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Senior Vice President
Willis, Chicago

Broker Scratches Into the Nitty Gritty

This past year was one of intense attention to nitty-gritty detail for Sandra Berlin, and her clients have appreciated it.

"Sandra has excellent contacts with a wide range of underwriters, and that was particularly important to us in the past year," said Marty Fluhrer of Century America.

"She was very adept at finding the right insurers for us. She was very proactive in pursuing all possible options and every policy renewal was successful," he said.

"We had a claim for a sculpture and things worked out very well," Fluhrer added. "There was a quick and successful resolution to the case."

In the past year, Berlin spent a lot of time managing the risk of loans to various museums, including overseas institutions, reviewing insurance options and often creating custom programs to insure this exposure.

Berlin, a senior vice president with Willis in Chicago, also devoted time to reviewing insurance requirements for lines of credit against private collections. Her premise was that lines of credit against the value of artworks are one of the best ways to obtain cash in the current economic climate. Another focus of her attentions was an increase in claims activity, as she worked with multiple insurance companies to swiftly close clients' claims.

Personally, Berlin is known to be very straightforward and honest. "She is completely approachable," said one client. "She is never condescending."

Senior Vice President
Willis, Potomac, Md.

Anywhere Man for Clients

In the past year, Eric Fischer has enhanced his reputation for being ready to go anywhere, any time, for a client, no matter how large or small.

"I was seeking Eric's advice for what to present in a workshop on museum studies," said the registrar of a smaller Midwestern university museum. "Without any prompting from me, he said, 'Why don't I come out and help you?' He did, and it was a wonderful event.

"This is typical of how Eric goes way out of his way for you," this registrar noted. "Makes you feel like you are one or two of his favorite clients."

Fischer's talent came fore last year when there was a good deal of turnover with his museum client contacts. By being there ready and able to handle most any question, he showed why he is so well known for his responsiveness and careful listening ability.

Even in the difficult art climate last year, Fischer also was able to grow his book of private collectors.

Fischer has also played a key role in advising the Philadelphia Museum of Art in its efforts to regain two paintings that were consigned for a sale to New York gallery Salander-O'Reilly. The gallery went bankrupt and allegedly did not return any proceeds from the sale of the two paintings. The museum is suing AXA Art Insurance Corp., the insurer of the two paintings.

Senior Vice President
Huntington T. Block Ins. Agency (Aon), Baltimore

Pictures at an Exhibition

Lynn Marcin is known as a go-to person for putting together any fine arts policy, but in the past year her efforts in gaining favorable coverage for important traveling exhibitions has stood out from the pack.

"Lynn wrote a nice policy that allowed us to send 47 American paintings to the Suzhou Museum in China," said John Digesare, chief registrar at the San Diego Museum of Art. "She worked out some complicated intricacies in timely fashion."

Added Digesare: "She also helped the museum keep its same coverage at a reduced fee."

Another client faced a similarly daunting task with a big traveling exhibition with many stops. Not only did Marcin, senior vice president with Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency, have to factor in U.S. indemnity coverage, but she had to deal with the blanket coverage of the museum she represented, as well as purchasing additional insurance, on-site and off-site.

Once the free U.S. indemnity coverage was in place, the insured still needed millions of dollars more in commercial coverage to make up the difference to completely insure the lender's works of art.

Ultimately, not only was Marcin able to provide all of the coverages to present this blockbuster exhibition last fall, but the client came in way under budget in the process.

"Lynn can really cut through things," said one client. "She provides full information for the underwriter, but she also protects the interests of the museum."

Vice President, Director of Business Development
DeWitt Stern, New York

A Broker Who is an Art Wizard

To her most recent client, Mary Pontillo is known as a first-rate educator as well as an excellent broker.

"She is excellent at educating her clients, from seminars for groups of dealers and museum clients right down to presentations at individual galleries and museums," said Robin Roche, director of Gerald Peters Gallery in New York. "She went to our locations in New York and Santa Fe, N.M., to make individualized presentations. She demystifies the fine arts process."

Added Amy Hau, administrative director at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation: "The series of conversations she holds at DeWitt Stern are excellent. She keeps us informed of all the latest developments in our field."

Pontillo, vice president and director of business development for DeWitt Stern in New York, is known for keeping her clients up to speed on a range of relevant subjects. "She was the first to make me aware that the Transportation Security Administration was making changes in how art is transported on passenger planes, obviously a matter of great importance to us."

