(July 2018) – With a heavy heart, we announce the passing of Peel & Holland’s Chairman of the Board and our father, R.C. Riley. As a beloved husband, father and grandfather, R.C. steadfastly committed his life to his family, church and community. As a pioneering business leader, he served our industry, his clients and our company for more than 40 years with outstanding integrity. Although this is a difficult time for all who loved him and worked with him, we choose to celebrate his life and honor his lasting impact.
Our dad’s career spanned many notable achievements, not only in our home state of Kentucky, but also nationwide. Early on, he served as President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Kentucky, receiving their highest recognition award, Insuror of the Year, in 1979. He then served a six-year term on the Board of Directors of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA). In 1991, he was elected President of IIABA, and in 1994, was honored with the Association’s highest award, the Woodworth Memorial Award, citing his distinguished service.
R.C.’s legacy of professional dedication inspired many in our industry as he also tirelessly served on the Board of Trustees of the American Institute for Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, as Chairman of IIABA’s Pollution Liability Task Force, and as a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Advisory Committee on Environmental Liability. He boldly advocated to broaden the insurance market for pollution liability before the United States Congress and Environmental Protection Agency, as well as testifying about product liability concerns and civil justice reform.
On behalf of our family including R.C.’s wife Peg, and our organization, we wish to express our sincerest gratitude for the calls, emails and prayers extended as his health declined in recent years, and we covet your prayers in the coming days. We are grateful for the blessing of having had Dad here for 76 wonderful years and the lasting impact he had on so many of you. It is our continued hope that each interaction we have with our clients and partners will honor him and his legacy. We will continue to seek to humbly follow in his footsteps to carry on his passion for the industry he so dearly loved.
– Roy and Keith Riley
