Robert Wooley, commissioner of insurance for the State of Louisiana during Katrina, discusses with NU/PC360 Editor-in-Chief Shawn Moynihan the long days and nights following “The Storm,” the wisdom of not making unrealistic promises in the face of desperation, and lessons learned for the insurance industry from the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history.
Wooley, who has more than 20 years of extensive governmental relations experience, joined the multidisciplinary law firm of Adams and Reese in 2006 and serves on the governmental relations team of its Special Business Services Group.
Shawn Moynihan: Let’s talk about the days leading up to Katrina, because, as I understand it, you knew that it was going to be bad but nowhere nearly as bad as the storm was. There was really no precedent for a catastrophic event of that scale.
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Shawn Moynihan
Shawn Moynihan is Editor-in-Chief of National Underwriter Property & Casualty. A St. John’s University alum, Moynihan has earned 11 Jesse H. Neal Awards, the Pulitzers of the business press; seven Azbee Awards, from the American Society of Business Press Editors; two Folio Awards; and a SABEW award, from the Society of American Business Editors & Writers. Prior to joining ALM, he served as Managing Editor/Online Editor of journalism institution Editor & Publisher, the trade bible of the newspaper industry. Moynihan also has held editorial positions with AOL, Metro New York, and Newhouse Newspapers. He can be reached at [email protected].
