Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR): 5th Annual Virtual New York State Redevelopment Summit
Barry Geisler, Divisional Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer of the Environmental Division, had the opportunity to speak on a panel during the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR) 5th Annual New York State Redevelopment Summit. Along with four other environmental professionals, the group spoke about the history of environmental insurance related to redevelopment efforts, available public funding and the best risk management practices.
The panel kicked off with Barry sharing a brief history of environmental insurance, including Great American’s coverage and core businesses. He followed up by explaining the role of environmental insurance within redevelopment, mainly focusing on Brownfields and the importance of building a redevelopment team to fully uncover historical operations and proximity to contaminated sites. Members from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) followed up by sharing many available funding options and additional grants that are available specifically for Brownfields redevelopment.
Participants were highly engaged for the duration of the presentation which lasted just over an hour. The presenters concluded with a Q&A session where the panel members fielded questions ranging from additional information on environmental insurance, to COVID-19 responses within the industry.
- Introduction to panel /Thank you to CCLR – 5:56-6:18
- Introduction to Environmental Insurance – 6:36-7:47
- Redevelopment – 7:50-11:45
- Risk Management – 8:05-8:29
- Developing a Risk Team – 8:30-10:15
- Historical Operations and Exposures – 10:16-11:20
- Commercial Lenders/Financing – 11:21-11:44
- About Great American – 11:51-12:17
- COVID-19 Resources – 12:20-13:16
- Q&A (Environmental Insurance Response to COVID) – 53:42-54:55
We would like to extend our gratitude to CCLR for organizing a dynamic virtual conference focused on the intricacies of redevelopment. We are honored to contribute to such an impactful conference. We look forward to additional opportunities to share our knowledge with the CCLR community.
The Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR) is the leading national nonprofit dedicated to transforming communities through land recycling. CCLR’s main goal is converting abandoned or vacant commercial or industrial properties to functional pieces of the community in order to create jobs and generate new tax revenues. Their work transforms communities through educating government agencies and the private sector to create optimal conditions for reinvestment. Over the past 20 years, they have assisted a multitude of places across the U.S. with funding through grants and aligning proper training for community specialists through professional workshops, events and conferences.
Looking for more information on how environmental insurance can combat the complexities of redevelopment coverage? Feel free to contact us to set up a virtual meeting and learn more!
Barry Geisler, Divisional Senior Vice President
Great American Environmental Division
Barry is a Divisional Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer for the Great American Environmental Division, leading our Executive Underwriting team. He has been with the Environmental Division for the past ten years. Barry’s prior experience includes serving as contracts counsel within the environmental insurance space as well as working on complex commercial and defense litigation. He is based out of our Exton, PA office.