BHSI Team Talk - December 2022

MULTINATIONAL 2022 UPDATE: WHERE WE ARE NOW

Just over a year ago, BHSI announced the creation of a global network of owned offices and carefully selected network partners that enable us to provide locally admitted insurance policies in over 170 countries worldwide. Since then, BHSI has continued to grow its multinational team, capabilities, and portfolio, always ensuring that as we grow, we maintain our gold-standard service.

“Excellent communication and coordination are cornerstones of successful multinational programs,” says Dave Valzania, Head of Multinational. “We have taken several steps this year to hone our global infrastructure to optimize communication within our organization and coordination with our customers, brokers and network partners worldwide.”

Adding Multinational Program Coordinators

BHSI has Multinational Program Coordinators (MPCs) in each region, with a greater concentration (4) in Europe, where multinational programs are in highest demand. Paul Roffey, MPC in the UK, describes his pivotal role, “I am responsible for executing multinational programs with the assistance of various teammates, tools and systems to support our rapidly growing multinational business.” Paul works with underwriters to quote and bind local policies in every corner of the globe, by coordinating with various BHSI teammates across all functions, including Legal, Compliance, Operations and Actuarial, and liaising with BHSI’s global network. Importantly, Paul notes, “MPCs enable all those involved with a program, internally and externally, to have one point of contact with responsibility for ensuring the program is executed smoothly and efficiently.”

Dedicating Multinational Champions

Central to growing our multinational book is keeping our multinational capabilities top-of-mind with busy teammates worldwide. That’s where our Multinational Champions come in. As Constanza Gallegos, Country Manager in Spain, explains, “We recently appointed Multinational Champions to be advocates on multinational matters in their respective countries. Our goal is to create a strong community of teammates to share knowledge and best practices, to listen to the market, ensure consistency in our multinational approach and accelerate our work to become multinational leaders in our markets.”

Building Network Resilience

In 2022, BHSI fully transitioned multinational programs from Globex to our network partners. “At the same time, we have continued to build resilience into our network, adding more partners so that BHSI has more than one partner in a number of critical countries, such as Japan,” Dave said.

Investing in Technology

BHSI has developed WorldLink, a system that uses blockchain technology and allows MPCs and other BHSI teammates and our network partners engaged in multinational programs to collaborate with one another to create and execute multinational programs. We expect WorldLink to deliver game-changing results and productivity.

Differentiating our Service

As we do across all lines, BHSI has been purposeful in setting our service apart from the competition. “Customers and brokers are aware of our CLAIMS IS OUR PRODUCT philosophy from day one.” In addition, Paul says, little things make a big difference to our customers and brokers. “For example, post-binding, customers receive a welcome letter summarizing their program and providing key BHSI and partner claims contacts. We also prepare customized global claims handling plans for customers that are shared across BHSI so that all Claims teammates are aware when a claim involves a multinational program.”

All of this has our multinational business growing at a steady clip of 30 percent year over year. “There has really been a sea change,” Dave says. “While in the past some major brokers may have felt BHSI was ‘too small or too new’ to handle a multinational program, the perception is very different now: We have the teammates, the global network, the tools, and the systems that make us a true competitor of long-standing multinational solution providers.”

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH GONZALO CAMARERO

Senior Underwriter, Property, Spain

When did you join BHSI?

I joined on 22nd March 2021, teammate #1353

What does your role as Senior Underwriter, Property, entail?

When I joined BHSI our Spanish office had been open for less than two years. Our property portfolio was already significant, but it was not as diversified as we would have liked. Therefore, my main objectives were to both increase the portfolio and diversify it, identifying the opportunities that best suited our underwriting philosophy. Together with my colleagues we have been able to achieve really remarkable progress. Step by step, we are making BHSI a major player in the Spanish market.

In October I shifted to construction underwriting which had not been a focus due to resources but is a good opportunity due to market conditions. My objective now is developing this line, identifying customers and opportunities that fit our risk appetite, creating our wording, and fostering synergies with other lines such as liability and marine.

What is unique about BHSI’s approach to property risk underwriting?

One thing that is unique is that we do not have a reinsurance treaty. From a property risk underwriting point of view, this has two main consequences. On the one hand, we do not have reinsurers setting limitations or influencing us, so underwriting decisions are entirely our own. On the other hand, we study risks very carefully because we do not have the protection provided by a treaty.

