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Director
Aon, Longboat Key, Fla.

Pushing Hard for Solutions

Monica Brecka thinks her clients should not be bound by cookie-cutter insurance policies in which the overall risk of their particular industry drives the pricing. Instead, Brecka "pushes the envelope" and negotiates "creative alternatives" with carriers that deliver more value for her clients' bucks.

Brecka and her team, for example, were able to close gaps in coverage for one of Aon's European clients that had most of its operations in the United States. After negotiations, U.S. coverage requirements were met with an admitted lead umbrella policy within the global program and "follow-form" excess provided by the various European excess carriers for U.S. and European Union coverage. Gaps were eliminated and premium costs slashed by nearly 25 percent.

"Monica pulled off what not a lot of other people could have pulled off during the latest umbrella policy renewal," the client said. "She was able to ensure that our policies here in the United States were built into this global program, so we were insured at the same level of coverage, but under a conglomeration of new insurers. I've never seen anything like her level of detail, tenacity and attention to the nuances of insurance coverage."

Another client that had spun off from a larger company needed retroactive coverage to close a gap in lead umbrella coverage for several years, after the former parent retained for itself the primary and lead layers. Brecka and her team were able to negotiate a manuscript policy for prior acts before the spinoff, with an unlimited reporting period.

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Los Angeles

A Conscientious Coordinator

Dennis Donahue, senior vice president with Marsh in Los Angeles, knows how to step in at the right time.

One week before policy expiration, Donahue became involved in the property and marine program for a global retailer that had been handled by another broker.

An extension to the current program was recommended, and the Marsh team set about overhauling the program using the worldwide marine marketplace.

Within six weeks, the Marsh team delivered a program that saved its client more than $900,000 in premiums, while increasing catastrophic limits and reducing catastrophic deductibles.

On another case, Donahue was appointed broker for a major retailer's management liability policies. Donahue and his team worked through challenges at the first renewal--disappointing financial results, a soft economy for retailers-- and then delivered a complete analytical review, including benchmarking to assist in the decision-making process.

As a result, premiums dropped by 23 percent and more than thirty coverage enhancements to all of the management liability policies were enacted. One client called Donahue a "tremendous coordinator."

"He is organized, so he's able to maintain a timely response for us and he's very professional in his manner," the client said. "He delivers what he says and is willing to put his fees at risk ¿ if he tells you he's going to get a certain premium, he will do it, because he says he will not get any of his fees if he doesn't."

Managing Director
Aon, Chicago

Transferring Loss, Retaining Credibility

Few brokers tackle complicated transactions like loss portfolio transfers (LPT) without taking a deep breath. Not Carol Murphy. She's made a career out of them.

Murphy, a managing director at Aon in Chicago, created a unique method of negotiating LPTs to offset the prior workers' compensation liabilities of her large clients. The strategy has enabled her to become one of the most successful brokers of these kinds of transactions in the country, placing more than $300 million of booked premiums in the past year while closing 100 percent of the transactions quoted.

Murphy's LPT transactions are typically designed to reduce or eliminate large collateral obligations. One client, for example, was able to reduce its obligation by more than $300 million.

Other clients are interested in unloading self-insured workers' compensation obligations for regulatory and cost/collateral reasons, and the LPT's also facilitate mergers and acquisitions.

"What sets Carol apart is her ability to do these more high-level deals like loss portfolio transfers," one client said.

"She really understands her clients' special circumstances and builds programs around their needs," said Sandy Calvert, senior group manager at Target Corp. "She's a great listener and a great communicator, and she really nurtures and values her relationships, both on the client side as well as the market side."

Senior Managing Director
Beecher Carlson, Atlanta

Take Me to Your Risk Manager

Cliff Simpson has found ways to think innovatively even in routine renewal transactions.

Take property insurance coverage on a warehouse owned by one of Simpson's clients, a real estate investment trust that stores refrigerated goods for its grocer customers. Traditionally, the property policy would cover the warehouse building only. A separate warehouseman's legal policy would cover negligence and named property perils on the customer goods.

Simpson challenged the typical structure and pushed property carriers to provide coverage for customer goods within the property program and the team was able to get traditional property carriers to agree to provide negligence coverage within the property form as well. The major concession saved the REIT well over $1 million in premium.

Simpson and his team also developed a customized premium allocation model for all of the REIT's lines of coverage, which streamlined the client's internal invoicing processes and allowed the REIT to determine profitability on a location-by-location basis.

"He has the ability to not only correctly write a form to match the coverage, but he is also able to get the market to go along with it," said John Ermlich, risk manager at Americold.

Another client said Simpson is an excellent negotiator because he understands the perspective of the customer. "Anybody can go beat an insurance underwriter over the head, but he really understands where we are coming from and works to optimize the relationship he has with the insurance carrier for our company."

Vice President
Beecher Carlson, Atlanta

Strong Supporter Saves Clients Money

Stephen Stern found a way around a longstanding thorn in the side of several automotive retailing clients.

Historically, auto retailers have placed their traditional property separately from their automobile inventory due to carriers' reluctance to underwrite the "open lot" risk, which resulted in costlier deductibles and limits. Traditional carriers just didn't want to take on the risk of covering all of that pricey inventory sitting out there under the fluttering pennants on new and used car lots.

However, Stern and his team developed a manuscript policy form that encompassed all of their auto retail clients' property and inventory needs. The team also developed a property and inventory model that enabled clients to explore how a combined property and inventory program would react in different loss scenarios compared to purchasing the programs separately.

Stern presented alternatives to the traditional property and open lot markets, which has led to premium cost savings and a more efficient deductible application when a claim occurs.

"Stephen was instrumental in putting together a program that I had been told by other brokers could not be done-- combining auto physical damage with property insurance," said one of his auto retail clients. "He found a carrier to do it, and it works very well for us and saves us money."

Another client said that Stern has been able to save his company "a significant amount of money."

"The support he has given us has far exceeded my expectations."

Managing Director
Marsh, Morristown, N.J.

Bringing Credibility to her Clients

Darlene Villoresi, managing director for Marsh in Morristown, N.J., finds ways to differentiate the risks of her retail and life science clients, demonstrating their uniqueness that sets them apart from their peers. Villoresi then uses those distinctions to negotiate renewals that expand coverage and save premium dollars.

With one new client last year, for example, Villoresi customized her presentation to carriers to show recently implemented risk and loss mitigation strategies.

As a result, Villoresi and her team cut premiums, restructured the client's program and negotiated ten critical enhancements in policy terms and conditions, including adverse-events coverage and limitations on warranty language for new markets coming onto the program.

Villoresi and her team also restructured the client's primary fronted programs to slash collateral obligations.

"I think Darlene has a big credibility quotient with both clients and insurance carriers, so that really does carry a lot of weight when she is proposing these ideas," said Susan Miller, director of corporate risk management at lens maker and retailer Bausch & Lomb, which has a complex excess casualty program.

Another client uses Villoresi and her team for its product liability coverage.

"She has taken over our insurance program at a time when it has become very complex, and she has been very capable in continuing to give us broad coverage in an increasingly challenging insurance market," the client said.

Senior Vice President
Marsh
Chicago

Managing Director
Marsh
San Francisco

Senior Broker
Aon
Atlanta

CEO
NAPCO
Iselin, N.J.

Chairman
Aon
London