Church Pension Group | One on One with CIC

One-on-One with The Church Insurance Companies


Protecting the people, property, and finances of The Episcopal Church since 1929.

Originally founded in 1929 as a fire insurance company, The Church Insurance Companies (CIC) has evolved over the nearly 100 years since to provide broad, cost-effective property and casualty coverage and unique risk management strategies and tools in a financially sustainable way to 90% of parishes in The Episcopal Church.

Replay our conversation with senior leaders of CIC to learn about their business and operations and gain a better understanding of their efforts to protect the people, property, and finances of the Church.

Replay the April 8, 2022 event:

Opening Prayer

The Reverend Clayton Crawley
Chief Church Relations Officer
Church Pension Group

Welcoming Remarks

Frank Armstrong (Moderator)
Chief Operating Officer
Church Pension Group

Panel Discussion

Kelly Best
Manager, Billing & Collections and Agency Licensing
The Church Insurance Company of Vermont

Steve Follos
Senior Vice President and General Manager
The Church Insurance Agency Corporation

Christopher Rourke
Senior Vice President and General Manager
The Church Insurance Companies

Kevin Smith
Director, Property Claims
The Church Insurance Company

Opening Prayer

The Rev. Clayton Crawley
Chief Church Relations Officer
Church Pension Group

The Reverend Clayton Crawley is Executive Vice President and Chief Church Relations Officer of CPG. He is responsible for strengthening CPG’s ties with the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, the General Convention, and other groups and stakeholders around The Episcopal Church. He joined CPG in 1999.

Previously, Fr. Crawley led CPG’s technology program and served as Chief Information Officer. Prior to this, he was the Associate Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Palo Alto, California. He has more than 25 years of ordained ministry experience and currently serves as a non-stipendiary priest at St. Bartholomew’s Parish and Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City. 

He holds an MDiv from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Welcoming Remarks and Moderator

Frank Armstrong
Chief Operating Officer
Church Pension Group

Mr. Armstrong is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction for the Church Pension Group's (CPG) three lines of business. Prior to this, he served as Senior Vice President, Benefits Policy, and Chief Actuary of CPG since 2011.

Before joining CPG, he served as a Managing Principal and Practice Leader for the Eastern Region for Hewitt Associates’ Health Management Practice, where he served as lead consultant to CPG. Prior to this, he was an actuarial consultant for Buck Consultants and an actuarial associate for US Life Insurance Company.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He holds a BA from Rutgers University.

Panelists

Kelly Best
Manager, Billing & Collections and Agency Licensing
The Church Insurance Company of Vermont

Kelly Best serves as Manager, Billing & Collections and Agency Licensing of the Church Insurance Company of Vermont. Prior to this she was Billing & Collections Team Leader. She holds a BA in marketing from Castleton University.

Steve Follos
Senior Vice President and General Manager
The Church Insurance Agency Corporation

Steve serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Church Insurance Agency Corporation (CIAC), the service provider for The Church Insurance Companies. Steve joined CIAC in 1997 and has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and specializes in risk management and insurance for religious organizations.

He holds degrees in journalism and English literature from Syracuse University.

Christopher Rourke
Senior Vice President and General Manager
The Church Insurance Companies

Christopher serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of The Church Insurance Company. Prior to joining CPG, he served as President of Berkley North Pacific Group, a commercial insurance provider. Before this, he was Regional Vice President and Branch Manager of Acadia Insurance Group, a provider of commercial and specialty property casualty insurance. Prior to this, he held senior management positions in several insurance organizations throughout the United States.

He holds a BS in Business Administration from the Villanova School of Business at Villanova University.

Kevin Smith
Director, Property Claims
The Church Insurance Company

Kevin Smith serves as Director, Property Claims, for The Church Insurance Company (CIC). Prior to this he was a Senior Claims Examiner when he joined CIC in 2017. Before this he served as Multi-line Adjuster for Capstone ISG and was a Senior Claims Adjuster at Florida Farm Bureau Insurance. He holds a BS from the University of Florida.