As a result, the market recognizes us as an insurer that is more open to study complex risks that competitors may just reject without analyzing. They also know that we are going to need ample information to analyze a risk in detail.

What about risk engineering and claims?

Our risk engineering provides a lot of added value and is essential to our work. Without solid risk engineering, it would be difficult to conduct the detailed analysis we do on complex risks.

CLAIMS IS OUR PRODUCT® sums up perfectly how important our claims department is to us. Close collaboration with claims is critical, from feedback on claims that provide lessons for underwriting, to opinions on clauses/wording we are developing. We are one of

the few companies (if not the only one) that brings claims team members to the first meetings with customers so that they get to know our claims team and understand our philosophy.

What is the biggest challenge in your role?

One of the biggest challenges for any underwriter is understanding what the ‘walk away price’ is and making the decision not to renew an account once we reach this point.

When we are already involved on an account, it means that we think the terms are interesting and we like the risk. Therefore, clearly understanding which terms may exceed the limit of what we consider acceptable can be a challenge. This limit is not only risk rate, but applies to all applicable terms, such as deductibles and coverages, and changes in risk quality.

How did you know you wanted to go into insurance?

I studied telecommunications engineering and to be honest I loved the career, so during my studies insurance was not one of my job considerations. I studied in a city in the North of Spain (Bilbao) and when I finished my degree, I moved to Madrid in search of better job opportunities. When I started looking for a job, I didn’t find any offers in my field that seemed very interesting. A good friend of mine was working for Aon and recommended that I try insurance. I decided to give it a try and started working in property placement for large accounts at Aon Spain. Seventeen years later I’m still in insurance, so I think it wasn’t a bad decision at all!

How is BHSI different than places you’ve worked before?

I have worked for a large broker, insurance company and reinsurance company, so I am lucky enough to understand how the different players in the insurance market work.

What makes BHSI different from everywhere else I’ve worked at is how much cooperation with colleagues is available and encouraged, regardless of where they are. Now that I am starting in construction underwriting, it is a pleasure to see how my colleagues from the UK, Germany or the U.S. are always available to lend a hand and share their knowledge. At BHSI, you really feel you are part of a global team and if you have a challenge, you will always find a colleague ready to provide support and a second opinion. To that end, I would like to thank Sim, Juliane, Stefan and Rob for all their support and encouragement in the last months.

What do you like best about BHSI?

One of the aspects I like most is that BHSI is growing and developing all aspects of our business (premium volume, underwriting policies, IT systems, etc.) and we are part of it. Our voices are important, and we can do our part in building this ‘forever business.’ To be part of the growth and development of this great company is something I am very proud of.

The other point I would like to highlight is the great environment and team spirit we have. It is a real pleasure to work with my teammates.

What do you enjoy outside of the office?

I have many interests and am always doing some kind of activity in my free time.

Generally speaking, I enjoy the countryside and outdoor activities (hiking, via ferrata ...) and travelling. This summer I was in Nepal. As I said in my welcome email, as soon as the Covid situation allowed, I wanted to travel to India or Nepal, and I was lucky enough to be able to do it. I am also fortunate to live in Madrid, a city that has so many cultural and culinary offerings, so if I am in the city during the weekends, I’m often going to exhibitions and theatres or discovering new restaurants with friends.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Two things: One thing that surprises me most about BHSI is the growth we have had in recent years. When I joined the Spanish office, we were 15 people. Now we are almost 30 and by 2023 we want to be more than 40. In fact, on 15th December we moved offices because we needed more space! This growth is something you don’t see every day.

I’d also like to add that in this company values are not mere slogans. I can feel how everyone in this organization has internalized them. That’s something not many companies in the insurance market can say.

IN OUR COMMUNITIES, ADVANCING DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

BHSI finished out 2022 with some great engagement with some of our closest association alliances. The National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), Lehman College, and Braven.

NAAIA

BHSI teammates attended the NAAIA annual conference, where the association marked its 25th anniversary. The conference provided excellent opportunities for networking and a path for recruiting diverse professionals and supporting our industry’s efforts to advance diversity and inclusion. According to Travis Bethune, Head of Customer & Broker Engagement, U.S. West Region, there were also several interesting speakers, including Carla Harris, Managing Director of Morgan Stanley, who outlined 10 pearls of intentional leadership. Dr. Leroy Nunery, an esteemed DEI and business consultant, hosted an insightful, data-driven segment titled “Are we making progress, or are we just checking the box?” Travis also joined colleagues for a post-conference mini-session, “Black Men in Insurance” focused on recruiting, networking, and career navigation.

