributions of the nominee to RIMS and risk management.

RIMS Executive Council shall evaluate each nomination to see that it meets the criteria listed herein and if it does, shall present the nomination to RIMS Board of Directors for its consideration. If the nomination does not meet the criteria, RIMS Executive Council shall return it to the deputy members with an explanation as to why it was not forwarded to RIMS Board of Directors.

Election to such membership shall be conducted by mail ballot which, together with supporting data, shall be forwarded to each member of RIMS Board of Directors. Ballots shall be returned to the Vice President & Secretary of RIMS at the RIMS principal office.

Honorary Members

must subscribe to the objectives of RIMS;
must agree to abide by the RIMS' and the Chapter's Constitution and Bylaws;
pay no dues;
may not vote;
may not hold office;
may act as an advisor to a committee at the discretion of the committee chair;
are afforded the privileges of RIMS membership, whenever RIMS or its Chapters differentiates between members and nonmembers, unless otherwise specified; and
are not required to be a member of a chapter.

An Honorary Membership shall be conferred on an individual for the duration of that person's life.

The Chapter may grant a Chapter Honorary Membership as it deems appropriate, pursuant to the above criteria. The Chapter Honorary Membership will be recognized by the Chapter only and does not entitle the honoree to the benefits associated with membership in RIMS.

An individual who is a faculty member teaching risk management, insurance or benefits courses or chairing a department, which offers risk management, insurance or benefits courses may be extended the opportunity to become an Educational Member. This membership shall be carried with the faculty member from educational institution to educational institution, so long as the educational institution offers courses in risk management, insurance or benefits.

An Educational Membership shall not be affected if the educational member engages in other employment, even if in that other position the educational member would not be eligible to be a deputy member of RIMS, so long as education remains the member's primary focus

must subscribe to the objectives of RIMS;
must agree to abide by the RIMS' and Chapter's Constitution and Bylaws;
must pay dues which shall be fixed by the Board of Directors;
may not vote;
may not hold office;
may act as an advisor to a committee at the discretion of the committee chair;
are afforded the privileges of RIMS membership, whenever RIMS or its Chapters differentiates between members and nonmembers, unless otherwise specified; and
must re-qualify for such membership every five (5) years and if their teaching assignments or activities within RIMS change, such membership may be subject to termination.

The Chapter may grant a Chapter Educational Membership as it deems appropriate, pursuant to the above criteria. The Chapter Educational Membership will be recognized by the Chapter only and does not entitle the Educational Member to the benefits associated with membership in RIMS.

D. Class IV - Student Member
A Student Membership may be granted to a full-time student enrolled in at least twelve (12) credit hours per term in a college or university; provided such individual is not otherwise eligible for membership in another class of membership. Student Members should be affiliated with a local RIMS Chapter, to the extent possible given the student's location relative to the Chapter area.

The Chapter may grant a Chapter Student Membership as it deems appropriate, pursuant to the above criteria. The Chapter Student Membership will be recognized by the Chapter only and does not entitle the Student Member to the benefits associated with membership in RIMS.

E. Class V - Affiliate Member An Affiliate Membership may be granted to a current Deputy upon that Deputy's separation from his/her current place of employment. Upon acceptance of employment in the area of risk management, insurance or benefits, or the acceptance of any position involving the prohibited activities listed in Section 1(A)(3)(b), such Affiliate Member status shall terminate, with no refund of any prorated dues amount.

must subscribe to the objectives of RIMS;
must agree to abide by RIMS' and Chapter's Constitution and Bylaws;
may enjoy such membership for a maximum of two continuous years from the date of separation from the Member;
may continue to serve as a local or national officer or committee member until the expiration of his/her existing term, but may not seek reelection to that office, or election to any other office, and may not be re-appointed to a committee, upon the expiration of such existing term;
may not vote, except as described immediately above;
are afforded the privileges of RIMS membership, whenever RIMS or its Chapters differentiates between members and nonmembers, unless otherwise specified; and
must pay dues which shall be fixed by RIMS' Board of Directors.

The Chapter may grant a Chapter Affiliate Membership as it deems appropriate, pursuant to the above criteria; provided, however, that a Chapter Affiliate Member who is not a member of National must immediately resign any local or national office or committee membership. The Chapter Affiliate Membership will be recognized by the Chapter only and does not entitle the Affiliate Member to the benefits associated with membership in RIMS.

F. Class VI - Associate of the Society
An individual may be extended the opportunity to be an Associate of the Society if he/she can confirm their commitment to uphold and further the risk management discipline.

