A Way Forward: Resilience & Insurance Innovation in a Changing Climate

About This Event

Join us as we explore how communities and the insurance industry can adapt to climate change challenges and embrace innovation for a brighter future!

February 11, 2025
8:00 - 11:00 AM

Location:
The Salata Institute For Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University
79 John F. Kennedy Street Bell Hall, 5th Floor Belfer Center
Cambridge, MA 02138

Welcome to A Way Forward: Risk & Insurance Innovation in a Changing Climate! Join us for an exciting event where experts will discuss the latest trends and solutions in risk management and insurance in the face of climate change. Learn from industry leaders, network with peers, and gain valuable insights to navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing environment. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation and discover new ways to drive innovation that promotes physical and financial resilience. See you there!

*Note: This is an invitation only event. If you did not receive an invitation from InnSure or Harvard your RSVP is subject to review and space limitations.

Agenda

  • Enjoy coffee and a light breakfast while networking.

  • Welcome message.

  • Deputy Climate Chief for The Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
    Aladdine Joroff

  • Susan Crawford, Senior Fellow
    Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Josie Barnett, Foundation Director for QBE North America will introduce panel members and provide an overview of some of the innovation projects that QBE is funding in communities such as Salem MA.

  • A conversation with community leaders discussing what innovation (insurtech, climate tech, public policy, etc.) is needed to finance growing coastal catastrophe risks and the physical investments needed to mitigate them.

    Panel Members:

    Moderator:

  • Peter Tufano, Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School

    Anna Russo, Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard University

    Ishita Sen, Assistant Professor of Finance at HBS

  • InnSure team will discuss how innovation provides a path forward

  • Networking

Who Should Attend:

  • State and local government officials focused on economic development, resilience, emergency management and/or equity issues.

  • Non-governmental community leaders interested in the same.

  • Legislators/legislative staff working on issues such as climate change, coastal resilience, and economic development.

  • Entrepreneurs focused on developing and scaling insurtech and/or climate technologies.

  • Impact investors, Foundations and Grant- Makers interested in the intersection of insurtech and climate technology.

About InnSure

InnSure is a nonprofit innovation hub focused on catalyzing a bold insurance response to climate change. Our mission is to amplify and accelerate innovation that makes insurance more affordable, accessible and more widely adopted. We support innovation related to the energy transition and community resilience with programs focused on:

  • Incubation and acceleration programs at the intersection of insurtech and climate tech.

  • Community planning and demonstration projects that integrate insurability into economic development and resilience planning.

  • AI technology development designed to help community leaders to better understanding the total cost of risk and policy implications of investment tradeoffs between physical and financial resilience.

  • Ecosystem development and navigation support to help community leaders and innovators to better understand and intervene in poorly functioning insurance market

Accessing Bell Hall for non HUID holders.  

  1. Invited guests and visitors to Harvard Kennedy School must enter the main campus via the  Wexner courtyard entrance on Eliot Street and present a photo ID card to Security.  

  2. Once in the Wexner lobby, take the elevators on the left up to floor 3.  

  3. Exit the elevator and turn left. Walk up the 6 steps to enter the upper level of the JFK forum  (a central community and event space).  

  4. Keep left past the row of computer desks. Follow signage through the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Pass through the Belfer Center corridor until you  reach the Belfer Building.

  5. Once in the Belfer building, you will be on the 3rd floor. Either take the stairs up to the 5th floor or take the elevator from the 3rd floor to the 5th (see below for accessibility  details).  

  6. Bell Hall is in the center of the floor, directly to the left of the elevators. It is a split-level space, with 6 steps between the entrance and the main event space.