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Managing Director, Global Real Estate Practice Leader
Marsh, Boston
jeffrey.s.alpaugh@marsh.com

No Little Feat

As Marsh's Global Practice Leader for real estate, Alpaugh is responsible for client retention and new business development as well as market interface service and new product development for Marsh's real estate clients.

In 2008, Alpaugh led several creative new business tender wins in the United States, Europe and Australia. In these efforts, he successfully structured cross border insurance placement teams within Marsh to leverage variances in geographic market conditions. Alpaugh also led the integration of a large client's European real estate portfolio programs into one streamlined program with enhanced coverage and achieved more than 50 percent premium savings for this client.

"We would never trade price for coverage, but he was able to do both, which is an incredible feat, and the logistical issues are a huge, huge hurdle in and of themselves," one client said.

She also gave Alpaugh and his team credit for providing outstanding service through the year, unlike some firms that forget about clients after they win their business. Another risk manager said of Alpaugh: "He's a smart guy, very creative with a great ability to think outside the box."

Alpaugh also led the team in the development and rollout of innovative new products such as a program offering comprehensive coverage across all lines for midsize commercial real estate businesses as well as credit wrap solutions for some of Marsh's largest real estate investment firms to meet lender requirements.

Senior Vice President
Beecher Carlson, Atlanta
ddonovan@beechercarlson.com

Daniel Out-of-the-Box

Daniel J. Donovan's fresh approach, personalized service and creative out-of-the-box thinking won over a large real estate client that had been with a larger brokerage firm until recently.

The large firm used a standard form that underwriters were then reluctant to change, this client said. Donovan, however, took the policy and rewrote it to meet the client's specific needs. "We're different from other people, our account is different," the client said. Of Donovan's ability to deliver to him the service he required, he said, "It's the complete ability to think outside the box and to customize a risk management program, not just an insurance solution," the client said. Donovan, he said, is the first broker who understood that as a risk manager, the client needs to think not only about the upcoming renewal, but several years down the road as well.

This client said he has also been happy having a team dedicated to his account, which has provided stability and consistency.

He and his management also were impressed with Donovan's approach to finding new solutions by brainstorming and asking the client probing questions.

"The best way for a sales person to work, in my opinion, is to ask a person what they want rather than telling them what they should have," he said.

As a result, the client was able to obtain better coverage at a lower price. "The box is just not for us," he said.

Donovan has been with Beecher Carlson since 2005. Before that he was with HRH.

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Los Angeles
amber.m.martin@marsh.com

Sense, Sensibility and Sensitivity

By listening carefully to clients and providing top-notch service, Amber M. Martin has won over some tough customers in the real estate sector.

When he was brought into his current position in 2007, one risk manager said, he was concerned about working with a large brokerage such as Marsh because his experience in the past was to expect cursory service at best.

"To my very pleased astonishment, from our very first communication Amber listened and actually heard what we had to say," this risk manager said.

"In my nearly 25 years of dealing with insurance brokers and brokerages of all sizes and abilities, I have to say that Amber and her team provide us with the level of service we had not previously experienced," he said.

Another client praised her for her ability to handle a sensitive political situation following a merger, providing value in spite of an adversarial environment. It was something he described as an "impressive achievement."

She also has done an outstanding job, he said, in putting together analytical data for the company's board. "I can't overstate the importance of it," he said.

"I'm a huge fan," he said. "She does a great job and she's a great creator of value."

One of her accomplishments in 2008 involved the placement of one of the largest terrorism placements globally for a major real estate client.

Managing Director
Aon, Boston
richard_miller@ars.aon.com

This Year's Class-A Act

One of the things people like the most about Rick Miller is his sincerity.

One risk manager commented that some insurance brokers can come across a little bit like used car salesmen; not Miller.

"One of the things I like about Rick Miller is there's a straightforwardness and sincerity that comes across," this risk manager said. Miller is also not above doing some of the heavy lifting when it comes to working with clients. "Sometimes you get the name, but they are not the ones really doing the work," this client said. "Rick actually rolls up his sleeves and does the work."

Another client gave Miller credit for his in-depth knowledge of the insurance business and his "deep and vast relationships." Some of his accomplishments this year included obtaining coverage for a client's very large commercial portfolio of Class A office space with substantial southeastern U.S. exposures. He delivered a property program with a 250 percent increase in natural catastrophe limits, improved terms and conditions and a multiyear guarantee option--all with a 25 percent lower cost to the client.

Another client is a large pension fund with a large real estate portfolio. This client has a conservative philosophy in terms of risk and protecting the assets of their members. Miller has represented this insurance buyer for the past two years and has delivered a property program with improved coverages, the elimination of nonconcurrencies, and has reduced the premium paid by the fund by more than 50 percent.

Managing Director
Aon, Atlanta
john_l_peterson@ars.aon.com

Clients Done REIT by This Broker

John Peterson came up with a creative solution for a client last year, helping to develop a new market that was an alternative to the traditional one offered by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

For years, one of Peterson's clients had obtained its directors & officers coverage through the NAREIT relationship. As the renewal approached last year, the NAREIT-affiliated market quoted Peterson's client a 15 percent increase.

The client, however, believed it had a good story to tell and was being unfairly lumped in with the rest of its peer group.

Peterson worked with a competing underwriter to craft endorsements to match the NAREIT policy form so that the policies would be comparable.

The competing underwriter then quoted Peterson's client coverage on the comparable form at an 8 percent price decrease.

The impact of this was significant because the excess insurers base their pricing on the pricing of the primary coverage. Instead of basing their price off of a 15 percent increase, the excess carriers based their pricing off an 8 percent decrease.

To get this done, Peterson coordinated meetings with incumbent carriers and potential carriers to articulate the client's story. In doing so, they were able to navigate a hard market for the REIT business, developing a comprehensive coverage and strategic carrier limits and involvement that reduced the risk transfer cost.

Executive Vice President
Willis HRH, Dallas

Chapter and Verse

In 2008, Eric Schake and his team successfully completed a number of challenging property and casualty placements for their real estate, hospitality and gaming clients.

One involved the complete redesign of a casualty insurance program for a client with more than 100,000 apartment units in which the retentions were reduced by $1 million and the rate by over 30 percent.

Another involved the placement for a billion-dollar development, which required substantial wind limits and required tapping into the global property marketplace and obtaining $250 million of limits.

Instead of approaching the marketplace traditionally, they structured the reinsurance first by obtaining a fronting company. In the process, they achieved more than $200 million of wind limits in an area of the world where it is extremely difficult to procure any wind insurance in the first place.

One client recently moved its directors' and officers' and captive to Schake.

"He's an exceptional guy," this client said. "I think extremely highly of him."

Schake joined Willis in 2005 as an executive vice president and is well versed in captives, rent-a-captives, finite risk insurance and terrorism insurance.

Before joining Willis, he was the global industry practice leader and global real estate and hospitality and gaming practice leader for Marsh.

Arthur J. Gallagher
Area Vice Chairman--Managing Director, World Wide Real Estate Practice Leader
Glendale, Calif.

Aon
Managing Director, Aon Real Estate Practice Leader
New York

Marsh
Managing Director
New York

Wells Fargo Insurance Services
Client Executive
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Willis-HRH
Vice President
Mobile, Ala.

Wells Fargo Insurance Services
Client Executive
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Marsh
Senior Vice President
New York

Marsh
Managing Director, Real Estate Practice Leader
New York

Beecher Carlson
Managing Director
Atlanta