AXIS and University of Illinois Host Climate Symposium

AXIS partnered with the University of Illinois to sponsor The Future of Insurance Symposium: Climate Risk & the Insurance Implications on November 8, 2019. Gathering in the I-Hotel, the symposium addressed climate risk from an array of angles, including the opportunities and challenges facing specialty insurers and global reinsurers. The event was a collaboration between the AXIS Research Center at the University of Illinois, the U of I Office of Risk Management and Insurance Research (OMIR), the U of I Gies College of Business, and other academic departments.

AXIS Chairman Michael Butt challenges the (re)insurance industry to continue its focus on mitigating the risks of a changing climate. AXIS Board Member Thomas Ramey gave the afternoon keynote, focusing his remarks on the dramatic impact that climate change is having on the planet and its associated risks. Additional AXIS speakers joining panels were Tom Cain, AXIS Insurance Head of U.S. Renewable Energy; Ellissa Cavaciuti-Wishart, AXIS Re Head of Cat Modeling-International; and Carol Collins, Chief Risk Officer. Conrad Brooks, General Counsel, and Eric Gesick, Group Chief Underwriting Officer, addressed the audience with messages of support for the AXIS mission. AXIS speakers traveled from across the U.S. and Europe to attend the climate symposium.

The AXIS Research Center at the University of Illinois Research Park opened in July 2013. The Center provides catastrophe modeling support and accesses the talent of U of I students, faculty, and researchers to assist in solving AXIS business problems. AXIS also partners with OMIR to co-fund four Faculty Fellowships at the U of I to research climate risk and insurance solutions through grant commitments and research stipends. Additionally, AXIS sponsors the AXIS Risk Management Academy at the university, which supports the development of the next generation of (re)insurance leaders.

To learn more about the event, click HERE.