24 September 2019Operations

Chubb hire given mandate to increase flood insurance adoption

Chubb has hired Louis Hobson as senior vice president of flood insurance for its North America operations.

Hobson works in conjunction with Chubb's personal and commercial business lines, and is leading efforts to develop and implement strategies to broaden its flood coverage throughout North America.

He is responsible for underwriting, strategy and product development, and shares profit and loss performance responsibilities with leaders of the personal and commercial lines. He reports to Derek Talbott, president of Chubb's North America property and specialty lines.

Hobson has formerly served as CEO of National Flood Services, which provides technology-enabled risk and business process services in flood insurance. He has also served as executive vice president of Aon National Flood Services and principal at the Boston Consulting Group.

Hobson noted that flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster, and one to which everyone is susceptible.

"Better education about the associated risks and the need to have the right protection in place is paramount,” he said. “There is an enormous opportunity to increase the adoption of flood insurance and I will focus on working with our broker and agent partners to increase overall awareness about this type of exposure and the Chubb solutions available to help their clients ensure the right protections are in place."

Talbott said Chubb was acting in recognition that extreme weather events are increasing in both frequency and severity. "Our flood practice is designed to meet the needs of those businesses and consumers who are currently underserved by existing public offerings available in the marketplace,” he said.

Private flood insurance provides more comprehensive coverage and higher limits than what is currently available, he added.