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October 24, 2018

Kansas City, Missouri

After a year of devastating natural catastrophes, insurance industry experts, policymakers, scientists and environmentalists from across the country gathered in Kansas City to develop strategies for improving community resilience to disasters.

Our goal at our Community Recovery and Resilience Leadership Forum was to discuss and identify community-focused strategies for improving natural disaster resiliency and closing the protection coverage gap. We examined the importance of preventative measures to keep people and communities safe in the face of future disasters and explored how governments and community leaders can collaborate to close the protection gap for earthquake and flood risk and advance best practices for risk mitigation.

Stephen H. Weinstein serves as RenaissanceRe’s chief legal officer, with responsibility for legal, regulatory, government affairs and compliance matters on a global basis. Stephen has served as RenaissanceRe’s Group General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since joining the Company in 2002, as Chief Compliance Officer since 2004, and as Senior Vice President since 2005. He has been a member of our Executive Committee since March 2006. Stephen also serves as Chairman of RenaissanceRe’s Risk Sciences Foundation.  Prior to joining RenaissanceRe, he specialized in corporate law as an attorney at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a leading international law firm.A frequent speaker on legal and regulatory matters, Stephen serves on the boards of several industry groups and is a Member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Harvard Law School.

Brian Treece was elected Mayor, City of Columbia, Missouri in April 2016.   Previously he had served as Chairman of the City of Columbia, Missouri’s Historic Preservation Commission and Chairman of the Downtown Columbia Leadership Council. Brian is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia where he studied political science and journalism. He has more than 25 years of experience in public relations and communications. 

Craig Tillman serves as President of WeatherPredict Consulting Inc., a U.S.-based RenaissanceRe affiliate that provides intelligence on natural perils. In his current role, he directs a team of advanced scientists with specialties in oceanography, meteorology, wind engineering, structural engineering, seismic risk and computer simulation. Craig also serves as President and Director of RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation Inc., a non-profit foundation that supports advanced scientific research in natural catastrophes, the development of risk mitigation techniques to safeguard communities, efforts that reduce the economic turmoil following disasters, and organizations that preserve coastal habitats. Craig currently serves as an Executive Director for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Mathematics, as well as the Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) and Risk Management (ARM) designations. He is a longstanding member of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

John Huff was appointed President & CEO of ABIR effective January 1, 2018. In this role, John directs ABIR’s worldwide public policy initiatives. John has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance sector, most recently as the 2016 president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the nation’s chief insurance regulators. He has also served as director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, a position he held for eight years. Prior to entering public service, John spent more than a decade in executive positions with leading global insurers and reinsurers. A former practicing attorney, John brings to the table a keen understanding of the regulatory, legal, financial and operational challenges that insurance and reinsurance companies face. John earned his JD from Washington University School of Law and holds a MBA from St. Louis University and a BSBA from Southeast Missouri State University.

R.J. Lehmann is senior fellow and director of finance, insurance and trade policy for the R Street Institute, overseeing the institute’s research into effective and efficient regulation of financial services and the benefits of the international rules-based trading system.  He previously served as deputy director of the Heartland Institute’s Center of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate.Before joining Heartland, he spent nearly a decade covering the insurance and financial services industries, first as manager of A.M. Best Co.’s Washington bureau and later as a senior industry editor with SNL Financial (now S&P Global Market Intelligence). He is a three-time award winner from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and was the youngest-ever winner of a first-place prize from the New Jersey Press Association.He also is an associate fellow of the John Locke Institute and the James Madison Institute. 

As Market Regulation Division Director, Angela ensures the Department’s core mission of consumer protection is fulfilled through the regulatory compliance functions of the Division.  The Market Regulation Division reviews insurance policies and rates for compliance with Missouri insurance laws; examines the records of insurance companies to ensure fair treatment of policyholders and compliance with Missouri insurance laws.Before leading the Market Regulation Division, Angela was the Director of the Consumer Affairs Division.Through the efforts of her Division, Missouri consumers recovered an additional $19.2 million dollars in 2011, which is still a record amount for the Department.In 2018, she was the recipient of the Paul DeAngelo Memorial Teaching Award given by the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society.Angela is active within the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), serving on a number of committees and task forces.Angela graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Management and earned an MBA from William Woods University.She has also earned the Fellow of Health Insurance Advanced Studies (FHIAS) from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Advanced Market Conduct Management (AMCM) designation through the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES).

