Newsletter Sign-up

National Managing Director, Prof. Risk Solutions
Aon, Chicago

A Man of His Word

Kevin Kalinich gets his points across by bringing matters down to the right word.

"He brings a number of key traits to the table," observed one client. "He brings a great attention to detail. His overall preparation is noteworthy. He brings a lot of integrity to play. He's probably the most honest person I know. He cares greatly and is passionate about his work."

"He's very good at presenting himself to my management," said another client.

In the past year, Kalinich and his team, in conjunction with Lloyd's of London and a major financial institution, created a liability protection program targeted at the payment card industry. The program provides coverage for credit card fines and audit costs incurred by the merchant bank and the retailer as a result of a data breach.

This coverage goes beyond the protection provided in standard professional liability and general liability policies, which typically exclude payment card industry-related liability. This new product addresses financial risk on a U.S. domestic and international basis, and offers increasing levels of protection and $15 million in total limits.

A flexible program structure allows premiums to be collected monthly or quarterly pursuant to how a merchant bank bills its merchant and retail customers.

"Kevin is a confident but regular guy," noted one client. "He's high energy with a great passion for what he does."

Managing Director
Aon, Chicago

Working the Media-Technology Complex

Risk managers from both sides of the technology and media aisle have only the highest praise for Patrick Donnelly.

"He's got a tremendous amount of energy," said the risk manager of a giant entertainment company. "He is very intelligent and is able to articulate complex insurance items.

Said another media insurance executive: "His advice and insurance placement process is as good as I've ever seen. He's very adept at putting deals together."

Noted another risk manager: "He helps us be creative. He proposed a payment option that ended up saving us a ton of money."

In the past year, a team Donnelly headed was appointed broker of record on a large middle-market technology firm experiencing rapid growth. Some of that growth has taken the company in a direction of frequent, and at times severe, litigation. A portion of this risk can be addressed through insurance, but most of it is "business risk," for which the responsiveness and efficacy of insurance is expensive and questionable.

Donnelly worked with the client's legal and business development teams, in conjunction with risk management, to develop a formal contracting process that apportions liability among the client, its business partners and its vendors much more fairly and favorably.

Personally, one client said, "Donnelly is really down to earth. He goes into a room as a quiet leader. He always has an air of class about him."

Director, Technology and Life Sciences Practice
IMA Inc., Denver

Hitting the Mark

Mark Ware is a top-flight intermediary between his clients and carriers. "Mark knows the carriers and appropriate policies better than most underwriters," said one client.

"I have seen him in a room anticipating a carrier's policy better than the carrier. He has a deep understanding of the technical sides of both his clients and carriers. But he is able to work out a deal in a very constructive manner."

"He takes the time to understand our business thoroughly," observed another client. He does everything from opening the mail to handling matters with top management."

In one case, said this client, Ware was "deeply involved" in its insurance budget. "As a result, we came in well below budget," said the client. "And it's not just a financial matter. His service is totally first rate. He has a team we totally resonate with."

Ware's creative risk solutions made it possible for one of the world's largest architectural and engineering firms to sell its information technology division. Ware's contribution not only made the merger feasible, but his insurance placement far surpassed the expectations of the selling company's risk management department, the private-equity firm funding the transaction, as well as the new company.

"He brings his A game to bear in all situations," said one admiring client. "I've never been disappointed by him. He's very confident, but also he is a great listener. With Mark, you never feel like you're getting a standard, boilerplate response."

Managing Principal
Integro, San Francisco

Revels in Revealing the Details

Charles Shay is expert at providing detailed reports to his clients.

"I engaged Chuck for a challenging directors' and officers' (D&O) renewal, and he was able to put together knowledgeable reports written in clear language," said one client. "He provided leverage on my regular broker by producing a report prepared on a fee basis. The work he performed more than covered the fee. It made me look good with my boss."

"Chuck's high level of knowledge mates details of insurance language with the big picture of the insurance business," said another client. "He delivers a high level of customer satisfaction."

In the past year, Shay was selected by a large technology company that felt as though they were paying more than their risk warranted for D&O liability insurance. Using Integro's proprietary actuarial based D&O premium efficiency model, Shay was able to demonstrate that the pricing for the first three layers of D&O insurance put in place by the company's current broker was overpriced in excess of $500,000 based on historical loss trends for securities class actions.

The client used the Integro model to go to the market and obtain better rates. Since then, Shay's team has used this model to help several other technology and biotech companies determine what the efficient price for D&O insurance should be.

Personally, Shay is known as energetic with an excellent sense of humor. "He's very people oriented," said one client. "He doesn't play games. All around, he's very professional."

Managing Director/FINPRO U.S. Practice Leader
Marsh, New York

The Personal, Professional Touch

Lou Ann Layton is known for her professionalism at all levels--from her adept management skills to personally handling specific accounts.

"She is very polished, from boardroom presentations, to meetings with people at lower levels, to working with underwriters," said one client.

Added another client: "She brings a personal touch to her extremely varied technical expertise. She has an excellent rapport with clients and the marketplace."

In one case last year, a client's goal was to replace their lead carrier with one possessing a higher S&P rating while maintaining the same breadth of coverage. Shortly before selecting a new insurer, news got out that the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a formal investigation into Layton's client.

This news created some concern on the part of the prospective insurers. Working with the client's internal and external lawyers to craft a proper notice, Marsh recommended, and the client agreed, to meet one on one with the prospective insurers. Through these meetings and Marsh's own negotiations, all underwriters agreed to honor their original claims. The client still wanted to change primary insurers but did not want to risk ending up with an uninsured claim. So Layton's team created language to ensure this didn't happen.

Personally, Layton is "driven," according to her clients. "That's word No. 1 for her," said one source. "She is very passionate, yet she brings a humanity to her craft."

Senior Vice President, Technology Services
Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Redwood City, Calif.

Firm but Fair

Tom Whitenight is known as a very effective builder.

"Tom and his team reply in a very responsive manner," said one client. "He knows how to draw on the specialists in his company. And his team is very effective at giving presentations."

Added another client: "There are two categories in which Tom really distinguishes himself. The first category is based on his personality. He is very engaging with the customer. He's got an excellent personal touch.

"Secondly, he always has his listening ears on," said this client. "I always know he's addressing what I'm talking about. He has a nonsales way of putting forward what's needed. And he gets back to me immediately.

In the past year, one of Whitenight's clients was buying assets of a company out of bankruptcy court. The transaction was to be an asset purchase with no future liabilities, conceptually a very simple problem to solve. However, the actual purchase included physical assets, revenue, employees and other liabilities not cleansed through the bankruptcy court.

Cutting to the chase, Whitenight and his group were able to provide property coverage immediately, and resolved the liability piece with time running out.

Personally, Whitenight is known as gregarious but very objective. "He's very fair," said another client. "He's a personable, regular guy who meets your needs."

Added another client: "Tom anticipates your requirements. He's always maintained continuity."

Senior Vice President, Client Executive
Marsh
San Jose, Calif.

Vice President, Account Executive
Woodruff-Sawyer & Co
San Francisco