MMC hires FEMA’s Daniel Kaniewski for Public Sector risk innovation

Marsh & McLennan Companies, the insurance and reinsurance focused risk, strategy and people professional services firm, has hired former FEMA Deputy Administrator Daniel Kaniewski for a role focused on Public Sector risk innovation.

Kaniewski was most recently the Deputy Administrator for Resilience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In that role he assisted in the work that has led to FEMA becoming a significant buyer of reinsurance and catastrophe bond protection for its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), as well as other initiatives related to resilience and risk transfer.

Kaniewski joins MMC’s Marsh & McLennan Advantage group, a unit that brings together expertise from across the firms four businesses, including insurance broker Marsh and reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, to deliver innovative solutions to clients.

Kaniewski takes on the role of Managing Director, Public Sector Innovation, Marsh & McLennan Advantage and will be tasked with using his 20 years of public policy and risk management experience to assist on initiatives focused on emerging public sector risks.

At FEMA he was the second ranking official and led the agency’s disaster resilience efforts, including insurance, hazard mitigation and preparedness programs.

Before joining FEMA, Kaniewski led the Global Resilience practice at catastrophe risk modeller AIR Worldwide and also served in the White House as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security.

“Dan’s experience developing innovative solutions to public sector challenges builds on our government expertise and further positions Marsh & McLennan as a leader in this space,” commented Greg Sinnott, Executive Director, Marsh & McLennan Advantage.

Kaniewski added, “I’m delighted to join a world class organization where I can continue to contribute to the public good by collaborating with public and private sector leaders. Governments, industry and society as a whole benefit from risk-informed decisions and comprehensive risk management strategies.”

Public sector risk management and transfer is seen as a significant opportunity for increasing resilience, removing the burden of disasters on taxpayers and also for narrowing protection gaps.

It’s also a significant opportunity for brokers and underwriters, while public sector risk transfer programs often are without insurable interest, so making them very suited to parametric triggers and other forms of risk transfer innovation.