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Senior VP and Head of Umbrella and Excess Specialty Practice
Guy Carpenter
Norwalk, Conn.

Standing at Attention

Clients note Josh Everdell's unique way of prioritizing: He lists every item first. "He doesn't triage what we ask of him. He treats everything with the same urgency," said David Perez, president and chief underwriting officer of global casualty for Torus Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd. in Hamilton, Bermuda. Everdell, an eight-year industry veteran at 38, has been Torus' broker since the insurer opened its casualty group in late 2008.

Everdell provides 24/7 service, Perez said. For example, he noted, Everdell "replies to weekend e-mails in detail, rather than with a cursory 'I'll check into that Monday.' "

Another client observed that Everdell, unlike some brokers, doesn't disappear for a year after placing coverage. "Josh is service-oriented. He sees whether what we placed has worked out." The attention Everdell gives clients begins way before a renewal, the client noted. "For a September renewal, he's talking strategy in April. It's something I haven't seen as much from other brokers."

At Torus, the introduction of several products had executives concerned about how reinsurers would accept them. But after educating reinsurers, Everdell not only won their support but also negotiated improved terms on some treaties, Perez said.

That is a major accomplishment in the current difficult market, in which reinsurers are reluctant to support new capacity that doesn't differentiate itself, Perez said. "Several markets were sold on the Torus philosophy because of Josh."

Executive Managing Director
Aon Benfield
Chicago

A Savior in Workers' Comp

Stephen B. Hofmann has "done such a nice job for us it's hard to tell when he's accomplishing something above and beyond" what we should be expecting from him as a reinsurance intermediary, said Dale Kent, executive vice president and chief financial officer for West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. of West Bend, Wis.

West Bend retained Hofmann initially to place its property reinsurance program but later moved Hofmann, 45, to its casualty side. West Bend's casualty reinsurance program is about four times larger, Kent noted. The switch has been invaluable to Kent, the executive said.

West Bend this year established a monoline workers' compensation unit. In advance of that move, Hofmann, a 24-year veteran of the intermediary business, "did a tremendous job" of providing the insurer with information and analysis on what would be its three monoline workers' comp insurance competitors.

Hofmann's report was a significant piece of Kent's presentation to the West Bend board on whether to move ahead with the new unit, which markets to companies with 500 to 1,500 employees. West Bend typically writes workers' comp for companies with 10 to 100 employees.

Hofmann also brought West Bend two companies willing to front for the new insurer, Kent noted. Another broker the insurer had asked to find a fronting company did not bring back any takers, he said. Hofmann "really is my key business partner among all of my vendors" regarding capital planning, strategy and reinsurance, Kent said.

Managing Director
Guy Carpenter
Philadelphia

The Market Maker

Jeffrey N. Krohn is a market maker, and there is nothing better for an insurer without a reinsurance market to turn to, according to a client.

Krohn, a 21-year reinsurance brokerage veteran, "was instrumental in developing a mortgage reinsurance marketplace" within the past year, noted his multinational client. A reinsurance market for the insurer's new product did not exist before Jan. 1. But Krohn, 45, educated the marketplace and brought his client a $250 million aggregate stop-loss program for its mortgage insurance portfolio.

Krohn's effort involved a lot of analytical work and then educating reinsurers about the product and their opportunity to profit by supporting it. Reinsurers, however, initially were highly dubious of supporting anything related to mortgages because of their role in triggering the worldwide recession and the outlook for a continued high rate of mortgage loan defaults.

Krohn was the perfect intermediary for the task, according to the client. "Jeff is an intellectually curious guy," he said.

With its reinsurance backing and a successful product launch, the client now is looking to introduce its mortgage insurance product in other markets across the globe.

But the product's success to date does not ensure easy reinsurance renewals. Additional reinsurer education will be necessary. Krohn's involvement in future placements, however, will make that hurdle much easier to clear, according to his client.

Managing Director
Guy Carpenter
New York

Like a Duck in a Pond

The best analogy for William K. Plumb and the service he provides is that he's like "a duck in a pond"--calm on the surface but still working furiously, a client observed.

Plumb, who at 43 has been with Guy Carpenter 21 years already, handles two of the client's most important reinsurance programs, one for casualty business and the other for professional liability/executive management risks.

The reinsurance markets for both programs are tight, the client noted. Even so, Plumb "brings to the table quality options, rather than no option or high-priced offers or only those with restrictive terms," the client said. And, it's not a small feat to hold onto reinsurance programs and improve upon them, the client said.

Still, Plumb brought the insurer a professional liability program that was far more attractive than the client thought possible. "He was able to bring back an excess-of-loss option we were uncertain we could find again." Given the market turmoil, the client thought that "anything approaching" its expiring XOL program, including capacity, was doubtful. Instead, Plumb negotiated not only the same program structure but also additional capacity in a layer the client was certain would disappear.

Plus Plumb, "a consummate professional," gets involved in not only the placement of coverage but also in laborious contract negotiations, accounting and claims recovery.

In addition, Plumb is helping the client--gratis--with aggregation modeling unrelated to treaties the insurer has placed through Guy Carpenter.

Senior Managing Director
Aon Benfield
New York

In the Top Echelon

Tim Ronda is not put off by the prospect of a long, difficult challenge. Ronda, already a 16-year broker veteran at 35, provides clients "old-fashioned support," a client said.

Ronda was able to secure "a very innovative" reinsurance program involving a combination of proportional and excess of loss coverage designed to improve coverage terms and reduce the client's costs. Another broker who was consulted earlier about the placement said "it's not worth the effort," the client recounted. "I thought it was an amazing comment." It says, "Let's just buy what the market wants to sell you."

While Ronda acknowledged the challenge ahead, he also expressed optimism at completing the placement, the client said.

The placement was difficult, taking four months to complete and requiring extensive oversees travel for Ronda and the client. But Ronda "harnessed a number of disparate views and got some reinsurers to change their minds," the client said. "We got the result we wanted." Ronda "was looking out for what was best for the client, not just for Aon," the client said.

Another client, which is growing its U.S. business, considers Ronda as more than a broker. "I look to him as an employee," the client said, explaining the trust he puts in Ronda's analysis of how every acquisition will affect the insurer's reinsurance program. Ronda's input is invaluable for the insurer as it plans its acquisitions, because there are no surprises afterward in how well the client will be protected.

Managing Director and New York Branch Manager
Guy Carpenter
New York

A Satisfied Client

Alexander van Dijk has a talent for attracting new reinsurers to a program, even in a loss-plagued environment. For his client, that's "a wonderful thing." Within the past year, van Dijk placed a reinsurance treaty covering a client's political risk and structured trade credit risk coverage.

The reinsurance market for the coverage is "always a challenge," the client noted. But it was an even more difficult market as the client approached its program's renewal date, because of numerous losses among political risk and trade credit underwriters recently, the client said. There were "a lot of jitters" among reinsurers. Given the reinsurance market conditions, the client was concerned about the amount of capacity that reinsurers would be willing to provide it.

But van Dijk not only held together the client's existing panel of reinsurers, he also added three more reinsurers to the mix, which resulted in the client being "oversubscribed by double digits," the client said.

The additional reinsurers provided a greater spread of risk and added more stability to the treaty, he said.

"Plus, reinsurance markets come and go," so now the client has some reinsurers ready to step in with capacity if some drop off the treaty.

"This year was very satisfying," going from being concerned about finding enough capacity to having the flexibility that being oversubscribed brings, the client said.