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Executive Vice President/National Practice Leader
Aon, Washington, D.C.

Saving the Old Line State

Aluminum siding is not typically the stuff of nightmares. But it was for Laura McWeeney, the state of Maryland's insurance director. McWeeney said she worried that aluminum siding would end up as the replacement material if any disasters befell the Maryland statehouse, a timber-frame building dating back to the 1700s and the crown jewel in the state's property insurance program.

McWeeney took advantage of loss-control services offered through the state's brokerage contract with Aon Risk Solutions. The services, provided at no extra cost, were the brainchild of Aon broker William F. Becker, McWeeney said. "No other broker that I've dealt with has ever conceived the loss-control hours," McWeeney said.

Maryland received an expert evaluation of its historic statehouse so that state officials could ensure appropriate coverage. The loss-control hours also have benefited other areas, including the state's universities and its police. "This has just been a godsend," McWeeney adds.

The needs of public sector clients have long been at the forefront of Becker's work, said Steven Middleton, risk manager for Prince George's County in Maryland. Middleton has worked with Becker, executive vice president/national practice leader-public sector, for more than 25 years at a variety of public entities.

"He has the talent to understand what the needs of his customers are in the public sector arena and has stopped at nothing if we need an expert," Middleton said.

Assistant Vice President
Aon, Miami

Preserving The Audubon

Over the last year, Michael Brodie has delivered roughly $250,000 in annual premium savings to Audubon Nature Institute, which operates a zoo, an aquarium, parks and nature museums in hurricane-battered New Orleans. But it's the insurance coverage that Michael Brodie declined to sell that impressed Dale Stastny, Audubon's chief operating officer.

Stastny had been shopping for directors' and officers' (D&O) coverage, and Brodie and Aon were in the running. Two days before quotes were due, Stastny told Brodie that Audubon had just filed a claim under its existing coverage. Brodie recommended that Audubon stick with its current relationships, Stastny said, noting that the carrier might have looked at the claim differently had Audubon not renewed. "He kind of backed off in what he felt and I felt was the best interest of Audubon, as opposed to necessarily him placing some additional coverages," Stastny said.

Brodie had first contacted Audubon in early 2010, and the institute brought him in to restructure its insurance programs, Stastny said. Step one involved combining coverage for Audubon's two major properties, the zoo and the aquarium, under a single policy. The move generated about $175,000 in premium savings and enhanced overall coverage, Stastny said.

Next, Brodie helped restructure the institute's liability and auto insurance, producing another $75,000 in premium savings. "From the beginning, I had a feeling that he really knew what he was talking about, and it was pretty impressive what he delivered," Stastny said.

Area Senior Vice President
Arthur J. Gallagher, Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Doing the Right Thing

Clients of John Chino are reaping the rewards of his creativity. On behalf of one client, Southern California Schools Risk Management Joint Powers Authority, a collective insurance buyer for public schools and community colleges, Chino drew up a program that delivers premium rebates if losses are contained. The latest rebate clocked in at $699,800, according to Karla Rhay, the authority's chief administrative officer.

Over the last year, Chino has been working with the authority to find coverage for something traditionally seen as a noninsurable risk, Rhay said. After talking with carriers and reinsurers, the authority hopes to roll out a program in July to manage the risk and save money for member schools. "That's very crucial right now," said Rhay, citing California's budget crisis.

Chino's creativity also has impressed public officials in San Francisco. Most recently, Chino pitched in to evaluate professional liability coverage in a nontraditional way on several construction projects, including expansion of San Francisco's central subway, said Matt Hansen, director of the risk management division for the City and County of San Francisco. Chino negotiated with professional services contractors to make sure they were comfortable with the program, Hansen said.

Chino, area senior vice president with Arthur J. Gallagher, is always ready to offer expert advice, whether his own or from other members of his team, Hanson said. Equally impressive are Chino's suggestions to use other brokers when a situation calls for it. "It's the willingness to work on our behalf for the right solution, even if the business ultimately goes somewhere else."

