Guy Carpenter
Carpenter Revitalized by Collins Purchase, Management Changes
Guy Carpenter over the past year, like its competition Aon Global Re, also acquired a competitor, John T. Collins Associates, which had one of the winning facultative teams in 2008. The top management at Carpenter also turned over and executives at the reinsurers say Guy Carpenter has shown new vitality and seems to relish its position as something of an "underdog" as an incentive to work harder.
In the facultative area, Carpenter can draw upon its extensive analytics capabilities and the historic strengths of its owner Marsh in specific industry markets. Richard Kirnbauer, senior vice president of Liberty International Underwriters, for example, pointed out that the "Guy Carpenter facultative team has been a great business partner for well over 30 years, especially in the oil and gas industry." Carpenter, he said, brings experience and a "high level of expertise."
Clients also point to Carpenter's ability to solve specific problems. One example: an underwriter was having a difficult time convincing the home office that it ought to offer the insured a lower deductible. Specifically, the underwriter wanted to lower the deductible from 5 percent to 3 percent on the renewal to match the deal offered by a competitor. Using a deductible buy down with the reinsurance markets Senior Vice President Robert McNamara was able to reduce the deductible by two percentage points and give the underwriter a deal that was approved by the home office. The client was able to retain the renewal.
With the disruptions in the broader financial markets, ceding companies with the best financial ratings had the opportunity over the past year to retain more risk, or write entirely new lines of business. Eunice Adler was able to garner reinsurance support for those new business opportunities for clients who found themselves at a competitive advantage because of the turmoil in the markets.
In the casualty markets, Gary Kriftner developed hybrid solutions that combined aspects of both treaty and facultative deals. By themselves, each of those developments can provide a more cost effective placement, but they also can yield especially relevant claims data for clients.
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