Nyemaster Sponsors 2016 Global Insurance Symposium in Des Moines
May 24, 2016
The 2016 Global Insurance Symposium kicked off on Wednesday, April 27, in Des Moines and featured a keynote address by Julian Enoizi, CEO of Pool Reinsurance Company Limited (“Pool Re”), titled “A Look at European Cybersecurity and Innovation.”
Pool Re represents a partnership between the United Kingdom insurance industry and the UK government and is similar to the Terrorist Risk Insurance Program in the United States. Enoizi focused his discussion on the difficulty of insuring against “cyberterrorism,” which he defined as an act of violence involving physical damage caused by a remote digital interference.
Enoizi highlighted many considerations relating to such insurance, including: (i) the role of government in providing its citizens with a secure environment and covering catastrophic and uninsurable risks, and (ii) difficulties created by the inability to model terrorism frequencyand by the lack of historical data with respect to cybersecurity. While Pool Re does not currently insure against cyberterrorism, Enoizi expressed a commitment to continue research in this area and acknowledged that the relevance of organizations like Pool Re depends in large part on their ability to adapt and deal with current issues.
Next to address the Symposium participants was Thomas Sullivan, an insurance regulatory veteran and senior adviser to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Sullivan’s remarks, a “View From the Fed,” brought to the audience a unique perspective on current topics and was very well received.
Thursday afternoon, April 28, Mike Bechtel, managing partner of Ringleader Ventures, LLC, moderated a session on “Venture Capital in Insurance,” as a part of the Symposium’s innovation track. The panel was comprised of Greg Mazanec, principal with QED Investors, Kyle Nakatsuji, principal with American Family Ventures, and Chad Nitschke, co-founder and CEO of Insure.VC and co-founder and CEO of Bunker. Discussion topics for this panel included: (i) corporate venture capital versus traditional venture capital; (ii) issues facing startups in the insurance industry; (iii) exciting trends in the industry; and (iv) innovative companies to keep an eye on.
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Nyemaster’s Insurance attorneys routinely handle transactions for insurance companies, including formation and licensing, mergers and acquisitions, and capitalization activities through public and private offerings. The firm’s regulatory representations are extensive and include: Iowa Holding Company Act compliance; product development, insurance marketing and investment practices; privacy compliance; health care and managed care regulations; antitrust counseling; state-sponsored insurance plan activities; guaranty association matters; and legislative lobbying.
Insurance attorneys at Nyemaster Goode are active in state and national organizations and regularly work closely with insurance regulators of many states, and the firm’s Commercial Real Estate Finance attorneys represent several insurers in connection with national commercial real estate lending programs.
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