ABIR’s Bender to speak at NAIC event

Shannon Lowry Bender, deputy chair of ABIR’s Policy Committee and EVP, group general counsel and corporate secretary of RenaissanceRe, will represent Bermuda’s international re/insurers at the NAIC International Insurance Forum 2023 on May 18-19 in Washington, DC.

The forum is the flagship annual event of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the US standard-setting and regulatory support organisation created and governed by the country’s chief insurance regulators from the 50 US states, the District of Columbia and five US territories.

Bender joined RenaissanceRe in January 2021 and is a member of the company’s Governance Committee. This year, she was appointed deputy chair of ABIR’s Policy Committee, which comprises leading legal and compliance professionals from the Bermuda re/insurance market who review insurance, international regulatory standards and public policy on behalf of ABIR’s member companies.

Bender will speak in the opening C-suite panel on “Opportunities and Challenges for the Road Ahead”, a discussion that will touch on how insurers can continue to provide relevant products and services in a fast-changing world.

She will share the stage with Andrew McMahon, CEO and President, The Guardian Life Insurance Company; Julie McPeak, Senior Vice President, General Counsel-Insurance, USAA; and moderator Chlora Lindley-Myers, NAIC President and Director, Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Craig Swan, CEO of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, is also a panellist at the event and will participate in a discussion on “Mind the Gaps – Removing Barriers to Adequate Insurance”.

The NAIC has approved Bermuda as a Reciprocal Jurisdiction and a Qualified Jurisdiction, a status that gives Bermuda re/insurers eligibility for reduced collateral requirements and more efficient access into the US insurance market.

“ABIR and our member companies share the NAIC’s commitment to ensuring fair, competitive and healthy insurance markets that meet the needs of consumers,” said ABIR CEO John Huff and past President of the NAIC.

Bender said: “I look forward to contributing to this thought-provoking panel discussion on the evolving risk landscape.

“The Bermuda re/insurance market has been a long-time partner of the US, bringing together capital and expertise to find innovative solutions to many large and complex risks including natural catastrophe, climate, cyber and mortgage.”