Chris Longeway Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Lead a team of legal and compliance professionals to counsel senior leadership and identify, manage, and mitigate legal, regulatory, and corporate governance risks to enable the business to achieve its strategic goals. Develop and maintain a deep understanding of business unit priorities, opportunities, and challenges and how and where legal services can make a positive impact.Engage as a strategic partner with key business leaders and functional subject matter experts. Proactively collaborate with the business unit leadership team to develop and execute short-term and long-term strategies by providing legal perspective and partner to identify creative solutions and solve problems. Serve as the primary point of contact for all legal services to the P&C business. Identify emerging market trends, material legislation, and legal precedents to influence, shape and inform the strategic direction of the P&C business.Develop and manage a Government and Industry Relations function within the legal department. Build relationships with key regulators and legislators. Develop a political engagement strategy and budget. Engage national and state trade associations. Contract with and direct outside lobbyists and consultants.Selected Accomplishments:Achieved industry-leading regulatory outcomes in California. Positioned Kemper to be among the first insurers to obtain post-pandemic private passenger automobile rate approval. Subsequently, obtained approval from both the California Department of Insurance and the Consumer Watchdog for a 30% PPA rate increase. Kemper is the only insurer to recently obtain the full rate requested on a PPA rate application while being intervened upon.Led Kemper’s legal and regulatory effort to form a reciprocal exchange insurance company and establish an attorney-in-fact. Obtained approval for the formation from the Illinois DOI in a short four months. Kemper successfully launched the reciprocal ahead of schedule and within budget.

Schaumburg

Lead a team of professionals in the Office of the General Counsel to identify and analyze legal, regulatory and public policy issues that impact Farmers Insurance and develop business, legislative, regulatory and political solutions. Collaborate with key internal stakeholders to understand business objectives and regulatory obstacles and partner to develop and advance solutions. Monitor the changing legal, regulatory and business trends and partner with the business to develop solutions. Manage a rapid response team to produce policy materials, talking points, policy briefs, testimony and legislative language to direct advocacy through trade associations and government affairs colleagues. Represent Farmers Insurance at state and national trade and political associations, research organizations and think tanks to influence the agendas of these organizations and advance our positions on key issues. Provide grassroots support and PAC solicitation. Manage the budget for the Government and Industry Affairs Department.Recent Accomplishments:Co-authored model legislation to mitigate the risks associated with the proliferation of ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft and create business opportunities for personal auto insurers. Led a campaign to enact the model legislation in thirty-nine states in 2015 and 2016. The campaign and legislation were also carefully crafted to create a strategic advantage for our organization and help create a lucrative new market.Collaborated to co-author, advocate and pass significant hailstorm litigation reforms in Texas. These reforms promise to yield substantial benefits for property insurance companies in Texas by reversing the explosion of fraud and abuse occurring in the Texas property insurance market.

Greater Chicago Area

Represent the Farmers Insurance enterprises to ensure legislative, regulatory and political environments are conducive for meeting business objectives. Manage a team of Government Affairs professionals to coordinate and execute the state legislative strategy across the U.S. Develop and maintain productive relationships with key state legislators and regulators. Negotiate and resolve contested regulatory matters. Report key issues to senior leadership. Coordinate state political activity. Manage retained counsel and trade associations.

Schaumburg, Il

Lead a team of Government Affairs professionals to identify and issues that could have a significant impact on Farmers Insurance and recommend legislative, regulatory and political solutions. Collaborate with key internal stakeholders to understand business objectives and regulatory obstacles and partner to develop and advance proactive solutions. Manage a rapid response team to produce policy materials such as talking points, policy papers, testimony and legislative language to direct advocacy through trade associations and government affairs colleagues. Represent Farmers Insurance at state and national trade and political associations, research organizations and think tanks to influence the agendas of these organizations and advance our positions on key issues. Develop and maintain a library of position papers. Partner with advocates in the field to prepare for legislative conferences, provide grassroots support and PAC solicitation. Manage the budget for the Government and Industry Affairs Department.

Represented Allstate Insurance Company in a variety of capacities encompassing a broad spectrum of complex legal and public policy issues.Government Relations/Public PolicyEngaged in an array of Government Relations activities, including external advocacy with both state and federal legislators and regulators, public policy position development, the coordination of industry activity and the management of complex and specialized litigation that influences core policy issues.Recent Activity and Accomplishments:Led an industry campaign to successfully reform Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) laws via federal legislation. Negotiated a nine month stay on the implementation of burdensome reporting requirements with federal regulators. Collaborated to author, introduce and advocate and pass federal MSP reform legislation. Elected to co-chair an industry coalition seeking MSP reform. Appeared as a MSP subject-matter expert at the RAND Institute for Civil Justice Symposium.Advocated Allstate's interests and coordinated internal activity with respect to financial services regulatory reform and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Prepared updates for senior management and the board of directors on the status and impact of the legislation. Continuing advocacy efforts during the rule-making process.Pursued successful outcomes at administrative hearings, enforcement actions and specialized litigation including rate hearings, legislative hearings, market conduct exams, regulatory complaints and other contested regulatory matters. Retain and manage outside counsel. Coordinate responses to state and federal legislative and regulatory investigations. Partner with Corporate Relations to coordinate the company’s internal and external messaging on legal and public policy issues. Appeared as a speaker at industry events and a spokesperson at media events.

Counsel clients on a variety of corporate and insurance regulatory matters. Assist clients with complex commercial transactions including the sale of insurance companies, mergers and acquisitions, asset/stock purchases and reinsurance. Provide clients with counseling on legal compliance matters including insurance holding company filings, business formation, licensing, investment and capital requirements, corporate governance, marketing and advertising, claims resolution, insolvency and guaranty fund issues as well as other regulatory matters.

Law and Regulation Department - Compliance and Counseling - Assistant Counsel Counsel clients regarding the legal exposure associated with business strategies. Identify and research legal issues raised by the company’s business initiatives. Law and Regulation Department - Staff Counsel Trial AttorneyDefend lawsuits against Allstate policyholders. Conduct and defend depositions and examinations under oath. Research laws and prepare legal briefs, opinions and memoranda. Review medical records. Provide legal opinions on coverage, liability and damages. Prepare and respond to pleadings, motions and discovery. Negotiate settlements and defend at arbitration and trial.

Bba, Marketing

Jd, Cum Laude, Law

Activities and Societies: Law Review and Moot Court Society