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Vice President
Aon, New York

A Real Quick Learner

An expert in management liability insurance, Hilda Batlle recently was named fiduciary insurance practice leader for the Aon Financial Services Group. The promotion makes perfect sense, said one of her clients.

"In 2010, we needed to rewrite our fiduciary liability policy, and Hilda coordinated it," said Mark Saltsgaver, director of corporate risk management at Eli Lilly & Co. "There were some real technical aspects to the process, and Hilda worked with our internal practice leads to make sure it worked. She also worked with me almost daily during the process to develop our new and improved manufacturing form, as our old form had 20-plus endorsements that didn't align as smoothly as we wanted."

Working with a "blank sheet," Batlle helped Saltsgaver and Lilly use outside counsel to find where any weaknesses might be, and how to best defend those areas. "She's very sharp, and at a level of knowledge that is very good for being in the business for just six or seven years," he said.

Batlle's expertise extends beyond pharmaceutical industry clients and into the fiduciary coverage areas. In 2010, a company's spinoff activity also presented a major challenge, raising specific management liability exposures between the parent company and former subsidiary.

To keep Aon on the account for both entities, Batlle proposed one team that included a senior broker and claims expert, separate from the team that served the parent company.

Senior Vice President
Marsh, New York

Tireless in her Efforts

It's no secret that the life sciences industry has some unique needs when it comes to primary and excess casualty insurance coverage. That's where Michaela Grasshoff, senior vice president for Marsh, does her best work ¿ finding solutions for those unique client scenarios.

Grasshoff, who works with risk managers, anticipates changes in the life sciences industry to uncover those special solutions. Whether they are in the form of coverage/risk transfer or in the form of risk avoidance, Grasshoff gives clients the confidence they will be properly managed.

Take medical device maker C.R. Bard, a Grasshoff client, for example. The company faced significant exposure between sales professionals demonstrating products at various hospitals and the need for the employed physicians to participate in rounds at hospitals in order to maintain their professional designations.

Both situations necessitated the client showing proof of professional liability to outside parties. Bard looked to Grasshoff to secure a solution, and through negotiations with the excess liability carriers, she obtained a sublimit within the excess liability tower to extend professional liability coverage. Adding this coverage to existing policy language eliminated the need to purchase an expensive separate tower, and allowed for certification of the coverage to third parties.

Jim Gallagher, risk manager at C.R. Bard, called Grasshof a "tireless worker."

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Boston

Enlightening the Life Sciences

When a new client, a life sciences technology manufacturer, had an extraordinarily complex insurance program that had 31 policies, redundant coverage, gaps and unorthodox limits, Ty Howe and his Marsh team went into action.

Senior Vice President Howe and the team, reduced the client's policy count from 31 to 18, added three new policies to cover uninsured risks and saved the client nearly 30 percent on its multi-million dollar premiums.

Kristie Bolieau, vice president of finance and accounting at GTC Biotherapeutics Inc. in Framingham, Mass., who has been working with Howe since 2005, said she and GTC received an immediate positive experience relative to risk and risk financing from Howe's work.

"Right from the start, Ty has done a lot of outstanding things for us in areas such as premium savings and explaining some issues we were not aware of before we worked with Marsh," said Bolieau.

Howe and his team have been especially helpful on the D&O front. "He has tremendous knowledge of pharmaceutical and life sciences, and has done a great job of aligning our needs with the specific risks we face, and helping us when going out to the market," she said.

For another client, Howe was able to convince a directors' and officers' (D&O) carrier to extend coverage for a life sciences consultant who had come to rely on outsourcing the specialized work.

Howe is the clinical research organization practice leader for Marsh USA.

Category: Pharmaceuticals

A Leader in Value and Service

Ty Howe, senior vice president for Marsh USA in Boston, is the clinical research organization practice leader for the firm and supports other Marsh offices around the country.

In fact, in 2010, he helped colleagues in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Charlotte in their efforts to provide great service.

"Ty Howe's deep knowledge and understanding of the CRO (chief risk officer) space has added significant value to my CRO clients,'' said colleague Mary Riley, a Marsh senior vice president and client executive.

Thanks to his work, Marsh has landed several new clinical research organizations as clients and has helped clients better manage their risks. For one client, for example, he's helped cut the number of policies from 31 to 18, saving the client nearly 30 percent at renewals.

Howe could sit back, of course, and be a "super specialist" focusing only on the improving his clients' pharmaceutical coverage. But that's not really what drives Howe.