The consensus was that the conference was very valuable, and we look forward to continuing our close alignment with NAAIA.

IICF

BHSI has been partnering with IICF since our inception and once again this October, our teammates were out in our local communities participating in the IICF’s Annual Week of Giving. Among the highlights, dozens of Boston teammates marked the occasion by packaging meals and food bags for delivery to critically ill patients; prepping and serving meals and donating toiletries to a daytime and advocacy center for women; and freshening up a local Boys & Girls Club with a new coat of paint.

In the UK, teammates worked to beautify the local community, cutting brambles and clearing space at a community park and helping out at London Sptalfields City Farm.

Off & Running With Braven!

In Spring of 2022, BHSI announced our partnership with Braven, an organization whose mission is empowering underrepresented first-generation college students with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks to transition from college to strong first jobs and meaningful careers. Since then, our team’s eagerness to participate in Braven programs has been enormous! Approximately 80 BHSI teammates across North America applied for volunteer opportunities with BRAVEN. BRAVEN only had the capacity to utilize 30 teammates to serve as Mock Interviewers, Professional Mentors, and Career Coaches at that time – but keep an eye out for more local opportnites with Braven coming in 2023!

BHSI U.S. teammates conducted mock interviews with Braven students, preparing them to capture real-world career opportunities. According to Daniel Alter, Director of Employer Partnerships at BRAVEN, “Several BHSI teammates have participated in the program and we’ve been blown away by their dedication to BRAVEN’s mission. Volunteers like them truly fuel the BRAVEN experience and we are so grateful!”

Lehman College

Earlier this year, U.S. based BHSI teammates also hosted a “speed learning” virtual session where students had the opportunity to learn about BHSI in a series of seven breakout rooms, ranging in topics from Actuarial, Real Estate Underwriting, Cyber Liability, Direct to Consumer insurance and more! Continuing to build on our close relationship with Lehman College, Pauline Phillip, John Roe, and Chris Stanley were privileged to be the first inperson guests of the school’s math department since the pandemic. In a visit perfectly timed with the college’s introduction of an Actuarial minor, the trio shared insights on the actuarial career path. John talked to students about his work as an underwriter collaborating with actuaries, while Chris described his experience as an entry level actuary. As you can see by the photo, they were all having a great time!

HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

Some quick snapshots of what’s happening around BHSI worldwide:

UK & Europe

A theme in Europe this past quarter ‘together again,’ was exemplified as teammates from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain convened in Copenhagen for the first in-person Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) conference in three years. BHSI drew lots of interest from customers and brokers and conducted many successful one-on-one meetings.

Continuing to build a robust recruiting pipeline, BHSI Spain signed an agreement with the Young Spanish Insurance Professional Association to promote and attract young talent to thrive in insurance industry.

North America

We’ve also been connecting via Customer Roundtables, where we spotlighted and shared expertise and insights with customers. Recent topics have ranged from the anatomy of policy wording to the legacy of Covid-19. In a few other out-in-the-market highlights, Spain hosted an event for healthcare industry leaders, while Country Manager Constanza Gallegos spoke at the Annual Congress of the AGERS Risk Management Association. Several London teammates attended the Aon Insights event, where BHSI sponsored a gala dinner with Andrew Walker as featured speaker. Back in September our forward-looking team in France organized after-work events with our main brokers to discuss upcoming opportunities for 2023.

We gathered for internal events too! Our European leaders convened in Paris to share insights on their respective markets, views on different sectors and best practices we could share across borders.

The UK team launched “customer insight sessions” for our underwriting and claims teammates featuring customer guest speakers. In the inaugural session, Barclays Risk Manager Farhad Jamooji discussed how the role of the RM changes in uncertain times, how customers engage their partners, and the power of questions as a clear differentiator.