The Chapter may grant a Chapter Associate Membership as it deems appropriate, pursuant to the above criteria. The Chapter Associate Membership will be recognized by the Chapter only and does not entitle the Associate Member to the benefits associated with membership in RIMS.

G. Class VII - Retired Member
A retired Member Membership may be extended to an individual who was previously employed in risk management or one of its related specialties and who was previously a Class I Deputy Member or a Class VI Associate Member of RIMS prior to retirement.

must have previously been a Class I Deputy Member or a Class VI Associate Member of RIMS;
must be fully retired (i.e. does not practice or work in any capacity in the risk management field, such as would make him or her eligible to be a member of RIMS in any other Class;
must subscribe to the objectives of RIMS;
must agree to abide by the RIMS' and Chapter's Constitution and Bylaws;
may be a member of the Los Angles Chapter; unless disapproved by the Chapter'
must pay dues, which shall be fixed by RIMS' Board of Directors;
may not vote, hold office or be a chair or vice chair of a committee, but may serve as a voting member of a committee; and
are afforded the same privileges of members such individuals had received as Deputy or Associate Members, as the case may have been, unless otherwise specified.

H. The Executive Council is empowered to: resolve cases of doubt as to eligibility; review admissions as to eligibility; refuse admission to entities or individuals whose inclusion would not be in the best interest of RIMS; and terminate a membership by reason of ineligibility that has come about subsequent to admission. Exclusion from or termination of membership may be appealed by a RIMS Director to RIMS Board of Directors, who may overrule the action of RIMS Executive Council by a majority vote of the entire RIMS Board of Directors at an in person meeting specified in Article VI, Section 7, below. Nothing herein deprives a chapter of the right to refuse chapter admission to an applicant.

A. Resignation. Any membership may be resigned by filing a written resignation with the Vice President & Secretary of RIMS and the Secretary of the Chapter. Such resignation shall not discharge any obligations to pay dues, assessments, or other charges accrued and unpaid. No refund shall be made on any unexpired portion of dues.

B. Suspension or Expulsion. Any Class I, III, IV, V, VI or VII member who fails to pay dues when payable or within ninety (90) days thereof, or who becomes ineligible for membership, may be forthwith suspended by the Vice President & Secretary of RIMS, but shall be reinstated without reelection if within two months of such suspension the condition which caused the suspension is remedied. Notice of any action taken hereunder shall be given to the president of the Chapter.

C. Any membership may be terminated by action of the Executive Council, if after forty-five (45) days written notice to the Member or individual, and the Chapter, and hearing before RIMS Executive Council, if requested by the Member or individual, RIMS Executive Council by a three-fourths (3/4) vote finds the Member or individual guilty of unethical conduct or conduct prejudicial to the best interests of RIMS. Exclusion from membership may be appealed to RIMS Board of Directors who may overrule the action of RIMS Executive Council by a majority vote of the entire RIMS Board of Directors at an in-person meeting specified in Article VI, Section 7.

A. Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting of the Chapter shall be held during the month of November, unless otherwise designated not less than thirty (30) days prior to the meeting date, at any place specified by the Chapter's Board of Directors. Notice of the annual meeting shall be sent to all Chapter members at least thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting. Notice of the Annual Meeting placed in the chapter newsletter shall constitute adequate notice.

B. Special Meetings. Special Meetings of the Chapter may be called by the President of the Chapter, and shall be called upon the request of a majority of the Chapter Board of Directors or upon a written application of 10 percent, or not less than 5 primary deputy members, whichever is greater, of the Chapter members. Requests or applications for special meetings shall be sent to the Chapter President. Notice of such meetings, stating the business to be transacted, shall be sent to all Chapter members at least thirty (30) days in advance. Business not on the agenda shall not be considered except by unanimous consent of the Chapter members present.

C. Regular Meetings. Regular Meetings of the Chapter shall be held at such time and place as may from time to time be approved by the Chapter Board of Directors. The Chapter shall meet at least four (4) times per year, with one of those being the Annual Meeting.

D. Voting. Only one of the deputy members representing a Class I member entity shall exercise a vote at a meeting of the Chapter. Voting by proxy shall be permitted at chapter meetings provided a single and only a single written proxy for a member, valid only for the specified meeting and signed by an authorized Deputy Member, shall be filed ten (10) days in advance of such Special Meeting with the Chapter Secretary.

E. Quorum. The Chapter members present shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the chapter.

F. Minutes. The Chapter shall regularly maintain and submit to RIMS written notices of meetings, minutes of meetings and such other records and information as may be reasonably requested by RIMS.