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Director
Higher Education Alliance
Aon
Chicago

Ben Donatelli didn't know when to stop naming all the Aon brokers that he believes deserve to be called "Power Broker^TM" because they were all responsible for his favorable new property coverage. However, as director of the Higher Education Alliance for Aon, Mulholland led the charge, backed up by a team of brokers.

As of Dec. 1, 2006, the cost per unit on the renewal of Donatelli's university risk management association went up "only" 18.5 percent, from $15 million to $21 million, a bargain in his eyes, and in the eyes of risk managers representing other schools.

"Because we're a pool, we have the distribution of risk that other schools couldn't match," he said. Donatelli is executive director of the Florida Independent Colleges and Universities Risk Management Association, based in Tampa.

Because the group is located in the hurricane zone, several insurers no longer offered coverage while others offered premiums in the stratosphere. Dealing with an 18.5 percent increase seemed like a steal in comparison.

He turned to Aon "because we needed the sophistication the group could bring," referring to all the members who helped in the process as the "cast of thousands."

Managing Director
National Education Practice Leader
Marsh
Hartford, Conn.

Among risk managers, Jean Demchak's name is probably synonymous with the higher education risk management market. During her 17 years as a higher education broker she has been credited with generating innovative solutions that risk managers have gratefully adopted.

For example, she regularly updates her clients on the key issues and financial challenges facing them each year, more recently focusing on global issues such as clinical trials risk management. That reputation led one university risk manager to refer to her as their "key person."

Another talked about how, as a member of the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (UREMIA), Demchak put together a series of webinars on the state of the higher education market for UREMIA members. The webinars generated a lot of buzz among risk executives in the higher education community.

"She always shows initiative," says one risk manager, pointing to her annual report outlining the most pressing issues in higher education for the coming year. She's also known for attending various conferences hosted by related organizations so she can glean information that could be critical to the higher education risk market. "She adds value to higher education risk management," says another risk manager.

Senior Vice President
Northeast Education Practice Leader
Marsh
Syracuse, N.Y.

Dan Mahle knows that a sign of an excellent broker is one who can save his clients money on their premiums. So that's what he's working on right now on behalf of 30 universities that are members of a workers' compensation self-insurance pool. Marsh administers the trust, which has been in existence for 12 years, and Mahle serves as the client executive for the trust.

Since January 2006 Mahle has been working on a special project for the trust members--to create a purchasing group for property and casualty insurance, specifically for the purchase of auto, property, liability and umbrella coverage.

"He's been very instrumental and has worked very diligently in using the same group to market auto and liability to self-insure," says the risk manager of one of the universities in the trust.

Mahle has already "tested" the market for the schools that have indicated an interest in the new product lines, "and they'll get a 20 percent to 30 percent loss ratio over what they're currently paying with a two- to three-year guarantee," says the risk manager.

After developing the program specifications, Mahle planned to meet with all interested insurance carriers in early January 2007.

Managing Director
Higher Education Practice
Arthur J. Gallagher
Itasca, Ill.

Last February John McLaughlin set a precedent in the creation of thought leadership white papers when he headed a special think tank that brought together a hand-picked group of risk managers to develop a blueprint for pandemic response.

"His proactive approach with that pandemic conference produced a document that we've used and others have used as a template," said one university risk manager, noting how well organized it was.

McLaughlin has also planned another higher education conference in February on international travel. "With this whole thought leadership approach he wants to maintain the momentum created with the pandemic paper," said another risk manager.

He sees his role as a practice leader as identifying emerging trends that will have an impact on higher education, and communicating solutions to the challenges these trends create.

He also is a member of the broker advisory council of United Educators, a risk retention group, where he helps refine its coverage and services to keep pace with the changing needs of higher education. Those who work with McLaughlin credit him with bringing enhancements in coverage and pricing.

Executive Director
Higher Education Practice
Arthur J. Gallagher
Glendale, Calif.

In the higher education industry, brokers who previously served as university risk managers are the most respected. And John Watson falls into that category, having served as risk manager of Pepperdine University from 1987 to 2003.

"He's got profound expertise in business-continuity planning," says one university risk manager. After all, as a risk manager, Watson lived through mudslides, wildfires and earthquakes.

"There are few people in the country who know higher education business-continuity planning better than John," the risk manager says, pointing out that various components of his plans have become "models" for the planning process. As such, Watson has developed a reputation for thinking about a problem before it even occurs.

He was instrumental in creating the thought-leadership think tank with Gallagher Managing Director John McLaughlin to discuss pandemic planning well before others realized it could be a major catastrophe. As a result, Watson helped develop the white paper, "The Blueprint for Pandemic Response," which has become the model for pandemic response planning. In fact, thanks to Watson's involvement, Gallagher has become the first brokerage firm to develop white paper conferences for the higher education market. International travel is next on the thought-leadership agenda.

Executive Director
Higher Education Practice
Arthur J. Gallagher
South Burlington, Vt.

Leta Finch is a member of Gallagher's trifecta of the higher education brokerage business. She's the East Coast representative, who works with Gallagher's John McLaughlin of Chicago and John Watson of Los Angeles.

As past president of the University Risk Management and Insurance Association, the major higher education trade group, "she brings value to the insurance transaction from her coast," says one university risk manager.

Last year Finch collaborated with McLaughlin and Watson on Gallagher's Higher Education Practice's "Blueprint for Pandemic Response" and she is in the process of planning a second think tank to address international travel.

As one risk manager pointed out, her background as a risk manager for nine years at the University of Vermont gives her instant credibility with university risk managers. Her background also includes a nine-year stint as director of the Institute for Financial Services at Champlain College in Burlington.

"She brings the risk manager's perspective to insurance transactions," the risk manager says. "With a lot of cases, brokers don't have the risk management perspective," he says. "She defines risk and finds products that meet her client's needs."