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Managing Director
Aon, Baltimore

Running the Rail Market

As one Jim Beardsley client put it, "Railroads are a very strange animal."

What he meant was, the insurance needs for the rail industry are well outside what you would normally expect, insuring 30,000 miles of track in 27 states, for instance. "It's not like you're buying something for a factory that sits in a set location," this client said. "We frequently run across problems that can't be solved in traditional markets."

According to this client, Beardsley does "an extraordinarily good job" of confronting the insurance industry when it comes to practices and procedures relating to the railroads.

Beardsley is also referred to as a "spokesperson" for the entire rail industry, not just his clients. He has taken part in various legislative measures on behalf of railroads, leveraging his 27 years of insurance brokerage experience, the last 13 years of which were spent in the Aon rail practice.

Now a five-time Power Broker^TM winner, Beardsley works on a level all his own. In 2008, he led a roundtable for the largest railroads in the country, which led to speaking engagements for not only the railroads, but also chemical industry groups and the Department of Homeland Security. The success of the roundtable helped achieve a 30 percent increase in global rail liability capacity for toxic inhalant hazards, a major priority for the rail industry.

"He clearly has a depth of knowledge that is unsurpassed," the client said. "There is nobody that comes close."

Managing Director
Aon, Little Rock, Ark.

rucking Inside and Out

Mark Brockinton has been with the Aon Trucking Practice in Little Rock, Ark., for 13 years, and according to one client who has used his services for 20 years at three different transportation companies, he knows the industry inside and out.

"Mark could probably run a trucking company if he didn't want to be a broker," this director of risk management said. "He knows the operation of a transportation company from the ground up."

In fact, this client said Brockinton knows his company so well that he lays all the groundwork with potential insurers, educating carriers on the company's operations, before even introducing them to his client.

"It saves an immense amount of time for me and makes the renewal issues fairly easy," the client said. "We don't go to the market all that often because Mark has partnered us with such good carriers. He's been instrumental in presenting our company in a light to the insurers that I don't think any other broker in the industry could do."

This client, who said that after having Brockinton as his primary insurance broker since 1986 he couldn't imagine doing his job without him, is impressed by the proactive nature of his team.

Recently Brockinton was instrumental in obtaining a premium refund for his client. "Mark provided potential revenue figures to our carriers and got us some premium refund based on the fact that the recession hit so hard that all the transportation companies' revenue dropped."

Business Development Director
Aon, Little Rock, Ark.

Bridging Divides

Todd Denton isn't new to the Power Broker¿ list, having spent the last 10 years with Aon's trucking practice in Little Rock. He's known for winning over any prospect. One new client said he had a long-standing relationship with another broker and Denton outperformed him in every way.

"A lot of these guys in the financial industry, they were the guys who got stuffed in the trash can when they were in high school. But Todd is a great guy, a fantastic friend. I can't say enough about him." The new client said Denton earned a lot of respect by following through on a mundane, but important challenge. When the company bought a second fleet of wide-load trucks that had in place a burdensome administrative process with its captive insurance program, the client enlisted Denton to help switch the new team over to a more standard insurance program.

"Todd was absolutely fantastic in really working with a team to put this policy in place and really gaining their trust," he said. "That is really the most important part when you're asking people to change their tune. He has a really great ability to work with a number of different people and business types."

For another client Denton did the opposite, setting up a captive insurance program. "We made the switch from a family friend, a local insurance agent of 25 years," the client said. "At our company we like hearing all the options, including the aggressive ones that involve risk," said the client. "He helped sell the idea to the other partners, and it was difficult to change their mind set of insurance being just another expense."

Senior Vice President
Marsh, New York

Pushing the Envelope

When one of Jack Sallada's clients, a logistics company, declared bankruptcy in 2008, Marsh had to go to market on three different occasions in one year. While a lot of heavy lifting had to go on for the part of the entire team, the company's chief risk officer said it was Sallada who was especially admirable.

"He did a great job of representing us during a very turbulent time," said the CRO. "It came down to the wire and Jack showed a lot of tenacity." This client thinks Sallada's youth, all of 34, played a role. "I've seen some of the older guys rely too much on long-standing relationships and don't push the envelope enough. Jack pushes for the client."

Speaking of pushing, this client had a much brighter renewal in 2009. Sallada reeled in a double-digit reduction in premium, as well as twice the limits and coverage.

Under Sallada's guidance another client was able, through a large and cumbersome marketing process, to reduce workers' comp premiums by 40 percent. "I'm impressed with Jack and I think he does a fantastic job," the client said.

Another Sallada client enlisted his help during the process of acquiring two companies. Sallada helped this company, which has a fleet of 4,000 trucks, extricate itself from the acquired companies' insurance carriers and also negotiated price and collateral requirements.

In a climate where collateral needs are going up, Sallada was able to reduce the collateral required by 25 percent. "That's a big savings," he said. "And it amounts to more credit being available to us. Our carriers have a lot of respect for Jack. When he talks, they listen."

Vice President
Marsh, New York

Calm, Amid Chaos

Ken Dolan isn't a stereotypical loud-talking, over-energized sales person. A director of risk management for a large public transit organization referred to her broker Dolan as "mild mannered."

"No matter how chaotic things get, and it gets pretty chaotic at a public agency, he handles everything in stride, is a great listener and does so much behind the scenes that you don't even realize until after the fact," she said.

For example, Dolan recently helped resolve problems and mend stressed relationships with carriers without his client knowing. In addition, the client's company was in a two-year contract with one carrier and Dolan was able to negotiate their premium down to about one-third of what they originally had to pay.

Another client for a large city port said Dolan knows how to market his account to international carriers, which is key on such a large insurance program that requires many different carriers.

He's also been creative at tapping into emerging markets in the United States. A client at a major transit authority echoes others with her impressions of the impressive nature of Dolan's juggling act. "We buy very high limits, we have a lot of different companies on our program and putting that together is like a jigsaw puzzle," she said.

Dolan also helped this client change her insurance renewal date, which required a new 18-month submission and some crafty salesmanship. "Ken and his team went through everything with a fine-tooth comb, found some new markets, reconfigured the layers and the cost savings were pretty significant, about 20 to 25 percent," she said.

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Memphis, Tenn.

Hand-Picked Quarterback

Paul Woods is that rare breed who graduated from college with a degree in risk management and insurance and immediately landed a job at Marsh. Fifteen years later, his clients have a lot to say about him.

One client was impressed with Woods the moment he was assigned to his account five years ago. By rolling up his sleeves and taking a hard look at the program, Woods found a 20 percent savings without sacrificing any coverage. "It shocked me that our previous broker at Marsh had never done this," the CFO said.

But in 2009 when the client was facing a 30 percent rate increase and had no other options because the company's line of credit was maxed out, Woods stepped in. "We were kind of held hostage with our carrier because there was no way we could get another line of credit with another company, and they knew this. Paul was able to stare them down and get a drastic reduction. I don't know what we would have done without him."

In January 2009 another client hand-picked Woods to quarterback a team comprised of brokers in Bermuda, London and Dublin to build an insurance program from the ground up. The result was a premium reduction of $1.4 million, just the latest success for the client. This client has watched Woods mature in his career over the last 10 years and said, "He's not done yet."

"Even when I worked with other brokers at Aon, Willis and Wachovia, I would continually pick Paul's brain because I valued his opinion that much," the director of risk management said.

Principal
EPIC
San Ramon, Calif.

Senior Vice President
Marsh
Mossistown, N.J.