US risk professionals’ average base salary falls 1.7%

U.S. risk professionals at all levels saw an average 1.7% base salary decrease in 2019 compared with 2017, the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. said Friday, while Canadian practitioners saw an average 4.0% decrease.

But the average annual base salary of chief risk officers in the U.S. increased by 4% to $198,900, the highest median salary of U.S. risk professionals, according to the bi-annual RIMS 2019 Compensation Survey.

The median annual base salary for U.S. risk professionals is $118,000, the survey found, while the median annual base salary for Canadian risk professionals is CA $101,000 ($77,285).

The pay gap between male and female risk professionals was 14% in 2019, down from 17% in 2017, RIMS said in a statement.

Men tend to earn more than women, but they also tend to have higher levels of education, slightly more experience in risk management and are more likely to have supervisory responsibility, the survey said.

“Increases in pay for chief risk officers and directors responsible for strategic risk management and enterprise risk management highlight the profession’s evolution,” RIMS CEO Mary Roth said in a statement. “Organizations are realizing the importance and value of compensating high-level risk professionals who are prepared to contribute to the organizations’ strategy and growth.”