On May 14 the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), co-hosted a
webinar with ResilientH20 Partners that focused on managing
extreme weather events in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The panelists discussed
the changing role of stakeholders across the private sector, governments and
non-profit/NGOs.
The panelists drew from their backgrounds across government, business and insurance to discuss the immediate challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the downturn in the economy, and near-term flood and storm threats.
Click here to view a recording of the webinar.
Co-hosts:
- Dr. Michel Léonard,
Vice President & Senior Economist, Triple-I - Richard Seline,
Managing Director, ResilientH20 Partners
Panelists:
- Dr. Daniel Kaniewski,
Managing Director, Public Sector Innovation, Marsh & McLennan - Jeff Moseley, CEO,
Texas Association of Business - Katie Sabo, State and
Local Leader, Managing Director, Public Sector Partnership, Aon
Moderator:
- Chris Tomlinson,
Business Columnist, Houston Chronicle
Some of the key
takeaways include:
- Having
a business continuity plan is a must-have for any business - Flooding
can occur anywhere (not just high-risk zones) – so getting flood
insurance is crucial - In
the midst of the pandemic, we can’t lose sight of the importance of investing
in mitigation and resilience, which will help on a material level post-event - The
COVID-19 crisis is putting unprecedented pressure on local governments – if private
investors have ideas for disaster mitigation, especially ones where return on
investment can be shown – now is the time to bring them, and they will be heard - Insurers
are and will be playing bigger roles in partnering with local governments to
build public/private solutions to disaster resilience
This
webinar is the first in a new series of thought leadership sessions that aims
to be a catalyst for public-private-partnerships focused on enhancing
pre-disaster risk mitigation at each step of the resilience value-chain, from
financing to development, management, technology selection and
crisis-management.
The Atlantic
hurricane season starts on Monday, June 1, but could get an early start this weekend with Tropical Storm Arthur.
