A Conversation with RIMS President Kristen Peed
Kristen Peed, the Chief Risk Officer at Sequoia Benefits and Insurance Services LLC and the current president of the Risk & Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS), recently spoke with Business Insurance about her career progression and her views on key risk management topics.
From Chicken Potpies to Risk Management
Peed’s entry into the insurance industry was anything but conventional. While working at BB&T, she assisted with administrative tasks and seized an opportunity to build a network, even selling chicken potpies for her CEO’s wife’s fundraiser.
“That is when I understood that no job is too small; it’s about building relationships, building out that network, and understanding that can lead to something else.”
This experience led to her initial role in commercial insurance, where she began taking classes and seriously pursuing her career. She worked for BB&T for eleven years, building a foundation for her career in risk management.
The Impact of AI and Social Inflation
Peed believes artificial intelligence will change the dynamic of cyber risk by providing risk professionals with more data to make informed decisions.
“Artificial intelligence is going to help empower risk professionals to make better decisions because we’re going to have more data in our hands.”
She highlighted that AI can act as an additional resource for risk professionals, although it requires training.
Social inflation and nuclear verdicts, however, are major worries, impacting pricing significantly across the board. She explained that these verdicts are disproportionate to actual losses, and it will be critical to find solutions.
“Social inflation is going to impact lines across the board, and I’m hopeful that we’ll start to see some of that alleviate, but I don’t think we are.”
Peed also discussed the need for constant communication with underwriting partners to challenge rate increases based on industry trends and protect company assets against litigation.
Efficient Risk Management Strategies
Setting up a captive is one of the best ways for risk managers to demonstrate their value to their companies. Through captives, companies can manage their own risk, invest money, and potentially reduce costs.
“Setting up a captive is an efficient way for risk managers to show their value to their companies.”
RIMS will introduce a new track at its 2025 conference focused on captives, offering risk managers the opportunity to learn and develop innovative risk management strategies.
Aligning Risk Retention and Transfer
How a company manages risk is influenced by the type of business it is, and starts with a complete top-down commitment to understanding priorities. Publicly traded companies, with obligations to shareholders, will approach risk differently than privately held companies. Peed suggests understanding what your C-suite values to align risk strategies with business objectives.
