Roundtable: Are we headed into an uninusurable future?
If there’s one industry that should be responding to climate risk, it’s property insurers. These are the companies holding the bag for climate impacts, right? And yet, we see in the headlines - and maybe experience for ourselves - the crisis in insurance, with brand-name carriers exiting key markets. How is this possible, when there is so much at stake? What more could insurers be doing? What is the role of technology? This session will address these questions and more, in an interactive, provocative discussion format led by InsurTech founders building climate solutions. Whether you are a property owner, an investor, or simply puzzled by insurers’ response to climate risk, come participate, and help shape the insurance industry for a resilient response to climate risk.
CO-HOSTS: Alisa Valderrama, Co-founder and CEO, FutureProof, and Kate Stilwell, Co-founder, Firebreak Risk, Sarah Atkinson, SPUR
Panelists:
Kate Stillwell (confirmed)
Kate is a co-founder of FireBreak, which aims to solve the crisis of wildfire insurability. Previously she founded Jumpstart, providing first-of-its-kind insurance with lump-sum payouts after a major earthquake.
Alisa Valderrama (confirmed)
Alisa is a co-founder of FutureProof Technologies, an insurtech startup leveraging AI to power more predictive insurance pricing and scalable investment in climate resiliency. Previously, Alisa was Director of Water Infrastructure Finance at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Kathleen Schaefer (confirmed)
A self-described flood wonk, Kathy came out of retirement after a career as a FEMA engineer to find better ways to manage flood risk. Now a PhD candidate at UC Davis, Kathy is pioneering a new model of community-based flood insurance which stands to create more equitable disaster recovery outcomes.