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Vice President
Marsh, London

Insuring a New World

With public demonstrations and regime change in the Arab world -- and the threat of terrorism still very much alive -- 2011 might go down as the year when political risks came to the forefront.

For a hotel chain with operations around the world -- including numerous holdings in the Middle East -- the heightened atmosphere of political risk meant the need to purchase a policy to protect against losses from terrorism. But the company's renewal came right after the protests in Egypt led to the fall of the Hosni Mubarak government and subsequent protests in the Middle East and North Africa -- making coverage difficult to secure. Complicating matters, the hotel chain hosts major international summits which not only draw high powered world leaders but passionate -- and potentially dangerous -- protesters.

Jane Ball, a London-based vice president at Bowring Marsh, helped to create a new type of coverage, political violence insurance, which allowed for broader coverage at a price that both the carrier and the client could agree on.

But her terrorism expertise doesn't stop at the Middle East.

She helped develop a terrorism, sabotage, riots, strikes, civil commotion and malicious damage cover for Mexico and hopes to offer liability coverage for companies with operations there. She went on to create an ethics-and-compliance training film for Marsh colleagues called "The Greater Good" which took a novel approach to sharing with colleagues the best practices in sourcing terrorism risk coverage for a major sporting event.

Executive Managing Director
Beecher Carlson, Atlanta

Crisis Management in the Face of Terror

When bombs ripped through two hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2009, nine were left dead, 42 were injured, and employees at Marriott, where one of the blasts went off, were understandably shaken.

In the two-and-a-half years since the attack, company executives have been hard at work creating a task force that responds to terrorism or catastrophic events with a dedicated team set to deliver services and information to employees and their family members, said Hector Mastrapa, vice president of insurance in the risk management department of Marriott International Inc.

But that's an expensive endeavor, and getting funding was not easy.

Enter Bob Hessel, executive managing director of Beecher Carlson. He set up a captive insurance program for crisis management for the hotel chain, so if there is an attack, the hospitality company is covered. Marriott can use any money awarded from a claim to pay for its crisis-management team to bring resources to help the company manage its properties or customers.

"If something new comes up, he's able to look for insurance or artistic solutions that make financial sense to us and rally the right resources around him to vet those," said Mastrapa.

But Hessel has plenty of other skills, including expert knowledge of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, which one source said he used to help a company maximize its tax benefits and mitigate risk.

Chairman
The Odell Studner Group, Radnor, Pa.

The Real Estate Man

It's no secret that the economic downturn was anything but kind to real estate owners and developers. Property values fell and deals fell through. But for a company that owns retail shopping centers, having Rob Odell, chairman of the Odell Studner Group on its side led to a significant savings.

When the company expanded its reach to high-end residential buildings, Odell helped craft a policy integrating general liability coverage into its existing developer policy. He even advised the company on how best to organize its staff to minimize risk.

That shifted much of the liability associated with multi-family residential developments away from the client, thus maintaining the integrity of their general liability contracts and establishing policies and procedures on the handling of possible future claims. Those changes saved $500,000 over the course of three years.

Odell is also a wizard with operating and easing agreements, said the developer's chief financial officer. He can also be a big help in dealing with tenants, large retailers in many cases, who often try to fight against the costs of insurance.

"Each one of our tenants is coming back and trying to hammer their costs and attempt to reduce coverages," said the development company's CFO. "Rob is advising us on where to play ball and where to say 'you can't do that.' " It's Odell's experience and knowledge that sets him apart, said the client, because he can identify instances when similar tenants reduced coverage, only to be burned when risks came about.

Principal
Integro Insurance Brokers, San Francisco

Broker Delivers Value

What does a Power BrokerŪ do? How about saving a company hundreds of thousands on its premiums?

That's just what Kevin Orphan, principal at Integro Insurance Brokers, did for Ohana Real Estate Investors and Montage Hotels and Resorts during the construction of Montage Deer Valley, a one million square-foot luxury mixed-use hotel, resort and condo facility in the ski haven of Deer Valley, Utah.

With so many stakeholders under the same roof, including individual condo owners, renters, retailers, and ongoing construction, Orphan created a single builders' risk policy, rather than a separate operating policy along with the builders' risk insurance, said Chris Smith, president of Ohana Real Estate Investors.

The approach saved roughly $700,000 in premium. What's more, Smith admits that he and his company leaders "would not have known the difference," if the program was structured in another, more expensive way.

But getting honest feedback and creative solutions seems to be par for the course when dealing with Orphan. "It gives us a lot of confidence in his capabilities and that he's looking out for best interest, not in his best interest as a broker," said Smith.

Iqbal Bashir, vice president of finance at Montage Hotels and Resorts, said that Orphan's availability and creativity set him apart, citing not only the cost savings he was able to achieve but also his ability to bring adjusters and carriers face-to-face with clients.

Executive Vice President
Willis, Dallas

An Honest Broker

It's no secret that many insurance brokers promise their clients the world -- whether they can deliver it or not. But Eric Schake, executive vice president at Willis, seems to be cut from a different cloth.

Marsha Bonner, risk manager at FelCor Lodging Trust, told Schake that FelCor was leaving Willis for another broker because of a promised 50-percent reduction in premiums. Schake could have promised the same, but keying on his deep knowledge of the industry, he knew the promise from the other broker was outlandish and unreachable, so he let the client walk. "We put him in a tough position," said Bonner.

But like Schake knew all along, the new broker failed to deliver on the price reduction, so Bonner took her business back to Willis.

"Luckily he took us back," she said. "He wasn't willing to bend to the pressures of competition in the market. He earned a lot of credibility with us."

Bonner also said that Schake wasn't shy about telling her that FelCor was over-insured coming out of an economic downturn that hurt the hospitality industry.

"Any broker would try to sell you more ... but he's willing to advocate for a reduction in coverage when it's necessary," she said.

With 2011 being a bad year for property insurers, many of his clients faced increases in premiums, but Schake was diligent about learning about each client's specific risks and expressing those to underwriters to ease their nerves and keep premiums as low as possible.

Managing Director
Marsh, Portland, Ore.

Broker Exudes Infectious Energy

Telling employees that there are four straight days of Occupational Safety and Health Administration and site compliance training can lead to some moans and groans. But with Janice Schnabel, the managing director, global hospitality and gaming practice leader at Marsh Inc. to lead them, the groaners at one hospitality company stopped complaining.

Her palpable energy overtook her audience, and by day four, the workers were sorry to see her go, said the company's risk manager. "She's at our site a few days and you can feel the energy," said the risk manager. "She's able to engage everyone with her enthusiasm."

In other instances, it's her knowledge that comes to the forefront. For many risk managers, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act is a difficult piece of legislation. Who is considered disabled under the act is unclear in some cases. Distinctions between the amendments to the 2008 law and the original legislation are also leading to confusion. With all of this in mind, some companies are lucky enough to have Schnabel to rely on. She created an ADAAA worksheet for a large hotel/casino chain so its risk manager was up to speed on compliance.

"She even called the ADA in Washington to get clarification on a few things," said the director of risk management.

Perhaps her knowledge of disabilities legislation requirements is so deep because "she lives and breathes it," said the director of risk management.

"She's an extraordinary person," he said.

Senior Vice President
Aon Risk Solutions
New York, NY