Kevin Fry is a Senior Vice President and Branch Office Manager with Renaissance Reinsurance U.S. Inc. His underwriting focus is on regional/multi-line treaty reinsurance.  Previously, Kevin served as a Vice President in treaty underwriting at Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance, Inc., and before that he was with St. Paul Re, Platinum’s predecessor. He began his career with the Allstate Insurance Group.In his more than 30 years in the insurance industry, Kevin has also held positions with the Home Insurance Company and the Interstate Insurance Group. Kevin graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II is now serving his seventh term representing Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District which includes the southern three-fourths of Kansas City, including all of the city south of the Missouri River, as well as the more rural counties of Lafayette, Ray, and Saline east of Jackson.He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and also a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus.Congressman Cleaver has received five honorary Doctoral Degrees augmented by a bachelor’s degree from Prairie View A&M, and a Master’s from St. Paul’s School of Theology of Kansas City.

 

Michael Cohen is the Vice President of Government Affairs for RenaissanceRe, a global provider of reinsurance and insurance. Prior to his current position, Michael was a director of industry and state relations at Freddie Mac. He also served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House Community Empowerment Board in the Clinton White House, was the White House liaison at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and ran the Office of Special Actions for HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. Michael was a legislative assistant in U.S. House of Representatives and has held various other positions both in and out of government.  He grew up in Miami, Florida and earned a B.A. at Columbia University and a J.D. at Emory University School of Law.

Michael F. Consedine serves as the NAIC’s Chief Executive Officer.  As CEO, he principally focuses on strategic planning, policy development and implementation in the areas of state, federal and international affairs and relations. Before joining the NAIC in January 2017, Michael served as the Global Head of Government and Policy Affairs at Aegon, one of the world’s largest financial services companies. Concurrently, Michael was Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Executive Director of Government Affairs of Aegon’s U.S. subsidiary, Transamerica. In this role, he oversaw all aspects of the company’s state and federal government relations activities.

Jenn Fogel-Bublick is a partner with Capitol Counsel LLC. She has over 18 years of diverse experience, having worked on housing, insurance, banking and general financial services issues in the administration, on Capitol Hill, at non-profits and in the private sector. Jenn provides strategic advice, policy and political analysis, and legislative advocacy on a variety of issues before Congress and regulatory agencies. Her expertise includes issues surrounding Dodd-Frank, flood insurance reform, housing finance reform, and housing appropriations. In addition, she is working to build and strengthen coalitions, managing and leading advocacy efforts of a large coalition on natural catastrophe insurance and risk.

Nancy Watkins oversees a consulting team focused on analytics in Milliman’s San Francisco office. Her group supports public and private entities in managing and transferring risk.  Currently, Nancy and her team are working closely with the U.S. Federal Government to redesign how risk is priced by the National Flood Insurance Program. A qualified actuary, Nancy is regularly called upon to provide thought-leadership on topics such as flood insurance, analytics, predictive modelling and risk transfer. She currently serves on the American Academy of Actuaries Flood Insurance Work Group. Prior to joining Milliman in 1997, Nancy held senior positions at John Hancock Reinsurance, Price Waterhouse, and Aetna.She received her Bachelor of Mathematical Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Roy Wright joined IBHS in 2018 with more than 20 years of experience in insurance, risk management, mitigation, and resilience planning. Roy leads a team of scientists and risk communicators who deliver strategies to build safer and stronger homes and businesses. IBHS’ real-world impact enables the insurance industry and affected property owners to prevent avoidable losses. Roy joined IBHS from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) where he served as the Chief Executive of the National Flood Insurance Program, led the agency’s Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, and directed the resilience programs addressing earthquake, fire, flood, and wind risks. Prior to joining FEMA in 2007, Roy worked in public and private sector roles.  A native of California, Roy earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Azusa Pacific University and a Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University.

