By Cory Mangum, Course Associate, Insurance Management, Columbia University School of Professional Studies; Director of Risk Management, Primoris Services Corporation
Cory Mangum has been a course associate for two courses since the inception of the Columbia University School of Professional Studies Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Management program (Emerging Risks and Insurance Topics; Applied Research). He is currently the director of risk management at Primoris Services Corporation, with over 15 years of experience in insurance and risk management. In his current role, he serves as a corporate leader in enterprise risk management, compliance, litigation, claims management, business continuity, risk financing, and change management. His perspective on driving intelligent risk taking through the implementation of risk aware practices supports the students' consideration of innovative solutions to challenging risks.
It begins in Pennsylvania, 1979. A crisp morning, black coffee steaming like an omen. Then came the sirens—a wail of panic at Three Mile Island. A crisis narrowly dodged, yet the scars of fear lingered. For decades, those sirens silenced nuclear energy’s potential, stalling its march forward. But come 2024, the plant flickered back to life under a new banner: a technological revolution for a data-hungry, clean-energy world.
In this era, data is the new gold, and energy the pickaxe. The digital age demands power, and nuclear—once demonized—has reentered the fray. No longer the shadow of a bygone age, it is reborn to fuel the blazing growth of AI, crypto, and quantum computing. The giants of tech—Google, Microsoft, Amazon—have taken notice, staking claims in nuclear energy to propel the sprawling data centers that define the tech roaring ’20s.
The history of nuclear energy reads like an epic of ambition and setback. Three Mile Island stalled a nation’s confidence, yet the U.S. remained steadfast. With 96 reactors humming today, nuclear power still feeds 20% of America’s energy needs. But a stone dropped in the pond ripples for years. For decades, no new construction took hold. Yet innovation, like a river, finds its way.
The answer lies in advanced nuclear technologies: molten salt reactors, high-temperature gas reactors, liquid-metal reactors, and small modular reactors (SMRs). These innovations are nimble and scalable, more adaptable than their towering hyperbola-shaped forebears. SMRs, in particular, draw strength from their military lineage, their compact designs proven aboard submarines and battleships. Their promise? Faster builds, easier deployment, and the power to fuel a world growing hungrier by the hour.
Yet the specter of risk haunts this renaissance. For every leap forward, there’s a shadow trailing behind. Advanced reactors sacrifice the fortress-like containment of legacy plants, inviting questions about safety. Hydrogen explosions, meltdowns—they loom as chilling possibilities. But progress isn’t stopped by fear; it’s shaped by it. Congress, sensing the pulse of change, passed the ADVANCE Act in 2023, pushing the NRC toward a streamlined licensing process.
With the proposed Part 53 rule, the door opens wider for innovation, a necessary pace-setter in a global energy race. However, the slow pace of rule adoption could turn a challenge into an obstacle for advanced nuclear mass deployment. Still, regulation alone won’t secure the future. The insurance industry, that stalwart protector of risk, must rise to meet the moment. Since the Price-Anderson Act of the 1950s, the American Nuclear Insurers (ANI) pool has shouldered the burden of financial protection for nuclear power. Today, limits stand at $500 million, bolstered further by supplemental funds based on the number of licensed reactors. But as advanced reactors proliferate, so too will the demands for coverage. Traditional markets, reluctant to touch nuclear perils, must find ways to carve out additional coverages that account for the unthinkable.
The damage of a nuclear incident is so severe that concentrated and systemic coverage of this risk has always been viewed as uninsurable. It's the kind of risk that insurance avoids, a beast too big to tame. The ANI’s policies cover what they can, and for now, that’s enough—no point in piling on coverage where it isn’t needed. But if the world turns nuclear, if reactors hum on every horizon, will the government still have the strength to shoulder the burden? Or will they have to call on the old hands of the insurance trade, men who know risk, to bear some of the weight?
Only time will tell.
This is where opportunity glows brightest: for insurance, for energy, for the nation. The nuclear renaissance isn’t just a rebirth of power; it’s a call to arms for every industry tied to the grid. Clean energy isn’t coming—it’s here. A challenge, yes, but also a promise: to fuel a digital world, safeguard its growth, and light the path forward for generations to come. The future is now, and the dance has only begun.
About the Program
The Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Management is for career professionals who want to accelerate their advancement to leadership positions or broaden their expertise in the industry. It accommodates both professionals already working in insurance and those looking to make a career change. The program is part-time, online, and instruction is asynchronous to accommodate working professionals.
The fall 2025 application priority deadline for the M.P.S. in Insurance Management program is February 15. The final deadline is June 1. Learn more about the program here.