Pontillo has a reputation for having a great passion for art and bringing innovative, out-of-the-box thinking to the field.

Ellen Holdorf, registrar of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, said of Pontillo: "She's a whiz. She's extremely knowledgeable and incredibly quick witted. Her response time is very fast. At 10 p.m. the other night I sent her a question about a certificate of insurance, and there was an answer waiting for me the next morning."

Category: Fine Arts

Leading Through Fine Arts Education

For the past four years, Pontillo has coordinated a backpack and school supplies drive for Sanctuary for Families, a battered women's shelter. Her firm donated 35 packs filled with supplies thanks to the National Association of Insurance Women NYC, DeWitt Stern colleagues, and other insurance professionals.

In addition, she introduced three Sanctuary for Families' mothers to DeWitt Stern and they became the beneficiaries of DeWitt's annual Thanksgiving food drive. Pontillo also coordinated a gift drive during the holidays for Sanctuary for Families' children.

Pontillo, based in New York, participated as a walker for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer three times, volunteered for God's Love We Deliver's kitchen, and served as vice chairwoman for Fountain Gallery's annual benefit.

Pontillo provides yet another example of a professional who established expertise in a given discipline and then ended up marrying that expertise to a career in insurance. "She is an excellent educator. Changes in regulatory matters and keeping the client abreast of changes in their field, that's something she's very good at,'' a client said.

Pontillo earned a bachelor's degree in studio art from James Madison University and a master of arts in art history from the same institution. She holds an appraisal certificate from New York University and is a candidate there for a certificate in art business.

Before joining DeWitt Stern in 2006 as a vice president and director of business development, Pontillo worked as an underwriter at Huntington T. Block/Aon from 2002 to 2006.

Senior Vice President
Huntington T. Block Ins. Agency (Aon), New York

A Broker Crafting Solid Policies

Anne Rappa, senior vice president of Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency in New York, is well known for her experience and expertise in crafting international fine arts policies.

For example, when the Muscarelle Museum of Art at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., told Rappa they had a potential incoming loan of 12 Michelangelo drawings and that these came with a $50,000 insurance price tag, Rappa asked to review the requirements.

She worked with the loaning foundation in Italy and its broker and together they tailored the policy via endorsements to the satisfaction of the Casa Buonarroti, which was the museum in Florence responsible for the Michelangelo loans. This resulted in $50,000 in savings for the museum and the exhibition going on within budget.

The museum was so appreciative that it put the Huntington T. Block name on a plaque at the exhibition and thanked Huntington in written materials.

In another instance, one of the nation's most prominent art galleries was celebrating a landmark anniversary. "We had some complex issues, to say the least, and Anne helped us break things down and educate us," said the director of the gallery. "She was able to keep a fast speed, which was vital to the project. She is always very kind about our millions of questions."

"Anne has a deep knowledge of this business and we frequently benefit from her many contacts in the marketplace," said another client. "She's very straightforward. I trust what she tells me. Plus, she's very personable to do business with. I never hesitate to call her."

Assistant Vice President
Huntington T. Block Ins. Agency (Aon), Houston

High Expectations for Art Works

One of the most important art museums in the United States faced a huge challenge last year: how to secure comprehensive insurance at a reasonable rate on an overseas exposition with art works that were perceived as fragile.

"On top of everything else, this exposition had been budgeted before the recession," said the registrar at the museums.

That's when Adrienne Reid went to work. "Adrienne was constantly in touch with us about this complicated, high-value traveling exhibition," the registrar said.

The museum hoped to receive federal insurance coverage through the National Endowment for the Arts Federal Indemnity program, but the request was declined because of the fragile nature of the collection.

Through rigorous study of the artworks, a review of claims settlements regarding the artist in question and a thorough analysis of the museum's risk management, Reid successfully placed this policy at extremely competitive rates. "This really helped us out with our overall budget," said the museum's registrar.

In addition, Reid helped her client negotiate loan agreement contracts with various lenders so that the museum was not required to take on more risk than was absolutely necessary.

Clients said this is typical of Reid's performance. "She takes on whatever challenge we bring to her with the expectation that she will thoroughly research the question and bring us various options," said one client.

COO
Aon/Huntington
Washington, D.C.

Senior Vice President
Aon/Huntington
New York