He's thinks more broadly, and so the question for him is how to exert a broader stamp, the Howe imprimatur, if you will, on the firm and within the rest of the industry. As it turns out, he found the perfect segue.

Howe's became a trustee of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute, which conducts research to identify the causes of cancer, degenerative diseases, and muscle diseases. The institute has licensed technology for Alzheimer's and cancer research to pharmaceutical companies to aid in their drug development efforts.

In addition, Howe has recruited student researchers to participate in a summer internship program at the institute so that they can get a taste of scientific research.

Director
Aon, Philadelphia

Creating Buy-In With Critical Knowledge

Lois Lewis, a Philadelphia-based director with Aon Risk Solutions, believes that being a lead broker in the life sciences sector requires specialized knowledge of such a diverse industry. After all, insurers who serve pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies need specialized expansions of coverage. Beyond bodily injury and property damage, financial loss coverage is critical for insurers underwriting coverage in the life sciences sector.

Working closely with one such client in 2010, Lewis and her team approached the primary insurer to obtain coverage enhancements that were typically uninsurable. The team also restructured self-insured retention and extended coverage to include medical malpractice. To get the buy-in of the primary insurer, Lewis' team set had discussions with the primary insurer, after which Lewis' team was able to meet the client's needs at renewal for a lower premium.

Lewis possesses critical knowledge in the way the life sciences market works, said Chris Blaine, director of risk management at Aon client Covance. "Her understanding of the industry, especially coming from a manufacturing background, is amazing," Blaine said. "Lois is able to dissect policies into fine detail. She certainly goes above and beyond the norm."

Elizabeth Zimmerman, manager, insurance and risk management at Merck & Co., Inc., another Aon client, said Merck's 2010 property/casualty renewals were challenging, given the merger with Schering-Plough in November, 2009.

Lewis was able to save the company premium yet provide global compliance.

Principal/Life Science director
Barney & Barney, San Diego

A Stress Saver for Clients

The past year was a tough one for some of Mike Milligan's pharmaceutical/life science clients. One client, Alphatec Spine Inc., acquired a French company in a complicated deal. Alphatec needed a continuation of product liability coverage. After months of negotiation, Milligan's team was able to continue coverage internationally, saving the client a lot of money. Also, under Milligan's direction, the Barney & Barney life science team completed a litigation survey to determine why life science companies are sued. Their findings led to the firm convincing a carrier that a client, which had a new drug application outstanding (and a potential lawsuit), was a good risk, and, when no litigation occurred, was able to obtain a very healthy directors' and officers' (D&O) renewal.

"Mike and his team looked at our D&O coverage, too, even though that's not his specialty, and gave us another set of eyes, helping us do a gap analysis," said Ebun Garner, senior vice president and general counsel at Alphatec Spine. "When we acquired the French company, Mike was instrumental in helping us move from U.S. product liability program to a consolidated global policy. He is extremely experienced and willing to take time out to explain every detail."

Jill Broadfoot, CFO at Barney & Barney client Vical, which develops biopharmaceutical products, said Milligan did an excellent job keeping expenses down during 2010.

"I've been working with Mike for six years, and he has been great all along," Broadfoot said.

Vice President/team leader
Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Redwood City, Calif.

Thou Must Know the European Law

With the growth of globalization, pharmaceutical companies are launching international operations as many of the important clinical trials are held in Europe. As a result, it's important to ensure that the right risk management practices and the proper insurer are in place.

Cristina Varner, vice president/team leader with Wells Fargo Insurance Services, last year managed a large contract for a client regarding data privacy protection coverage related to European Union laws. Because the law is very strict, but also not routinely enforced overseas, attorneys for the client turned to Varner for advice on reviewing in-depth with carriers that specialize in general liability, products liability and professional liability coverages. She found answers and options for the client.

She found coverage in the client's liability insurance program within the personal injury definition for violation of a right to privacy, for example. This coverage is sometimes granted within products liability policies; but not so in this case.

Varner advised her client to purchase a separate clinical research policy covering potential claims arising out of data protection. She also engaged a law firm on behalf of her client, and the firm provided advice and a white paper related to the informational aspects of the European Data Privacy Directive.

"Cristina and the rest of her team initially helped us tailor our insurance programs based on our specific industry risk as a non-evasive medical device company," said another client.

Director
Aon
Portland, Maine

Managing Director
Marsh
Norwalk, Conn.

Senior Vice President
Riggs, Counselman
Bethesda, Md.