Greenberg appointed to FEMA 'streamlining' review council

By Rebecca Delaney

May 6 - (The Insurer) - Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg has been appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump as one of several council members tasked with "reforming and streamlining" the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Greenberg was named as a member of the FEMA review council last week. Other council members include Texas governor Greg Abbott, former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant, Tampa mayor Jane Castor, Kevin Guthrie of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Co-chaired by Secretary of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, the council is focused on streamlining operations to ensure that FEMA "delivers rapid, efficient, and mission-focused relief to Americans in need."

The council will also advise Trump, through the assistant to the president for homeland affairs, on the "existing ability of FEMA to capably and impartially address disasters occurring within the U.S."

Last month, Jonathan Clark, managing director at Guy Carpenter, said on a panel at the ClimateTech Conference that states have ceded their risk management capabilities to the federal government, which has ultimately shifted the burden onto taxpayers.

"None of them have budget for risk transfer, or very few of them do. Most of them are not buying nat cat-related exposure. They're just relying on dollars coming from FEMA, and that's got to change," Clark said.

Also speaking at the event last month, Marsh McLennan's Daniel Kaniewski underlined that disaster resilience should be a shared priority, although he added that insurers cannot shoulder the financial burden alone.

He told The Insurer that while the federal government plays a major role in disaster resilience, state and local governments are just as important, if not more so, when it comes to the day-to-day impact of disasters on communities.

The former deputy administrator for resilience at FEMA has previously been vocal on viewing FEMA as the U.S. government's risk manager, rather than a cash machine.

During a House of Representatives subcommittee on emergency management and technology hearing on March 4 to evaluate FEMA's role, Kaniewski said resilience "must be our collective North Star, whereby we reduce the physical and financial impacts of disasters and transfer these risks off the backs of disaster survivors and the federal balance sheet".