Elise Farnham, CPCU

Ms. Farnham writes the personal lines claims column for IRMI.com.

As president of Illumine Consulting, Ms. Farnham provides continuing education programs, professional and personal development programs, and business ethics programs. She has served as an expert witness involving coverage and errors and omissions issues. Ms. Farnham began her career in the insurance industry in 1973 with Crawford and Company. She became a multiline adjuster and in 1978 was promoted as the first female claims branch manager for the company. She has worked in Texas, New York, and Georgia in senior management positions and has also held senior-level positions with The Harmonie Group, CSB Group, and GAB Robins, NA.

Ms. Farnham is a member of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Society. She has served the society as Southeast regional governor, executive committee member, president of the Atlanta Chapter of CPCU, and served on numerous task forces, including the Ethics Certification Task Force, the CPCU Claims IG Committee, chair of the Media Advertising Task Force and is a member of the Coverage, Litigators, Educators, & Witness interest group committee. She is a member of the education and professional development faculty for the society with courses on ethics as well as technical insurance and risk management topics. Ms. Farnham is a past member of the Board of Ethical Inquiry for the American Institute for CPCU and has served as a member of the Associate in Risk Management, Associate in Claims, and CPCU Advisory Boards. She was recognized as the Instructor of the Year by the Atlanta Chapter.

Ms. Farnham is the past president of the International Association of Insurance Professionals (1998/1999), having served on the board of directors for 5 years. She was regional vice president of Region 1 (Northeast). Prior to that, she served two terms as president of NAIW-New York City. Currently, she is a member of the Insurance Professionals of Atlanta. In 2004, she received the American Association of Managing General Agents Achievement Award from the Georgia State Council of National Association of Insurance Women for her contributions to the association. In 2002, 2004, and 2009, she was named Insurance Woman of Atlanta, and in 1993, she was chosen as National Claims Professional of the Year.

Ms. Farnham serves the Risk and Insurance Management Society as a member of their professional development faculty. She teaches the WC Management, Claims Management, Fundamental of Insurance, and Executive Risk/E&O courses. Ms. Farnham served on the Board of Directors for the Registered Professional Adjusters Society from 1998 to 2018.

As an international speaker and author, Ms. Farnham's articles have been published in Business Insurance, Claims Magazine, The Claims Advisor, CPCU Claims Interest Group Quarterly, CPCU Society's Insights, National Underwriter, Risk Management Quarterly, Today's Insurance Professional, and Insurance International (published in the United Kingdom). She published her first children's e-book, Monster in the Barn, in 2012.