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Vice President
Willis HRH, Chicago

A Broker Who Can Take the Heat

Sandra Berlin has a special place for Miami and her clients there. And the affection is returned. No better example of this was what occurred last year when some major insurers were vigorously pressing art gallery owners and individual collectors to accept a clause in their policies that in case of a hurricane warning they would have to move their art to "special storage centers."

Except, said one noted gallery owner and individual collector, no such protected warehouses existed. "We were caught in a 'Catch 22'," says this expert. "The insurers wanted us to put our art in a special storage center but there were no storage spaces.

"We wouldn't have gone along with it," he said. "It would have been a deal breaker."

But Berlin stepped in and resolved the matter by getting the insurance companies to drop the requirement, allowing collectors to keep their art in their home and gallery owners to keep their art in their gallery.

"Sandy keeps her cool," said this gallery owner. "In our business we tend to get a little excited. She handles an emergency well." He noted that Berlin has been his broker for 15 years or so and in that period there has never been a claim.

Another client said that last year Berlin handled "an extremely esoteric problem." This client--an artist, dealer and collector who has worked with Berlin for 20 years--said: "Sandy always comes through. She has a fantastic personality. I do a lot of business with her. She has a great sense of humor and an open personality. I'm happy with everything she does."

Vice President
DeWitt Stern, New York
mdeninno@dewittstern.com

In This Adviser They Trust

Michele Deninno played a major role for DeWitt Stern internationally in 2008. A highlight of the year, which also included increasing the number of art sales, art exhibitions and storage of art fund objects in such places as Shanghai and Dubai, was addressing the needs of a $500 million exhibition in Moscow.

Deninno handled such considerations as packing, shipping, exhibition space design and security--which included the need for armed guards. Since the exhibition site was close to the Kremlin, Russian authorities objected to armed personnel. Deninno had to design another way to secure the items. In addition, as a result of lender requirements and legal stipulations, contract reviews of more than 50 loan agreements of objects lent by private collectors and other galleries were required.

Deninno and her group handled an array of clients, many of them with complex issues. One client, for example, has galleries in hotels at destination resorts and in-store locations in high-rent locations. Another was readying to open the largest art gallery in the Southeast.

An official at this company said of Deninno: "She is much more than a broker. She has become our trusted adviser. She is never more than a phone call away. You don't have to wait until the last moment to get business done with her."

Also, added this client, "You can always count on getting the most bang for your buck with Michele and her group. When we heard she was moving to DeWitt from Marsh, we immediately transferred our business."

Senior Vice President, Fine Art, Jewelry & Specie
Willis HRH, Bethesda, Md.

The Straight Shooter

A highlight for 2008 for Eric Fischer was picking up a very prestigious client (who had been with another broker for 25 years). Said the new client: "He brought us broader coverage for less than what we had been paying. All in all, we moved 13 policies."

Fischer and the client were able to eliminate archaic and labor intensive policy conditions. The new policy form, said the client, was streamlined and eliminated the need for monthly reports that not only wasted paper, but also provided enhanced coverage that allowed for more flexibility than they had ever known before.

"He's the broker I trust more than anyone," said the client. "He's honest, always telling you like it is. He will also take any question and is very patient. He's a lot of fun and is known as a good friend."

Another client cited a case in 2008 in which Fischer patiently walked a new head of finance at her company through the company's policies. "Eric is always ready to come up for the day. We've done business with him for 10 years and in that period luckily there have been no claims. He's completely accessible and gives us the best deals. He's extremely knowledgeable."

In another instance, Fischer mediated a very tough claim for a prestigious university client. There was some question as to whether or not there was any coverage for a major water loss, but by working with the company and helping them see that the breadth of the policy wording in fact did provide coverage, the client was able to collect on the loss.

Senior Vice President
Aon, Washington, D.C.
Lynn_Marcin@asg.aon.com

A Tableau of Patience

Lynn Marcin had a $2.5 billion moment in 2008.

Blockbuster exhibitions like the one Marcin shepherded in the past year using strictly commercial insurance occur fairly rarely due to the high premium costs and the limit of capacity. Most blockbuster exhibitions in the United States are insured primarily by the National Endowment for the Arts' federal indemnity program at no cost to the insured.

Last year one of the very rare nonindemnified exhibitions occurred for one of Marcin's clients--one of the biggest exhibitions in the history of the museum, which is one of the country's leading institutions. The amount of coverage needed was a staggering $2.5 billion. This property coverage extended beyond the standard fine art insurers where the premium costs could be controlled and into nontraditional property markets.

This was a challenging task because of the high value of the works involved and the accessibility to the public as a risk factor. Marcin was able to get all the coverage needed, on time and also under budget, saving $700,000 in premium costs--a major plus for a non-profit client. Without the fine art placement of insurance, the exhibition would have been cancelled or severely diminished in size.

Said the curator at this museum: "I can't do my job without Lynn. When I first came into this job, if Lynn had not been there I would have sunk. She is a great explainer. She always walks me through everything on my level. She is always so patient and friendly."

Account Executive, Elite Client Services
Roach Howard Smith & Barton, Dallas
kroth@rhsb.com

Always Composed, Never Imposing

Client after client cites Kathleen Roth for being keenly attentive to detail and swift to take action.

For example, the CEO of a large captive insurer wanted a fast assessment of what to do in the wake of revelations about AIG's gigantic troubles. "We wanted to know if we should switch and Kathleen very quickly offered me a set of options," he said. "Ultimately we decided to stay with AIG, but we felt a lot more comfortable in doing it based on Kathleen's analysis."

This same CEO has Roth handle a complicated personal lines account. "We are very demanding," he said. "We have very rigorous agendas, with very specific action items, and we meet on a regular basis. Kathleen always comes very well prepared and we are always satisfied with the results of these meetings. She sets a high standard of service."

Added another client: "Kathleen has to be very attentive because things change very rapidly, and she is. She is very responsive. She is very sensitive to our time commitment. She's very organized. We have a very large insurance package and she is thoroughly knowledgeable of the needs of that package."

Roth's clients note how invaluable her personable nature is to effectively carrying out her job. "She is very friendly and cordial," said one client. "She's easy to work with, very helpful. She always maintains a professional attitude at all times."

"Kathleen is very understanding of the spontaneity of my boss' personality," added another client. "She works with us. She doesn't try to impose on us."

Managing Director, Fine Art, Jewelry & Specie
Willis HRH, Bethesda, Md.

Federal Indemnity Program Navigator

Robert Salmon and his group have been fast on their feet for their clients in the difficult economic times of the past year. For example, they were able to quickly arrange alternative options and placements for insureds choosing to decline renewal with AIG or XL USA by having access to a group of carriers who can write capacity risks and the broadest coverage at competitive rates.

Another example of Salmon's quick-response ability occurred last fall. One of his clients, a major West Coast museum, needed to take action on a private lender endowment policy because there were two other museums involved in the deal and the deadline was tight.

"I wanted to talk through setting up a trust but Robert was at home for personal reasons," said the head registrar of the museum. "He has always said we could call him at home if the situation is warranted, but I was hesitating. Finally, I called to let him know where we stood on the matter. He came up with aspects of the deal I hadn't thought of.

"I was able to rush down to my people and recalculate the policy numbers," added the head registrar. "My placeholder figures were all wrong. If I had gone with my original numbers, without talking to Robert, there would have been long-lasting negative and embarrassing consequences."

All of Salmon's major clients credit him and his group with being exceptionally facile in navigating the Federal Indemnity program for international art loans.

Assistant Vice President
DeWitt Stern
New York

Aon
Manager AMG UTE
Barcelona