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Client Director
Aon, London

Sound Geometry

To a man with a hammer, every problem is a nail, and most owners have dealt with brokers that try to fit square pegs into round holes just to close the sale.

Mike Buckley-Stanton, a client director in Aon's London offices, has two special talents, clients said: one is finding the correct sized hole for every peg, and beyond that, fixing pegs and holes that had been mismatched in the past.

He won accolades this year as the advocate for a large mining operation that re-established a relationship with offshore underwriters after a bad experience with another broker.

"Mike is by far the most detailed, financially sounded, analytical broker that I have ever had," said one risk manager. "He has brought us new markets, additional capacity and compatible pricing. He has been prudent in placing our program with the appropriate markets, and provided exemplary service in cost containment, providing valuable assistance in negotiations of claims and ensuring our company receives the proper attention it deserves."

Part of his success is his expertise across important segments of heavy industry, oil and gas, petrochemicals, and mining--both coal and metal, and downstream to steel.

That expertise also comes to the fore not just in tricky placements and in shepherding claims, but also in keeping client-underwriter relationships going after major losses.

The client was braced for having to work the market with a blight on its record. The placement did require a new program, but Buckley-Stanton was able to secure the coverage with the client's incumbent carriers with only a slight net increase in costs.

Senior Vice President
Lockton, St. Louis

Clutch Under Pressure

Vince Gaffigan, senior vice president with Lockton Cos. Inc. in St. Louis, is not Cool Hand Luke, but he does remain calm under stress and he can certainly identify a failure to communicate.

One large mining company client had decided to take its primarily self-insured workers 'compensation program out to the market. The director of insurance and enterprise risk management said that on the verge of renewal, the underwriters offered a program with a huge collateral requirement. Instead, the risk manager sought a second opinion, and asked Gaffigan to resolve the situation.

His analysis, reports the client, was not so much that the carrier was being unreasonable, but that the program was not well structured. He found errors in assignments in existing claims, and too much weight given to old claims in the underwriting process for loss forecasting. The administrative problems extended to payroll and personnel records. Even the company's credit rating was off.

Gaffigan had negotiated a temporary, three-month extension with the existing carrier while the analysis was conducted. As a result, the client was able to reorganize its records, differentiate its operations with respect to risk profiles, and halve both the loss profile and the collateral requirement for the new program.

For a different client the challenge was the integration of two large acquisitions. The firm's entry into new market segments meant a temporary increase in exposure and expenses, but coverage had to be flexible as the integration of the new operations proceeded.

Vice President
Aon, Houston

Broker Puts Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

With the boom in shale gas drilling across North America, many companies have experienced dramatic growth. More revenue, more operations, and more employees also mean more complex exposure, however.

Such was the case with one oil and gas company that had been with the same small local broker for more than 15 years. The risk manager said that "with great reluctance, we realized that we had to start working with a major broker."

They put out a proposal, and "we did a lot of dancing with most of the major brokers, but Matt went straight into talking about improvements he could make in our program and savings that could be achieved."

The client was most impressed "that Matt and Aon were willing to put their money where their mouth was: they quoted a fee, and said that if they could not get the premium and costs savings they anticipated, they would rebate part of the fee. Well they earned every penny, and then some. It was difficult for us to open Pandora's Box and show anyone our existing program, but we selected Matt for his ready ideas and his enthusiasm for improving our situation."

Another client was not willing to make a complete break with its existing broker, but at renewal was seeking a lower premium and better terms on a specific line. The insurance manager said that he was stunned that Gelotti, vice president with Aon in Houston, was able to secure a savings of almost half the previous premium.

Managing Director
Wortham, Houston

Tales of Johnston Winning Business

Like one of those classic tales of enterprise and industry, John L. Wortham & Son Managing Director Peter Johnston achieved his laurels last year through winning new business and delivering the promised improvements.

"The general consensus of my company's executives was that we were paying too much for insurance and that the broker at the time was not performing to the standards expected," a vice president of risk management at one firm said. Renewals were completed at the last minute, leaving little time for management to evaluate newly proposed terms, conditions and pricing.

"Moreover, the broker complained of losing money on the account and was seeking an increase in fees at renewal," the risk management vice president said.

Not surprisingly, the account was bid out. Johnston won the business, quoting a fee half the price of that quoted by the previous broker, and was put to the test at once. "Peter and I immediately began preparing for the renewal," said the risk manager. "The results were remarkable. The renewal presentation to our management occurred 30 days prior to the renewal date. Through Peter's marketing efforts and knowledge of the market we achieved premium savings of 72 percent, lowered certain deductibles by 75 percent, and improved the policy terms and conditions."

"Peter was able to recover some past return premiums for us," said one client. He was able to replace coverage midterm with new terms and conditions, the client said.

Managing Director
Aon, Houston

Big Time in Offshore

Everything is big in Texas, notably the placement of more than $2.5 billion of coverage for a complex offshore platform system that David Mittelholzer handled in 2010.

Not surprisingly, the program required global participation from underwriters, and included a captive component that added another layer of complexity. Offshore coverage was overshadowed by the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April, so clients give Mittelholzer all the more credit for accomplishing a placement of that size in less than 10 weeks and below premium projections.

Impressive as that program may be, "Dave worked diligently to reduce our property and business interruption premiums significantly," said another risk manager. "We also experienced savings in our liability and directors' and officers' (D&O) programs. Dave possesses excellent relationships with underwriters in the United States, London and Bermuda. He promptly responds to our inquiries, whether they involve the placement of our programs, claims, or accounting issues."

Mittelholzer, managing director of Aon in Houston, has developed an expertise in liquefied natural gas terminals. Dozens exist worldwide. There are half a dozen in the United States and they present unique risks: huge volumes of highly flammable, highly volatile liquid at -260 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Dave worked hard to make us understood in U.S. markets, and to differentiate us in the London markets," said another client.

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Atlanta

Game On for Determined Broker

In a year marked by upheaval in the energy sector, clients laud Marsh Senior Vice President David Sellars for embodying the essence of an insurance broker: placing difficult risks, closing smooth renewals at favorable rates, and winning new business.

"We switched to Marsh to handle our executive lines coverages," said the corporate insurance manager of one energy firm. "David was the primary reason we chose Marsh over the others as he embodied all the attributes we wanted to see in a broker: experienced, intelligent, innovative, personable, attentive to our needs, efficient, accessible, quick to respond, and proactive. Our original assessment of David was confirmed when he exceeded our expectations in the ensuing renewal effort. We skated through the renewal process with only minor changes."

In taking care of existing business, a client recounts that Sellars handled "an aggressive restructuring and remarketing of our directors' and officers' (D&O) liability program and he was outstanding."

During a face-to-face session with underwriters, Sellars had already cultivated the relationships and commanded their respect, the client said. Sellars' suggestions were "insightful and to the point," the client also said.

"He also incorporated several important points into the presentation himself and many were last minute," the client also said. "The pressure was on! In the end, we secured a completely different program that better suited our needs and at a much lower cost."