Director of Public Entities
Aon, San Francisco

Insuring the Passage of the Torch

Luke Swetland often has to chase down his organization's other professional services providers, but he knows he can count on attention from William S. Deeb, director of public entities for the Chicago-based broker Aon.

"He's the one who's being proactive even though we're a small account for him," said Swetland, vice president and chief operating officer at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, a museum of western history and art founded by Gene and Jackie Autry, former owners of the Angels baseball team.

After the Autry museum bought a new building last year to serve as a collections storage facility, Deeb suggested having underwriters come out to evaluate it before embarking on renovations, Swetland said. The underwriters offered valuable input that fed into the final plans.

Deeb also found a better method for covering the Autry's annual art exhibition and sale. The event had been covered under the museum's fine arts policy, which offers a no-claims credit. But Deeb pointed out that museum pieces are more likely to be damaged while being shipped in and out for the exhibition and sale, so he suggested a separate policy. The move preserved the museum's ability to benefit from its no-claims credit.

San Francisco is another beneficiary of Deeb's approach, said Matt Hansen, director of the risk management division for the City and County of San Francisco.

For instance, Deeb helped craft the policy covering passage of the Olympic torch, which was expected to prompt protests in the Bay area.

Senior Vice President
Roach Howard Smith & Barton, Dallas

Broker Exceeds Expectations

Tracy Ray faced a daunting challenge last summer after she took over as assistant superintendent for business and operations for Weatherford Independent School District, about 20 miles west of Fort Worth, Texas.

The superintendent asked Ray to take a thorough look at the district's property and workers' comp insurance programs and make recommendations for the upcoming school year, less than two months away.

Based on recommendations from her peers, Ray called Dot Hedman. Ray expected the broker to laugh politely and recommend starting next year. Instead, Hedman embraced the challenge, and rose to it. Ray said she could count on Hedman to be available and respond quickly whenever any issues arose.

"I've never seen that level of response," Ray said. "She works like I do, 24/7, and if there's a need, she's addressing it." Ultimately, Hedman found better and lower-priced coverage in time for the district's Sept. 1 renewal. "I'd recommend her to any of my peers," Ray said. "She is clearly a cut above ... She delivered what she said she was going to deliver, and she did it with great finesse, and I feel very comfortable that it was the best of the best."

Hedman can also count on a recommendation from Mike Leasor, a former school district lawyer now in private practice. "Any time I have a situation that involves the risk management of public entities in particular, I always turn to her," said Leasor, an attorney with Abernathy Roeder Boyd & Joplin in McKinney, Texas.

Area Executive Vice President
Arthur J. Gallagher, Itasca, Ill.

Broker Delivers Bankable Returns

The Collective Liability Insurance Cooperative, which represents more than 160 school districts in the Chicago area, wanted to insure its members, not serve as their bank. But that's what the coalition was becoming after building up a surplus in its workers' compensation program, according to Ronald Chilcote, the coalition's treasurer.

Now, however, the extra money is flowing back to member schools at the rate of $1 million a year thanks to a program set up by the coalition's broker, Michael McHugh, Chilcote said. The coalition is in the midst of returning even larger surpluses in its property and casualty program by looking at inactive claims and closing them out.

"Through the years, Mike has continued to introduce a lot of new products to our membership and our executive committee," said Chilcote, who has worked with McHugh for 15 years. "He's provided us with opportunities to save our member districts on numerous occasions."

Schools also give McHugh high marks for his response to claims denials that clients believe are unwarranted. Such was the case after a recent accident involving a small trampoline commonly used in gymnastics. The insurer initially denied the claim, citing exclusions for trampolines. McHugh, executive vice president with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., had the claim reversed and the underlying policy altered to reflect the difference between large trampolines and the smaller kind used every day in schools.

"Michael had this issue satisfactorily solved within hours of it being brought to his attention," said a school administrator involved in the back and forth over the claim.

Senior Vice President
Gallagher
Boca Raton, Fla.

Senior Vice President
Neace Lukens
Cincinnati

Senior Vice President
Aon
Chicago