Church Insurance Companies
Safety from Life’s Storms
Christopher R. Rourke, who joined CPG as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Church Insurance Companies, was drawn to our expertise in and commitment to serving the special property and casualty protection needs of the Church. Here he explained the new opportunities that lie ahead:
How would you describe your business philosophy?
I believe in a balanced approach. On the one hand, we need to be a financially disciplined and sustainable business. On the other, we have to listen to our clients, understand their needs, and evolve to meet those needs. If we strike that balance, we can continue to be very successful.
What are some of your strategic priorities?
Since joining CPG, I have gained an appreciation for just how much weather-related claims affect our clients and our results. Making sure we have the right reinsurance programs in place is crucial to help protect against either a single large loss or a catastrophic event such as a hurricane. A longer-horizon priority is to improve our operating systems—not only to improve our efficiency but also to further enhance our client service model and provide access to more tools and resources.
How has the pandemic influenced your work?
We have discovered not only that we could be very productive and efficient while working remotely but also that we could gather many more people more easily in a timely way. For example, some of the virtual vestry meetings we have joined had attendance of more than double what it would normally be. While not a replacement for in-person meetings, these online sessions can be extremely helpful in supplementing our service to the Church.
What future opportunities do you envision?
I want us to always be looking for ways to better serve the Church in the future. That could be through new products and services focused specifically on the Church or through additional risk management resources. One clear way is to be proactive in educating our clients on emerging risks and providing the right solutions to meet their needs. Examples of this would be what we have recently done in the areas of cyber liability and malicious attack coverages.