BHSI North America enjoyed many opportunities to be out in the market with our customers and brokers last quarter: Our Executive & Professional Lines team made a great showing at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Conference in San Diego, while our Construction team attended the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) Conference in Las Vegas. M200, a global group of risk managers and executives from 13 insurers convened for a two-day meeting in Chicago, where Lori Spoon moderated a panel of executives from major brokers. We marked Canada Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) by hosting 50 customers and brokers at a private dinner. Staying active in the local RIMS chapter events, Peter Eastwood hosted a fireside chat coordinated by the Delaware Valley RIMS.

In November, we hosted our new member team outingthe first one since 2019! The event brought over 500 teammates to Connecticut for two and half days of connectivity, culture discussions, and learning more about doing things the BHSI way. Everyone left the event making new friends and feeling super charged!

BHSI’s property, catastrophe engineering and analytics, and claims teams all took part in the Berkshire Risk and Insurance Forum in Dallas, Texas, where several Berkshire companies got together to share business updates and connect.

FERMA

Berkshire Risk and Insurance Forum

Our Canada teammates have been very active in volunteer and charity work, creating the group Canada Cares to show their commitment to take part in these activities. Most recently, the team took part in activities with DeGroote Women in Business, an organization that provides excellent networking opportunities and outings.

Asia Middle East

Our Asia Middle East team has been “pitching and catching,” actively engaging with customers & brokers in key markets. Our Singapore marine underwriters visited trading partners in Korea, Asia’s second largest wholesale market, strengthening our relationships, and BHSI risk engineers provided onsite risk management expertise. Dubai teammates were out and about visiting various markets, including Turkey, which is seeing substantial growth as the third largest wholesale market for Dubai. With in-person conferences gradually returning to Asia, our teammates participated in some notable events, such as the Asia Power Forum in Singapore and the Singapore Insurance and Reinsurance Conference (SIRC).

Australasia

As Australasia continues to grow its property book, the region was excited to name Craig Taylor as Head of Property for Australia and New Zealand. We continued to position BHSI as a thought leader in the marketplace, an example is an article on “Growth economies spell insurance opportunities” in the D&O market published in Insurance Business. The team has been out and about speaking to students about careers in insurance and sharing knowledge with customers and brokers at industry events. Our Property team has resumed hosting our popular “Berkshire Bites” industry updates for brokers. In addition, our Australasia team continues to find numerous ways to give back to our communities with what it calls “FUNraising” events including the Bloomberg Square Mile, JP Morgan Corporate Challenge, Clontarf Touch Footy, Aspect Australia Golf Day, and Dress for Success Clothing Drive.

While ramping up in-person external marketing activities, we are also enjoying connecting with our colleagues! For example, our Malaysian teammates celebrated Deepavali together in the office, making the Kolam themselves!

We also continue to elevate our profile bringing thought leadership content to the marketplace. Tim Collier, Head of Claims Asia Middle East, penned a piece on trends impacting property, casualty and specialty claims in the region and best practices for managing and resolving claims. Alessandro Cerase, Head of Dubai and Global Underwriting Officer for Energy & Construction, shared insights on industry trends in a cover story in Middle East Insurance Review.

BHSI in Turkey

Asia Team attends SIRC

Berkshire Bites in Australia

Madrid Team – Young Spanish Insurance Professional Association

Belgium Team out in the market!

Team Outing, November 2022

Dubai Office Celebrates Diwali

Sydney Team, JP Morgan Corporate Challenge

Ulsan Project - Singapore team

Germany team at GVNW Conference in Munich

IICF Volunteer Day - UK

Malaysia Office Celebrates Diwali

ONWARD UPWARD MERITOCRACY IN ACTION!

Congratulations to the following Teammates who have expanded their roles at BHSI.

