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Senior Vice President
HUB International, Lafayette, La.

As Good as You Can Be

Thomas N. Hebert gets high marks from his clients for his expertise in navigating an extremely difficult marine insurance market following the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and for his outstanding industry knowledge and commitment to customer service.

"I have nothing but superlatives for Tommy," said a lawyer for one of Hebert's clients. "He's absolutely as good as anyone can possibly be in this business."

Herbert, a senior vice president with HUB International Gulf South, navigated a tough insurance market for oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico, which was battered by difficult years following hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. But it became even worse after the BP oil spill killed 11 workers and spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the water.

The industry's losses had been so large over the past few years that many insurers were unwilling to provide much capacity for wind coverage or for operator extra expense, said the lawyer.

Hebert took his client, an independent deep water driller, to London to meet with the underwriters there in an effort to highlight the safety aspects of the project and how they differ from the well in the BP spill. He was able to argue successfully that the company deserved to be treated differently because it had new platforms and other new structures in place.

In another example, Hebert is working with the client on an insurance placement for a complex joint venture with other oil and gas interests. The risk is so complex that more than 12 different Lloyd's syndicates have been needed to pull together the coverage under Hebert's direction and coordination. And the plan was executed flawlessly.

"Tommy's expertise spans both the energy and marine fields, and he contributes significant value based on his many years of actual hands-on oil field work and his 30 plus years of insurance industry experience," the client's attorney said.

Another client said that Hebert's service separates him from the rest of the brokerage community.

"He is a problem solver that has vast knowledge of the industry," said the chief accounting officer at an exploration company, "and he does not hesitate to put forth an all-out effort in providing our company with the best service on a fast-track basis, no matter how difficult the problem."

Senior Vice President
Integro Insurance Brokers, New York

Broker Floats Some Good Ideas

Brad Hendrick, senior vice president of Integro Insurance Brokers, has extensive experience in the maritime industry and he has been able to put that experience to work for his clients.

It doesn't hurt that he was formerly a risk manager. One of his clients, a Brooklyn-based recycling company, transports road aggregate -- materials used in construction, which can include particles like sand, gravel, crushed stone or slag -- on barges on the Hudson River between New York City and Albany.

The company's previous insurance policy had a lot of coverage gaps, said Joseph Pellis, an attorney who represents the recycling company.

Hendrick crafted a much more comprehensive policy and at a lower price, Pellis said. One of the problems with the company's previous policy, for instance, was that it did not have workers' compensation coverage for employees once they set foot on the barge. The policy that Hendrick put in place provides that coverage without added cost.

The previous policy also did not provide coverage for the costs associated with the recovery of any barges that sink. The problem, however, is that the U.S. Coast Guard requires that barges be removed from the river if they happen to sink, and recovery costs per barge can cost anywhere from an estimated $2 million to $3 million, Pellis said. The previous policy provided coverage in case a barge broke loose, but not for the recovery of a barge. That kind of coverage gap left a huge risk.

Another of Hendrick's attributes is that he is "unbelievably knowledgeable" about maritime law, Pellis said.

For a large shipbuilder, Hendrick was able to use his vast knowledge of policy language to get a carrier to withdraw an additional premium demand of approximately $30,000 that the client had been paying in previous years.

His resume reflects his background in the maritime industry. Before entering the brokerage world in 2005, Hendrick worked for Seabulk International/Seacor Holding in the risk management department handling marine claims for more than 400 vessels. He served for eight years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and is a graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a degree in international maritime business.

Senior Vice President
Hays Companies of Illinois, Chicago

Broker Truly Committed to Service

Thomas Holland has been described as "a completely full service broker" who not only excels at placing marine insurance, but also gets involved with everything from claims to loss control as well.

"It's very difficult to find someone that's full service," one client said.

"You get pieces of that, but to get it all, it's quite unique," he said.

That's helped him maintain some very long-lasting relationships with clients.

But it's not just service that sets him apart. He's got the ability to negotiate difficult ocean cargo placements while also excelling at placing coverage for marine stock throughput programs.

One of his accomplishments last year was to help a client achieve significant savings in exchange for accepting a small additional amount of additional risk on its shipments. The client picked up the exposure on marine shipments that were up to 10 miles out from the U.S. coast. While certainly more risky, the company got a much lower rate and obtained $150 million in savings on its taxes.

Holland, who is a senior vice president at Hay Companies of Illinois in Chicago, also provided critical assistance in the company's move to an electronic reporting system which is used by insurance companies for accurately keeping track of cargo.

In another example, one of his client companies was splitting into three separate entities. At the time of its insurance renewal, the company was intact, but it was known that the split would be completed in the near future, so attaining coverage proved to be a challenge. Such a situation is complicated enough to send any broker stumbling.

Holland was able to have the marine insurance marketplace provide three separate but equal programs to provide the same broad coverage for each of the entities through a stock throughput program.

Although each of the three new companies had very different exposures, Holland was able to obtain competitive pricing. He was also able to get the carrier to agree to a 17-month policy term, which would provide coverage for each entity prior to the spinoff.

Senior Vice President
Aon, Houston

Broker Adept at Minding the Gaps

When Kevin Sisk, senior vice president with Aon Risk Solutions, reviews marine policies, he often finds coverage gaps that others miss.

"He brought things to our attention that we either weren't aware of as something we needed to have or thought we had but didn't actually have," one client said. "He's very meticulous and reviews policies at a very detailed level. He came back with an audit and he had probably over 100 comments."

Case in point: A review of this client's policy revealed that some marine equipment assets had been identified as "in water" assets when they were really topside assets. But "in water" assets are rated at a much higher premium than topside assets. By catching that mistake, Sisk saved the company a significant amount of money.

"As complex as marine insurance can be, there were just a lot of fine points that were missed by the past broker," this client said. "We got better coverage and he ended up saving us about 10 percent on the premium."

Another client said he was impressed with Sisk's relationships with exploration and production companies.

"He seemed to understand the oil field service, our sector, and certainly has a lot of relationships with exploration and production companies, which are our clients," he said. "Because of those relationships and his knowledge of the industry, we thought he would be a strong addition," he said, noting that Sisk understands "both sides of the street."

For a global offshore marine construction client, Sisk advised them through the acquisition of a marine contractor that increased revenues by $175 million.

For another, he was instrumental in identifying the risks and exposures for a newly constructed saturation diving system which allows divers to reduce the risk of decompression sickness while working underwater for long periods of time.

For all of his clients, Sisk keeps his approach to customer service simple: act as an advocate to help then design and place complex risk into the insurance marketplace. After that, everything else will fall into place.

Another philosophy is to treat every company -- both large and small -- with care and diligence.

Regional Broking Officer
Aon Risk Solutions
Miami, FL