Insurance for Every Sector, Including Nuclear Energy with Kate Fowler

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Sep 30, 2025

Kate Fowler, Global Head of Nuclear at Willis Towers Watson and certified fire protection specialist, shares her journey from architectural engineering to the dynamic world of nuclear insurance. She discusses the renewed interest in nuclear energy and its role in achieving energy independence, while highlighting clean technologies as part of future solutions. Kate also details her shift from underwriting to brokerage, the importance of technical expertise in building client trust, and the vital need for a diverse talent pipeline in the nuclear sector.

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ANECDOTE

From Free Pizza To Reactor Tours

Kate stumbled into nuclear after a campus visit and a free-pizza ANS meeting led to reactor tours and fascination.
She accepted a co-op at a nuclear plant, entered fire protection, and continued there after graduation.

ANECDOTE

Early Career In Plant Fire Protection

Kate worked as a co-op at Nebraska Public Power District and was placed in fire protection.
She loved the role and later returned full-time as a fire protection program engineer.

INSIGHT

Fire Protection Is Highly Technical

Nuclear fire protection blends math, combustible loading analysis, and procedural safe-shutdown planning.
Effective design focuses on prevention and ensuring appropriate suppression and shutdown capabilities.

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Kate Fowler is the Global Head of Nuclear at WTW and a certified fire protection specialist. She previously contributed to Marsh’s Global Specialty Energy & Power team, where she worked to advance nuclear energy initiatives. In this live from RIMS 2025 Chicago episode, Kate offers an insight into this highly specialized sector of risk management, including a look at the future of nuclear energy, the benefits of earning her ARM and CPCU advancing nuclear energy initiatives designations, and what she wishes she had known at the onset of her insurance career.

Key Takeaways:

● Kate’s role with WTW aims to support the global construction practice with nuclear plant contractors and potential operators.

● Originally an architectural engineer, nuclear engineering wasn’t in Kate’s initial career plan.

● The technical ins and outs of fire protection.

● Transitioning from loss control to underwriting to the broker side.

● Nuclear energy is ramping up again for the first time in a decade.

● Energy independence is becoming a greater focus than ever before.

● Clean energy technologies will be part of future solutions.

● Kate’s perspective and expectation shift from an underwriter to a broker.

● The benefits of ARM and CPCU designations in Kate’s career.

● Considerations when moving from one established broker to another.

● Types of nuclear energy, including advanced reactors, fission, and fusion.

● Kate’s experience as a woman in a male-dominated field.

● Kate still doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up — and that’s okay.

● Don’t worry about a career plan, just follow the breadcrumbs.

● Recruiting talent in the nuclear insurance industry means building a talent pool.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Kate Fowler

WTW

Tweetables:

“Originally, I didn’t even know nuclear insurance was a thing.”

“I want to do more for the nuclear industry and support more people in the nuclear industry.”

“For all of the new nuclear assets that are coming online, the first thing you’ve got to do is construct them.”

“My career has absolutely not gone the way I expected it to, and it has been amazing.”