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Managing Director
Aon, Dallas

The Highest Ethical Conduct

In many different sectors of the market, clients said that Marshall Nadel gives them the options they need. On the nuclear insurance front, for example, one said that Nadel has provided "unbiased advice in respect to the nuclear mutual's new builders' risk and DSU (Delay in Start-Up) forms.

Nadel is also lauded for presenting viable alternatives from markets around the world including a European mutual offering substantial alternative capacity. And for providing alternative risk financing deals including weather and hurricane derivative programs to mitigate the negative financial impact of adverse temperature and hurricane events.

He even provided a property tax specialist who helped one client identify "several millions in potential tax savings."

Among his more typical work, one major electric utility client suffered a sizable machinery breakdown, a loss that ultimately was among the largest covered in the industry. Nadel handled adjuster visits and coverage interpretation, proposed coverage for potential gaps during repairs, and assisted coverage decisions during the outage period and at the renewal date. Putting his firm's actuaries to work, Nadel analyzed a utility's liability retentions and pricing in light of past experience and provided a detailed analysis that enabled the utility to optimize its self-insured retentions and limits.

If that's not enough, Nadel was also praised by one client for "continuing to maintain the highest standard of ethical conduct and transparency."

Senior Vice President
Beecher Carlson, Boston

White-Glove Service

Clients understand conceptually that they do not have their brokers all to themselves. But they still like to feel that they get exclusive service. Melvin's clients say that is the case with her.

"She has also made herself available for any requested assistance by my company, and it has been clear she has made my company a top priority on her list," one risk manager said.

With that emphasis on white-glove service, it might be easy to let the technical side of the job slip, but Melvin scored some important victories in 2009 with some very complex projects and difficult placements.

In one case, Melvin placed a complex subscription all-risk program covering her client's operations in North America, South America and Africa. She also placed an OEE program for worldwide geothermal operations, on top of CAR insurance for the client's worldwide construction projects.

Again, the feeling of dedicated attention came through in a placement, where Melvin was asked to find international capacity. She did that, placing the program with a little-known facility within a Lloyd's Syndicate. She was also able to reduce the rates by 15 percent and provide broader coverage than competing options.

In another situation, Melvin was faced with an insured with a loss ratio of greater than 100 percent. Engaging multiple carriers, she worked with another syndicate to secure a renewal almost a third below the cost of the expiring coverage and without onerous conditions.

Vice President
Beecher Carlson, Springfield, Ore.

Data Nirvana

Happiness is 60 years of weather data, precipitation and stream flows for an entire river basin; nirvana is to have on top of that 10 years of daily pricing and demand data for electricity over an entire regional market. That pile of points is what one client gave to Lynch and her team so that they could evaluate the client's cash and power reserves.

"In this region we are dependent on snow pack and the resulting hydroelectric power," said the treasurer of one client company. "That was quite a bit of data we gave her," the client added.

"Erin and her team came up with the recommendations on how to size our power reserve."

Then the hard work really began. The client made short-term arrangements to increase its reserves but is working earnestly with Lynch to use innovative techniques, including hedging, as well as more traditional methods, to better manage those exposures over the long term.

In another case, Lynch led a wide effort to develop a more sophisticated approach to analyzing the client's executive liability exposure. Lynch and her team concluded that the client fit a unique risk profile that lent itself to licensure and use of a captive and drew on captive expertise within the brokerage.

The proposals to the client and to state authorities were in process at the time of this writing, with final approvals possible by the end of 2009.

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Hartford, Conn.

Detail Dervish

Risk management means shining a light in some very dark corners and not getting spooked by what is there. "Jim's incredible attention to detail is what separates him from his peers," said one client.

"Jim has a very reassuring and even-keeled attitude when it comes to analyzing difficult issues," the client added. "He thinks through all business challenges, and I can count on him for sensible solutions." Such a detail-oriented person might be expected to be a bit of stickler, but Burns is also cited for his diplomatic skills.

"He is highly skilled in developing and presenting a company's risk profile and has the unique ability to have both sides feel good about the end result," a client said.

All of those skills were put to good use in 2009 when he was faced with several large placements for catastrophic coverage. Renewals had been difficult the last time around, and 2009 looked even tougher with underwriters seeking higher rates with more restrictions but clients facing thin margins during the recession.

The Detail Dervish spun into action, finding relevant benchmarks, contract language and program structure options. Getting an early start on the renewal process didn't hurt either. With the use of multiple layering options within the overall programs, the strategic use of placement specialists and involvement of the clients' resources, Burns completed the placements. One client summarized the experience: "Jim is extremely demanding of his underwriters yet maintains the balance needed to be truly effective."

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Philadelphia

$100 Million More

Cashflow. Business success depends upon cashflow, whether the business is the corner candy store or a billion-dollar utility.

In one case last year for a client of Loesner's, the risk manager had paid the annual premium to its mutual without a problem but was anticipating the usual rebate later in the year. After the client's budget was set, the mutual announced it was reducing the rebate substantially. If the client had known that in advance, he said, he would have adjusted his budget accordingly and there would have been no problem.

"Instead, it fell to Jim to coordinate how to beat the challenge," the client said--f how to juggle payments, adjustments, and other mid-course corrections so that the client could cover his risks and his payments at the same time.

In another case, a client had tried without success for several years to obtain more than $100 million in limits for its professional exposure. The client was willing to purchase higher limits, but still found no willing underwriters.

Through persistence, building long-term relationships in the market and a concerted effort to educate the market about the client's risk exposure, Loesner was able to obtain $50 million in additional professional limits in 2008 and another $50 million in limits in 2009. The current $200 million in total professional limits is $100 million more limit than any of the client's peer organizations.

Managing Director, Power & Utility Casualty Leader
Marsh, New York

Broker on the Ball

The sun came out in the utilities sector in 2009. But so did the wind, and the tide, and all other forms of alternative energy. For a sector sometimes seen as stodgy, insureds, brokers and underwriters had to get vertical in a hurry on whole new types of facilities and exposures.

"In the focus on alternative energy, Jon acted as crusader and mediator bringing together insurers and insureds to deal with issues in an open fashion," said one client. "He has negotiated on behalf of insureds to secure excellent coverage terms while balancing the risk that the insurers retain."

In 2009, Ball was instrumental in securing the London market coverage layers for this client's general casualty placement after several insurers from the previous program chose to leave the sector, the client said. "Jon had Bermuda waiting in the wings if the London market failed to deliver; however, Jon was able to lock in all players in London."

Meanwhile, on shore, the arid hills of California were on fire. When the magnitude of potential liability losses arising out of wildfires became clearer to insurers, liability costs skyrocketed and capacity shrank dramatically for utilities perceived to be at risk.

Clients credited Ball with being able to find capacity and make placements for utilities squeezed by shrinking rate bases during the recession. Ball, for example, developed a proprietary utility benchmarking database, giving him extra leverage on behalf of insureds.

Vice President
Marsh
Cincinnati

Senior Vice President
Marsh
Portland, Ore.