Samantha Medlock is senior vice president and North America lead for Capital, Science, and Policy with Willis Towers Watson, which advances insurance capabilities to address risk and resilience requirements for corporate and public sector clients. Previously, Samantha was senior advisor in the White House Office of Management and Budget and deputy director in the Council on Environmental Quality, coordinating across the Executive Office of the President and the administration to reduce the risks and costs of disasters by strengthening standards, leveraging capital, and creating incentives for cross-sector innovations. She has experience as policy counsel for the Association of State Floodplain Managers, and has testified in Congress on flood risk, levee safety, and resilient recovery from disasters and authored amicus briefs on private property rights and NFIP.  She is a recipient of the Army Commander’s Award for Public Service, is a Certified Floodplain Manager, and is a Juris Doctor graduate with honors of Vermont Law School. Samantha earned a Bachelor of Science summa cum laude from Texas Woman’s University.  She serves on the Advisory Committee for the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder, is a contributor to the executive education program of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law.

As Global Managing Director, Daniel has, amongst other duties, overall leadership responsibility for relationships with supranational, sovereign, and local governmental and not-for-profit entities. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has worked with clients on every continent and in almost every sector, advising them on a variety of complex risks, from natural hazards, terrorism, and pandemic to marine, supply chain, and cyber. He is currently advising public-sector entities in mature and emerging markets alike, helping them articulate their risk appetite, quantify their exposure, develop mitigation strategies, reduce disaster risk, build resilience to extreme events, finance infrastructure projects, and transfer residual risk. He holds a master’s from the University of Oxford, where he graduated double first with honors, and is a graduate of the Center of Creative Leadership in Brussels, Belgium.

In November 2017 the regional office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) named Paul J. Taylor its new regional administrator following his recent appointment to the position by the Trump administration.  Prior to joining FEMA, Paul served for more than 20 years in a variety of leadership and government relations roles in the U.S. military and the private sector.  Most recently, he was vice president of External Affairs at WillCo Technologies, a Kansas City-based software integration firm specializing in cybersecurity compliance and workforce management solutions. Previously, Paul served as a Senior Congressional Budget Liaison for the Department of the Army and as an Adjunct Professor in Budgetary Politics at George Washington University.  He rose to the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army, serving as a commander and staff officer at multiple levels. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the U.S. Military Academy and a Master’s of Arts degree in Public Administration from the University of Louisville. As Region VII’s administrator, Paul will oversee a Kansas City-based office of 232 staff and a four-state region that covers Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

Organizations Represented at the Community Recovery and Resilience Leadership Forum

 

AAA Missouri

AIR & Verisk Analytics

Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research, University of Alabama

American Red Cross

Aon Benfield

Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers ABIR

AuBuchon Law Firm, LLC on behalf of The Doctors Company

Bermuda Business Development Agency

Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

Capitol Counsel/Smarter Safer Coalition

City of Columbia, MO

City of Kansas City, MO

City of Lees Summit, MO

Conifer Insurance

CoreMessage

Cornell University

Dentons

eWeatherRisk

FAIR Foundation

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies

FEMA

Guy Carpenter

HOK

Insurance Information Institute

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)

Kansas Department of Agriculture

Lockton

Lowlander Center

Marathon Strategies

Milliman

Missouri Association of Insurance Agents

Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration

Missouri Insurance Coalition

National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

National Flood Services

Reinsurance Association of America

Renaissance Reinsurance U.S. Inc.

RenaissanceRe

RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation

RLI Insurance Company

RMS

R Street Institute

RubinBrown

Shelter Insurance

Signature Personal Insurance

Swiss Re

TreecePhillips, LLC

University of Missouri

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Geological Survey – Central Midwest Water Science Center

U.S. House Representatives, MO

WeatherPredict Consulting Inc.

Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA)

Willis Towers Watson

Village of Pilger