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Vice President
Aon, New York

Broker Sets Great Expectations

Hilda Batlle, vice president and national fiduciary liability practice leader with Aon Risk Solutions in New York City, knows that sometimes it's best to advise clients against their wishes.

Take TAL International, a container leasing company. Its directors' and officers' insurer indicated it would not be offering reductions on any of its programs, so TAL wanted to switch to the lowest-priced carrier.

While Batlle dutifully presented multiple program options, she also advised TAL of the benefits and drawbacks, as its existing programs were excellent. Ultimately, the client maintained some of the key relationships, while replacing others and improving the terms of the insurance programs. Anthony Hung, TAL's vice president of audit and risk management information technology, said that Batlle routinely sets high expectations, and is typically able to obtain at least some of her objectives.

"We get surprised every year when our premiums are reduced," Hung said. "She works with the markets in a very aggressive and humble way."

Another client transitioning from a public to a private company said that Batlle was able to ensure it had a directors' and officers' policy in place for the new owners before the sale was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Batlle scheduled a meeting with about a dozen carriers on the day that all members of the existing and new boards would be in New York.

"Because of that we were able to get the quotes and have the policy ready to go when the sale was announced," the client said. "Then she oversaw the whole change from a public form to a private form able to keep really good terms favorable to us."

Senior Vice President
Aon, San Francisco

Broker Jumps Though Hoops and Loops

Larry Bowlus, a senior vice president with Aon Risk Solutions, who recently moved to that firm from Willis, can handle it when clients throw him for a loop.

While he was with Willis, one of his clients decided to make a demand to its directors' and officers' (D&O) insurers for payment on past litigation involving errors and omissions issues -- announcing this to carriers during underwriter renewal meetings just weeks prior to the D&O policy renewal. Then, the day before the E&O policy renewed, the client noticed a different claim with a demand in excess of $75 million. Despite these tricky claims, Bowlus was able to achieve a significant decrease in premium on both programs with broad state-of-the-market coverage.

Another client said that Bowlus is "one of the most unassuming risk management professionals" he has ever encountered, and is "extremely hard working, bright and creative."

Bowlus took on a broader role on this account two years ago when a critical team member left Willis, the client said. That individual was managing the company's most complex insurance programs that required significant negotiation each year.

"Larry had already been doing a very good job for us on the D&O and other smaller lines, but stepped up when this change occurred and really pulled off something that I didn't think he could," the client said. "Larry also has the skills that I truly value in a broker. He is always responsive, makes sure I get the right answer -- even if it means doing a fair amount of legwork and I feel he is an advocate for us in the market."

Chief Executive Officer
Beecher Carlson, Atlanta

The Man in Charge

In his new role as chief executive officer for Beecher Carlson, Dan Donovan transmits his "out of the box" ideology throughout the entire organization.

One of Beecher Carlson's clients recently made an acquisition with loan covenants requiring a $25,000 general liability and property deductible. The premium to buy the deductible down from the client's corporate retentions was $325,000.

The brokerage firm designed a "one-way retro endorsement" that allowed the market to issue a policy covering $25,000 worth of claims for a $20,000 premium. If the loss ratio were to exceed 10 percent, the client would have to pay an additional $250,000 to the $20,000 premium, but the client doesn't intend to file any additional claims. As a result, the client saved $305,000 and was able to close the deal.

"As a result of Dan's leadership, which instills and demands expertise, the company attracts those who have a passion for the industry," said one client. "They don't just have expertise in their lines of coverage, but they also strive to really understand their clients to get the best possible solutions for them."

Another client said that Donovan is a "very hands-on, very intelligent guy."

"He has a way of making a very difficult process much easier to understand and solicits a lot of input," this client said. "He is committed to customizing the process to fit the customer's needs and not what is in the best interests of the broker."

Account Executive
Aon, Cleveland, Ohio

Broker Extends His Reach

Kevin Garvey goes above and beyond in his quest to be an extension of his clients' risk management departments.

Case in point: one of his clients had planned to send employees to a part of the world that had exploded in political unrest, causing the client to reconsider the travel plans. The risk manager called upon Garvey for guidance to determine whether its employees would be safe if they made the trip -- and the risk manager needed the information the next day.

Garvey developed a comprehensive plan in just 24 hours, with information on site-specific consulting, cultural considerations and ground resources knowledgeable about that region.

In the end, the client and its employees made the collective decision to not take that specific trip, thanking Garvey for his prompt response that saved them from potential trouble.

Monica Turk, director of risk management for JMC Steel Group Inc., said that Garvey finds creative ways to save the company money in its insurance program.

For example, JMC recently moved its headquarters and collected a valuable fine arts collection for its new location. Instead of placing the risk in a separate policy for fine arts that carried a fairly large deductible, Garvey was able to add the collection to the company's existing property policy.

"Whether it's looking at limits or deductibles, he is always trying to think about ways to better the program," Turk said. "He is 100 percent hands-on and he truly makes me feel like I am the only client important to him."

Senior Vice President
Marsh, Boston

Broker Personifies Diligence in Action

John Katilus, senior vice president for Marsh Inc. in Boston, clearly displays one attribute that not every Power BrokerŪ winner or candidate can boast of; he flat-out saves his clients millions.

For the agricultural cooperative Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., John engineered a stock throughput program with a major marine-cargo underwriter that enabled the cooperative to remove a significant per-occurrence deductible from the its balance sheet, which will help it save millions of dollars. The work involved hundreds of hours of policy manuscripting, which Katilus negotiated with underwriters.

For pharmacy chain CVS Corp., Katilus helped to lead an initiative which saw the company getting out of some locations that were catastrophe risks and making infrastructure improvements at others. He also created a three-tiered risk management program to address different risk levels within the organization.

"He's very diligent technically and more than capable and a good detail guy," said Jim Robinson, the risk manager for CVS. "He digs into the issue with the client before they start down the road and follows through."

For another client, the Hudson Transmission Construction Project, Katilus secured hard-to-find insurance capacity for the project's owner-controlled insurance program, which saved the client half of a multimillion-dollar term premium. The work in this case was a classic example of good insurance work enabling a good project to go forward. The project is scheduled to add 660 megawatt-hours of electrical capacity to the New York grid by the spring of 2013.

Managing Director
Marsh, San Francisco

Marine and Retail

Scott Lamb knows the marine and retail business inside and out and it shows in his solutions for clients.

For one global ocean transportation client, Matson Navigation in Oakland, Calif., Lamb structured its hull and machinery program in a way that allows multiple participation from insurers in the U.S., France, London, and Norway. Lamb, managing director for Marsh Inc., in San Francisco, was able to maintain a "competitive tension" among the participating insurers, which have resulted in significant cost savings for Matson.

Lamb also created a liability program that contains multiple primary liabilities, as well as combined marine and non-marine excess lines, with unusually broad coverage terms typically not available from the broader market.

Mary Tanios, Matson's director of risk management, said that Lamb's ability to roll 10 cargo policies into a consolidated program has saved the company money and for Tanios, "a tremendous amount of administrative burden."

"Now we can automatically insure each of the shipments and we don't even have to consult with the underwriter," she said. "It saves us a tremendous amount of time and in addition we can bid on shipments much easier."

Moreover, Lamb is very aggressive in marketing Matson's renewals and he almost invariably exceeds the Tanios' expectations every year. For his retail and wholesale clients, Lamb was able to produce two highly effective stock throughput products for a major grocery chain and distributor that resulted in more coverage at far less cost.

Senior Vice President & Director
Aon Risk Solutions
San Francisco, CA

Managing Principal & National Practice Leader
Aon Risk Solutions
New York, NY

Senior Vice President
Beecher Carlson
Atlanta, GA

Chairman
Neace Lukens
Louisville, KY

Resident Managing Director
Aon Risk Solutions
Grand Rapids, MI