In2Risk 2025

Dear In2Risk 2025 Attendees! 

As we all know, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a storm that profoundly impacted New Orleans, our host city for the 2025 annual meeting. What an achievement for the city to bounce back from such devastation and welcome us once again!

This year's meeting is especially relevant, as the challenges of natural catastrophe risk and flooding continue. The insurance market is responding with changes like reduced risk appetite for high-risk areas, higher deductibles, lower coverage limits, and increased premiums.

In line with these important issues, our Opening General Session, titled Natural Catastrophe Risk and Resilience, will take place on Monday, November 4, 2025, from 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM CT. This discussion, produced in partnership with The Institutes Griffith Foundation, will provide valuable insights and strategies for effectively managing natural catastrophe risks.

This is more than just a meeting for CPCU members and the industry; it's an opportunity to reflect, learn, and drive change. Together, we will explore lessons from the past and forge a path toward greater resilience.

We Want to Hear From You!
As we prepare for IN2Risk 2025, we invite you to share your thoughts:

• Where were you when Hurricane Katrina made landfall? What do you remember most vividly?
• What is one key lesson from Katrina that you believe our industry has truly learned, and what is one we're still grappling with?

Please comment below! We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans!

Best Regards 

Elaine George CPCU, ARM, RPLU, ASLI 

CPCU Society President-Elect 

VP, Sales and Customer Engagement 

Chubb Multinational: Leading the Way - Locally and Globally
C: 718 490 9543

E: elaine.george@chubb.com

------------------------------
Elaine M. George
------------------------------

Great post, madam President-Elect. I certainly remember the devastation that occurred and the amount of difficulty in getting aid in a timely manner to all of those displaced and in need. Why is it that we allow building in areas naturally prone to disasters...and yet rebuild in the same areas without building back better. I think we are starting down the path of prevention vs. recovery and rebuilding but much more can be done. 

------------------------------
Brett Clausen, CPCU, CIC, FLMI, LSSMBB, MSIM, AIC, AIS, API, ARC, ARe, AU
Regional Governor
Adel, IA
------------------------------

I still remember the terror and fear in people's voices and the dark sky and clouds vividly. I had just finished 30 days training at Fort Polk, Louisiana in preparation for a combat deployment to Iraq during what was referred to as the surge. It was our last day, and we were worried we would not get out of there back to our unit in Kansas. We were riding on a school bus to the airfield, and I remember listening to the AM radio of people calling in panicked and not knowing what to do or not being able to leave behind their family or lives. We waited on the tarmac for several hours until there was a big enough break in the winds for our flight to leave. I could see the sky was black as night with no city lights even during the early afternoon and evening. We did get out of there right before it hit, and they told us when we landed back in Kansas that the area we had just left had been entirely devastated.

------------------------------
Glenn Harris CPCU, MBA, AIM, ARM, AU-M, AIC-M, AIDA, ARe, ASLI, AIS, AINS
Immediate Past-President/Treasurer, Colorado CPCU Society Chapter
Chair, International Insurance Interest Group (3iG)
Underwriting Manager
Englewood CO
Philadelphia Insurance Companies
------------------------------

I was working in an in-office operation in Tulsa,Oklahoma. 75% of our workforce went to work Katrina on site. All the rest of us were left to handle all of the claims that were non-hurricane related, but we also had to spend hours before and after work working in the call center talking to customers on Katrina and then Rita claims. It was a crazy time. I know it taught me a lot about empathy in claim handling, and remembering that people in the path of the storm were dramatically impacted in so many ways by the event- the toll wasn't just physical property, it was mental and emotional. I didn't go and do "boots on the ground," because my kids were younger at the time, but that didn't keep me from working really long days 14+ hours supporting the Katrina operation and everything else that happened outside of the hurricane. 
The key lesson I learned- patience with others, and myself. We were overwhelmed with phone calls and workload. I had only been in the industry a little over a year. I didn't know how to manage that kind of chaos, but I just learned to take it one claim at a time, one person at a time, and one minute at a time, at times. And I also learned the POWER of keeping teams engaged and motivated as we all dug in and helped each other, but also we brought food, had lunches in the office, and just took care of our fellow teammates. 
DO NOT FORGET to grab another copy of Insights Journal at In2Risk this year. You won't want to miss the Fall Edition! @Tredessa Travers CPCU

------------------------------
Heather Blevins AIC,AINS,AIS,CPCU
Content Programming Lead
JS Held
Bloomington IL
------------------------------

Elaine, great post! Hurricane Katrina had a direct impact on my family, friends, and though the city appears to have bounced back, nearly 60,000 residents who were displaced never returned to New Orleans. As a native of both LA and MS, and having lived and worked in New Orleans, I still see areas where I recall as vibrant neighborhoods that will never be the same. Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster and a man-made disaster. The levees that surrounded vulnerable low-lying areas of New Orleans were not adequate to sustain the wind and rain resulting from such a powerful storm. When I lived and worked in New Orleans, I chose to live in Metairie because, as a trained insurance professional, this area has some of the highest levees, making it one of the safest areas to live in the city. And, yes, I still purchased flood insurance! I see the New Orleans of today, yet I miss the small homes and beautiful gardens of Gretna, the East Bank, and the Lower East Side. But New Orleans will continue to be a historically resilient city.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you in November - "Laissez les bon temps rouler," - " Let the good times roll!"

------------------------------
Sherry McFadden, State Farm Ins Companies Enterprise Operations Director, Retired
CPCU, CLU, ChFC, FLMI
President-Elect - The Institutes CPCU Society
sherry1025.sm@gmail.com
------------------------------