Meet Matt McMullin, EVP, Climate+ Leader
Matt McMullin has held a variety of underwriting and leadership roles throughout his career in insurance, and in 2015 he discovered a special passion for a niche sector of the industry – energy. Matt has been focused on the energy side of the insurance business since 2015, and earlier this year, he was named Chubb’s North America Leader for Climate+.
Matt talks about how his background led him to the energy space and what Chubb’s plans are for the North America Climate+ business unit.
Lightning Round
Years in the industry: 15
Hometown: Glenside, PA
What he never leaves the house without: “Since I’m flying and travelling a lot I don’t ever leave without a few good podcasts downloaded.”
The best advice he ever got: “From my father, ‘Work hard, play hard.’”
Favorite travel destination: “We take lots of fun trips with the kids but our favorite spot is Sea Isle City NJ. We spend a ton of weekends down there in the summer and it’s a short drive from the Philadelphia area.”
Favorite book: The DaVinci Code
Get to know Matt
How did you get involved with the Climate+ business unit?
I’ve been with Chubb for 15 years. In 2015, I moved to our Houston office to become the Underwriting Manager for our Global Casualty team. That’s when I started specializing in the energy industry. This was also a period during which investment began ramping up in renewables and alternative fuels, and I was fascinated by the transition. After moving on from that role, I maintained my ties to the energy space and became our referral point person for all of the Global Casualty energy deals across North America. Then, in June of 2021, I assumed the role of Energy Practice Leader for Commercial Insurance, which was thereafter expanded to encompass all of North America.
What are some of Climate+’s top priorities for 2023?
Simply put, we’re looking to grow. We have a lot of new appetites and projects in the works to enhance production in the renewable energy, alternative fuel, and climate technology arenas. All of that is under the Climate+ umbrella, and it's really going to help some of our other energy industry sub-segments grow.
One thing I’m especially excited about is that we're working on new appetite strategies for carbon capture and sequestration projects, electric vehicle charging stations, and hydrogen production companies. We're also beefing up our Risk Engineering Services group to provide additional support as we roll out new appetite and new product.
What trends are you watching most closely?
We're really trying to stay tuned into new technologies, because the energy landscape is evolving and changing as more and more companies are moving toward the goal of net zero emissions. We're really heavily focused on this and are working with our Risk Engineering team on understanding the emerging technologies that support that transition so that we can be on the front lines and underwrite them appropriately.
What sets the Climate+ business unit apart?
Our deep level of specialization and technical expertise. A good example is our Power Generation book. Our specialist underwriters are solely focused on Power business. They understand the latest technologies impacting subsegments, such as wind and solar, at a very technical level. It's almost like a specialization within a specialization. It gives our group a lot of credibility when they're out in the marketplace because they can speak with deep technical knowledge, and I think that's really appreciated and valued by our brokers and clients.
