Emerging technologies, and improvements in existing ones, have made energy production in the United States fascinating to watch. From sustainable sources such as solar and wind, to revolutions in extraction techniques, energy production has played a large role in driving our economy forward out of the recession. Regardless of the current price of a barrel of oil or kilowatt of electricity, there is no denying that for the last several years energy companies have generated thousands of jobs, created whole towns out of barren landscapes, created housing bubbles where there were few houses in the past, and changed the definition of a long commute from an hour in traffic to hundreds of miles each way to a job.

As with all significant shifts in the status quo, changes of this magnitude require changes in how insurance protects the businesses that makes them. For this issue of The Summit we’ve decided to focus on the energy marketplace, with a particular emphasis on the oil and gas space. Nowhere else does such a long history intersect with fundamental changes in both the energy and insurance industries. 

For this issue we are again generating unique and, we hope, meaningful content. In addition to pieces written by our own executives, we’ve gotten some of the leading voices in the energy insurance marketplace to share their views with us on the present state of the market as well as the future we should expect to see.

We believe insurance should be a dynamic partner for business, providing a safety net when things go wrong. As businesses change, the insurance industry needs to constantly reposition that net. We hope the information we’ve provided in this issue will help you be a proactive partner for your clients, and help give you the tools needed to keep the net in the right place.