Mark Lees

Teammate #25, Property, Los Angeles

Scott Johnson Teammate #27, Property, New York

Greg Freeman Teammate #31, Property, New York

Cathy Miller Teammate #39, Property, New York

Rob Romeo Teammate #81, Claims, New York

Manny Dewani Teammate #141, Property, New York

Alison McVeigh Teammate #143, Property, New York

Scott Miller Teammate #144, Property, Toronto

Amanda Sorsak Teammate #196, Claims, Toronto

Paul Emerson Teammate #257, Claims, Toronto

Martin Andrejko Teammate #265, Casualty, Remote-Pennsylvania

Tim Collier Teammate #347, Claims, Singapore

Anouk Sireude Teammate #384, Property, Sydney

Muskan Khubchandani Teammate #490, Claims, Auckland

Alex Beaver Teammate #491, Casualty, Atlanta

Samitha Ranaweera Teammate #528, Finance, Sydney

Daniel Kleinhans Teammate #559, Property, Sydney

Athena Tai Teammate #591, Executive & Professional, London

MaryAnn Cassidy Teammate #628, Operations, New York

Sharon Simmons Teammate #656, Claims, Atlanta

Stefano Cassar Teammate #662, Casualty, New York

Chanda Bolden Teammate #674, Claims, Atlanta

Ken Yau Teammate #678, Accident & Health, Hong Kong

Michael Beagan Teammate #714, Claims, Boston

Ben Barker Teammate #723, Claims, London

James Foley Teammate #761, Information Technology, Boston

Bill Casali Teammate #763, Claims, Boston

Adam Salahat Teammate #769, Casualty, Atlanta

Mohammed Hannoun Teammate #785, Casualty, Dubai

Lori Polzin Teammate #815, Information Technology, Stevens Point

Mitch Seeman Teammate #838, Actuary, Chicago

Caoimhe Gormley Teammate #846, Executive & Professional, Dublin

Will Marsch Teammate #872, Casualty, Chicago

Philip Park Teammate #883, Casualty, New York

Jessica Kirby Teammate #890, Executive & Professional, London

Jill Russell Teammate #891, Claims, New York

Philip Steele Teammate #907, Accident & Health, Auckland

Ragnar Kempf Teammate #928, Actuary, Boston

Pedro Mairos Teammate #939, Marine, London

Guy Finney Teammate #942, Finance, London

Stephanie Beavers Teammate #944, Claims, Atlanta

Steven Luong Teammate #960, Underwriting Technician, Melbourne

Chris Nixon Teammate #969, Executive & Professional, London

Chanelle Mulkey Teammate #1005, Claims, Atlanta

William Leverick Teammate #1023, Casualty, New York

Shaen O’Neill Teammate #1025, Property, Dublin

Wee Kheong Ong Teammate #1033, Casualty, Singapore

Sinead O’Shea Teammate #1042, Marine, Boston

Maeve Kelleher Teammate #1055, Claims, London

Sujan Suwal Teammate #1057, Information Technology, Boston

Ciaran Reddin Teammate #1070, Executive & Professional, Dublin

Hilary Browne Teammate #1086, Executive, Dublin

Maha Alhalabi Teammate #1114, Casualty, Los Angeles

Matt Gooa Teammate #1128, Property, London

Destiny Rivera Teammate #1136, Underwriting Technician, New York

Brandon Dennis Teammate #1178, Casualty, New York

Charlotte Behar Teammate #1212, Casualty, London

Maria Satrústegui Teammate #1228, Healthcare, Madrid

Connor Bowen Teammate #1229, Executive & Professional, New York

Emma Bailey Teammate #1242, Executive & Professional, London

Aaron Martinez Teammate #1309, Claims, Atlanta

Tom Harris

Teammate #1316, Executive & Professional, London

Andy Barberis Teammate #1325, Claims, New York

Katharina Ruetz Teammate #1336, Executive & Professional, Cologne

Robert Proctor Teammate #1401, Information Technology, London

Max Fontes Teammate #1404, Risk Engineering, Sydney

Hannah Shankar Teammate #1406, Operations, Sydney

Joanne McCarthy-Primett Teammate #1426, Claims, London

James Kinsella Teammate #1427, Executive & Professional, London

Elena Papoui Teammate #1445, Actuary, London

Josh Larrison Teammate #1455, Underwriting Technician, New York

Huguens Saint-Fort Teammate #1469, Information Technology, Boston

Teresa Rudin Teammate #1470, Claims, Atlanta

Cara Fitzpatrick Teammate #1486, Claims, Sydney

Kevin Gill Teammate #1517, Claims, Boston

Conor Finn Teammate #1548, Actuary, Boston

Alex Lovett Teammate #1549, Actuary, London

Sindhu Kumaran Teammate #1579, Operations, Sydney

Kimberly Thompson Teammate #1605, Small Commercial, Boston

Dana Cuoco Teammate #1608, Claims, New York

Kamron Zell Teammate #1616, Information Technology, Stevens Point

Nolan Peterson Teammate #1680, Information Technology, Stevens Point