John E. Putnam, CPCU, ARM
John Putnam writes on personal lines catastrophes, claims, and risk management for IRMI.com.
He has worked 55 years in the insurance business, including time as a claims representative, systems procedures analyst, property and casualty (P&C) agent, and independent insurance agency owner/officer. He has been a licensed P&C insurance agent in Colorado for over 40 years. Currently, he is a semiretired insurance consultant/broker/teacher who teaches a wide range of insurance continuing education classes.
In 2012–2013, Mr. Putnam served as the insurance consultant to the Colorado Springs Together Waldo Canyon Wildfire recovery team. In that capacity, he not only worked with the team managing the overall recovery process but also provided individual claim mentoring to approximately 200 residents of the Mountain Shadows neighborhood who either lost their homes or suffered partial losses. More recently, he has counseled approximately 150 survivors of the Black Forest Fire. Because wildfire leads to flood events, he became interested in noncoastal flooding and finding new ways to cover those exposures. In 2022–2023, he formed another team to perform a similar service for the survivors of the Marshall Fire that burned over 1,000 homes.
In addition to his former job duties, Mr. Putnam has served as the following.
- Two terms as the president of Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Colorado
- Two terms as a national director of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA)
- Two terms on the IIABA Technical Affairs Committee
- One term as a director of Pinnacol Insurance
- One term as the president of the Pikes Peak Chapter of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter
