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Senior Cargo Broker
Aon, New York

Knowledge is Power

Knowing when to reshuffle the deck can make all the difference.

That was certainly the case for a retail giant that felt the benefit of Anthony DiPasquale's knowledge after he made some much needed changes to its insurance program. He pulled $14 billion in storage values and 3,000-plus retail stores out of the company's property program and put it into a cargo market under a retail stock throughput program. That undertaking saved the client significantly in its premiums, and also led to improved coverage terms.

New York-based DiPasquale, senior cargo broker with Aon Risk Solutions, was also able to make sense of the insurance coverages for a shipping company with six different operating groups managed independently.

With companies so varied (from an air cargo company to a tug and barge business), insurance coverages were seemingly everywhere. And with insurance rules varying in different shipping lanes from Puerto Rico to Alaska, knowing what type of coverage was needed could be baffling.

So DiPasquale streamlined the process and put all the coverages under one policy.

"I am by no means a cargo expert myself so I rely on Anthony's expertise," said the client. "He is extremely knowledgeable. He's been in this business his entire career and he knows all the underwriters and brokers. I have plenty of confidence in him."

Principal
Barney & Barney, Aliso Viejo, Calif.

International Protection

In the wake of 2011's Japan earthquake and tsunami and the floods in Thailand and the slew of other large, expensive catastrophes over the past two years, supply chain risk is of paramount importance. But when Steven Fisk, principal at Barney & Barney LLC, took over the account for a swimwear company, he noticed that the business had no insurance protecting its supply chain.

While the swimwear company's supply chain wasn't struck by those disasters, it does manufacture products in Mexico and has subcontractors in Asia. So Fisk helped design a master controlled global program for their entire international exposure, which helped increase efficiencies and insure a seamless program.

Fisk also tackled the company's workers' compensation profile. And he found gaps in coverage there also, as well as plenty of places where the company was over-insured.

"He has a lot of experience in the retail world," said an accounting manager at the company. "He helped us get information on what we really needed."

For an action sports apparel company, Fisk consolidated coverages that were literally held by underwriters all over the world. While the program became easier to manage, Fisk also found that the company didn't have coverage in key areas.

"They are just so amazing," said the company's vice president of accounting and finance. "We've never had this kind of support from an insurance broker. I don't worry about it because he does."

Resident Managing Director
Aon, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Using Her Instincts

Sometimes the best brokers just know when something is in the air.

Although one of Lynn Jekkals' retail clients had been with the same underwriter for years, she started hearing rumblings -- from good sources -- that the underwriter was planning to ditch the property space. Rather than have her client renew and take their chances with a fledgling property underwriter, Jekkals found her client comparable coverage elsewhere. Sure enough, two months after the property renewal, the underwriter indeed stopped offering that property coverage. Jekkals' instincts helped make sure the company was not left scrambling, and that her client would be prepared for the future.

"Lynn's strength is that she's knowledgeable in her industry and knowledgeable about us," said the company's risk manager. "She's a very strong advocate for us and gives us good advice with exceptional follow through."

For law firm Miller Johnson in Grand Rapids, Mich., Jekkals, a resident managing director with Aon Risk Solutions, is frequently called on to answer serious and complex questions about insurance -- even though she might not get paid for it. For example, when one of the law firm's key clients had questions about employment practices liability insurance and runoffs, Jekkals was there.

Another time, she talked to an attorney about different coverage issues so he could get educated before meeting a client. In both cases, she was working pro bono.

"She never misses a beat. She dropped everything to help him out," said Betsy Raymond, chief operating officer for Miller Johnson. "She does it willingly and collegially."

Managing Director
Aon, Chicago

Absorbing the 'Sandy Factor'

For some companies, Superstorm Sandy left widespread property damage. For others, like a large retail clothier, the storm left difficult renewals with insurance carriers that are ready to increase premiums, decrease coverage and tighten terms.

While the company's 850 retail stores didn't suffer any severe damage in the October storm, it did have closings and other residual effects in more than 200 stores. With Feb. 1 renewals around the corner, the underwriters began thinking of the company's risk profile differently. Before, underwriters saw the retailer's varied store locations as an asset, rewarding it for having such a diverse spread of risk.

Now, with storms like Sandy and Hurricane Irene coming in back-to-back years, underwriters are starting to think that the company and its location are likely to get hit with a storm sometime.

"We can't win," said a divisional vice president of the company.

That is unless you have John Murbach, managing director for Aon Risk Solutions, negotiating for you. He was able to convince underwriters that the company's risk management techniques were solid enough to keep them loss free through Sandy. "He's told our story very well to all of the markets," said the divisional vice president. "We're not going to get the 'Sandy factor' premium increase, and that's a direct result of John's negotiating."

The executive said that it's not just his work performance that's impressive, it's also his character.

"He's sincere, honest, tenacious and diligent," the client said.

Managing Director
Aon, Chicago

Moving Mountains

To self-insure or not to self-insure? That is the question that was plaguing executives at one of the largest retailers in the United States. Enter Carol Murphy, managing director for Aon Risk Solutions in Chicago, who provided a comprehensive analysis for the company, finding that the move to self-insure was worthwhile in some states, but not in others. Aided with her report and her "really strong relationships with the markets," the retailer was able to help the company make the move to self-insurance where applicable -- and saved a bundle on the program as well.

"Carol has been able to be a strong advocate for us," said an executive at the company. "She is deeply respected by the insurance industry."

For a food and facilities management company, Murphy found herself in collateral negotiations talking about the quality of credit risk with the company's brass and bankers for the insurance company. While that level of technical knowledge may have been over the heads of other brokers, Murphy came through in fine style, mostly due to her intimate knowledge of how the company runs.

"We need a mercenary, somebody who's really going to go to bat for us on things -- and that's Carol," said the client company's risk manager.

When yet another retail giant spun off a division of its company, it found that the insurance markets were not being very accommodating in offering it insurance coverage. Through Murphy's high-level contacts and savvy negotiating style, she was able to get the company a better deal -- in just a matter of days.

Senior Vice President
HUB International, Los Angeles

Set for Launch

Back in 2009, the 110 member companies of the North American Steel Alliance were looking to band together to get better rates on workers' compensation insurance. So its broker, Jeffrey Terry, helped it create and run its own captive insurance program with $1.5 million in combined premium in workers' compensation, general liability and auto collision liability. In 2012, it was time to take that captive from a start-up to something that could provide serious market leverage, greater economies of scale and modern risk management methods.

With Terry acting as "the face of the captive," said Randy Haas, director of marketing and program development for North American Steel Alliance, the captive flourished and was able to merge with another, more sophisticated captive.

Typically a captive will have 55 percent of its money going to loss claims and 45 percent to expenses. After the 2012 merger, the member companies saw expenses drop to under 40 percent.

"Expenses are down but loss control didn't miss a beat," said Haas.

Perhaps the best recommendation of a broker is a client's willingness to follow them to whichever brokerage they go -- and that was certainly the case for Terry and North American Steel Alliance. Terry moved from his previous brokerage to HUB International where he serves as senior vice president -- but the folks at North American Steel Alliance had no plans of letting him slip away.

"We want to stay with Jeff, we don't care who he's working for," said Haas.