Zurich heads to RIMS RISKWORLD with a mission in mind

RIMS RISKWORLD, the annual conference of risk and insurance professionals and business leaders, returns May 5 to San Diego, and with it the opportunity to build relationships, knowledge, skills and — ultimately — resilience to business risks. Zurich North America leaders are once again attending the event, and several of them are featured speakers in the wide range of educational sessions running through May 8 at the San Diego Convention Center.

“RIMS’ annual conference is a great place for the industry to meet and have broad discussions on the topics that impact all of us,” said Paul Lavelle, Head of U.S. National Accounts for Zurich North America. “It’s well-timed in the year; we’ve all finished first quarter and we’re all getting a sense of how the year is going. Our clients, reinsurers and brokers are meeting with us to better understand evolving and emerging risks and how they can better protect themselves against the unknown. For risk managers, more and more, they need to understand why things are happening — not just that things are happening. RIMS offers lots of educational sessions that benefit them.”

Those education sessions aren’t the only place attendees will find Zurich leaders or catch a glimpse of Zurich’s signature Z.

At Zurich’s Booth No. 1819 in the Marketplace, conference attendees can talk with Zurich team members about strategies and tools to help manage risks, including a new ESG Risk Check service from Zurich Resilience Solutions. Booth visitors also will see a recently earned badge of honor for Zurich: Just a few weeks ago, SAMA, the Strategic Account Management Association awarded Zurich with one of its top honors for customer relationship management.

“Zurich is the only insurance carrier to ever receive this award from SAMA,” said Valerie Butt, Head of Customer Strategy for Zurich North America. “It’s as much a tribute to how brokers and risk managers work with us as it is about how we work with them. They trust us enough to have candid conversations about their challenges, which leads to creative solutions. I look forward to speaking with as many of them as possible at RIMS RISKWORLD and in the months ahead.”

Many Zurich leaders are attending the conference, including the recently promoted Kara Higginbotham, Zurich’s new Head of Professional Liability and Cyber.

Zurich is hosting some private events, including a Monday evening reception and a Tuesday customer dinner at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres Major League Baseball team. Earlier that day, several employees will lace up to walk or jog in the 9th Annual Spencer/Sedgwick 5K FunRun, which raises money to support the Spencer Educational Foundation.

Across the street from the convention center, conference attendees may spy the Zurich “Z” rippling on the sails of a vessel along the bayfront, where Zurich leaders have invited contacts for scheduled cruises along the coast.

Seven Zurich leaders are speaking in education sessions, which cover a variety of risk topics, including workers’ compensation, lawsuit abuse, crisis readiness, inclusion and nearshoring in Latin America. Here’s a closer look at the sessions, all of which are in the convention center.

 

“Crisis-Ready: Navigating disruptions, building resilience and empowering change”

Who: Julie Bolton, Head of Middle Markets Risk Engineering for ZRS; Japhet Boutin, Director of Financial Lines Claims for Zurich North America; and Janet Sumner, Director of Client Solutions for R3 Continuum.

When: 9:30–10:30 a.m. PST Tuesday, May 7

Where: Room 31AB

“Navigating the nearshoring trend in Latin America”

Who: Francisco Zicari, Zurich Mexico Network Service Manager

When: 10:20–10:40 a.m. PST Tuesday, May 7

Where: Room 27AB

 

“Anatomy of a nuclear verdict”

Who: Allen Kirsh, SVP-Head of Claims Judicial and Legislative Affairs; and Nicholas  Sagez, Director of Claims and Risk Control at Bowlero Corp.

When: 10:45–11:45 a.m. PST Tuesday, May 7

Where: Room 26AB

 

“Beyond next steps: Moving DEI forward in challenging times”

Who: Jeff Gallimore, Chief Operating Officer for U.S. National Accounts at Zurich North America, and Leroy Nunery, Founder and Principal of PlūsUltré LLC, will participate in a panel discussion presented by the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA).

When: 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. Wednesday, May 8

Where: Room 24BC

 

“Safeguarding business continuity in an era of geopolitical turbulence and civil unrest"

Who: Andrea Blair, Director of Business Resilience & Continuity Management Services for ZRS; and Raymond Hernandez, AVP – Senior Risk and Claims Manager for The Inland Real Estate Group LLC

When: 1:45–2:05 pm PST Wednesday, May 8

Where: Room 27

 

“Unveiling new findings: Empowering leadership’s impact on workers’ compensation claims – A study in inclusivity and empathy”

Who: Elise White, Director of Workforce Resilience Services for ZRS; and Dr. Steven Haynes, Director and Professor of Risk Management, University of Texas, Dallas

When: 1:45–2:45 p.m. PST Wednesday, May 8

Where: Room 24BC

 

Underpinning all of Zurich’s activities at RISKWORLD is a commitment to help businesses meet tomorrow prepared. We hope to see you there!