Insurance Journal West 2015-03-09

WEST New Drought Rules Considered in California Sophisticated Resilience Model in Colorado West’s Riskiest Homes Valued at $237B

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Inside This Issue

On The Cover

Special Report:

The Road Ahead for Nonstandard Auto

March 9, 2015 • Vol. 93 No. 5 • West

W2

W8

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54

NATIONAL COVERAGE

WEST COVERAGE

IDEA EXCHANGE

8

Impact of Driving Record on Auto Insurance Cost Varies Widely

by State

W2 Nevada Bill Proposes Liability

Protections for Horse-Related

Injuries

28 Best of the Best: Employee

Productivity

8

2015 Outlook for P/C: Profitable Despite Lower Rates, Says Wells Fargo

W2 New Drought Rules at

Restaurants, Hotels Considered

in California

8

2014 Workers’ Compensation Rates Ranked by State

W4 California ‘Superbug’ Outbreak

Prompts FDA Alert on Device

11 Google to Face Same Obstacles

Selling Insurance Online, Says

Overstock’s Byrne 16 Closer Look: D&O and Business

Partnerships 20 Closer Look: Capacity Plentiful,

Pricing Remains Soft in D&O

Marketplace 22 Spotlight: 10 Things to Know

About Homeowners 24 Special Report: The Road Ahead

for Nonstandard Auto

W8 Report: Wildfire Reconstruction

of West’s Riskiest Homes Is $237B W10 Sophisticated Resilience Model

in Development in Colorado –

And It’ll be Free W12 Operations in Boise, Idaho

Suspended by Uber After Impasse

30 Tech Talk: The Best Apps and Why

for Independent Agents 32 The Competitive Advantage: Chris

Burand 52 4 Reasons Direct Mail Should

Be Part of Your Plan to Acquire

New Customers 54 Closing Quote: Tapping Into

the Talent Pipeline

DEPARTMENTS 10 Declarations 10 Figures W6 People 14 Business Moves 50 MyNewMarkets

35 2015 Hospitality Risks Directory

4 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 9, 2015

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Opening Note

Publisher Mark Wells | mwells@wellsmedia.com

New Hires in 2015

A

bout two-thirds of insurance carriers expect to hire more employees this year, a new survey finds.

According to the semi-annual U.S. Insurance Labor Outlook Study conducted by The Jacobson Group and Ward Group, 66 percent of all insurance companies intend to increase staff in 2015, which the firms say is the highest rate since the survey began in 2009.

In the 2014 survey, nearly 62 percent of companies polled said they intended to increase staff in 2014.

The study looks at trends for both property/casualty and life companies, including national, multinational and regional organizations. It found that 67 percent of property/casualty insurers plan to add employees this year, with 74 percent of commercial P/C companies expecting to increase staff. This is 17 points higher than personal lines P/C companies.

In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported the unemployment rate for the insurance industry at 2.3 percent, continuing the recent trend of low industry unemployment. Last year BLS reported the unemployment rate for the insurance industry to be at 2 percent.

“We are seeing a market stabilization and increased ‘We are seeing a market confidence in the industry,” stabilization and increased says Gregory P. Jacobson, confidence in the industry.’ co-chief executive officer of Jacobson. “The result is a leveling-off of staffing and revenue forecasts.”

Carriers say their expectation of an increase in business volume is the primary reason for increased hiring in the next 12 months. Among P/C companies, 88 percent expect an increase in revenue growth, while 2.5 percent expect a drop in revenue during the next 12 months.

Some additional key findings include: • Nearly 84 percent of all insurance organizations expect an increase in revenue throughout the upcoming year, the fourth highest level since the beginning of the survey.

• Technology, claims and underwriting positions continue to be the most in demand and are expected to grow the greatest during the next 12 months.

• Commercial lines companies have a higher need for underwriters than personal lines companies.

• Companies say that recruiting is slightly easier in most positions than it was a year ago.

• If the industry follows through on its plans, there will be a 1.48 percent increase in industry employment through 2015.

Andrea Wells Editor-in-Chief 6 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

EDITORIAL Chief Content Officer Andrew Simpson | asimpson@insurancejournal.com Editor-in-Chief Andrea Wells | awells@insurancejournal.com East Editor Young Ha | yha@insurancejournal.com Southeast Editor Michael Adams | madams@insurancejournal.com South Central Editor/Midwest Editor Stephanie K. Jones | sjones@insurancejournal.com West Editor Don Jergler | djergler@insurancejournal.com International Editor Charles E. Boyle | cboyle@insurancejournal.com ClaimsJournal.com Editor Denise Johnson | djohnson@claimsjournal.com MyNewMarkets.com Associate Editor Amy O’Connor | aoconnor@mynewmarkets.com Columnists Chris Burand, Tommy McDonald, Tom Wetzel Contributing Writers Wendall Braniff, Dana Ross-Paige, Michelle Reed SALES Chief Marketing Officer Julie Tinney (800) 897-9965 x148 | jtinney@insurancejournal.com Sales Manager Lauren Knapp (800) 897-9965 x161 | lknapp@insurancejournal.com West Dena Kaplan (800) 897-9965 x115 | dkaplan@insurancejournal.com South Central Mindy Trammell (800) 897-9965 x149 | mtrammell@insurancejournal.com Southeast Howard Simkin (800) 897-9965 x162 | hsimkin@insurancejournal.com East Dave Molchan (800) 897-9965 x145 | dmolchan@insurancejournal.com New Markets Sales Manager Kristine Honey | khoney@insurancejournal.com IJ Academy Sales Executive Romeo Valdez | rvaldez@ijacademy.com Classifieds, Jobs, Agencies Wanted/For Sale Ly Nguyen (800) 897-9965 x125 | lnguyen@insurancejournal.com MARKETING/NEW MEDIA Marketing Administrator Gayle Wells | gwells@insurancejournal.com Advertising Coordinator Erin Burns (619) 584-1100 x120 | eburns@insurancejournal.com New Media Producer Bobbie Dodge | bdodge@insurancejournal.com DESIGN/WEB Chief Technology Officer/Chief Innovation Officer Joshua Carlson | jcarlson@insurancejournal.com V.P. of Design Guy Boccia | gboccia@insurancejournal.com Audience Development Elizabeth Duffy | eduffy@wellsmedia.com Marketing Director Derence Walk | dwalk@insurancejournal.com Web Developer Jeff Cardrant | jcardrant@insurancejournal.com Web Developer Chris Thompson | cthompson@insurancejournal.com IJ ACADEMY OF INSURANCE V.P. of Education Christopher Boggs | cboggs@ijacademy.com Online Training Coordinator Barbara Whiffen | bwhiffen@ijacademy.com ADMINISTRATION Chief Executive Officer Mitch Dunford Chief Financial Officer Mark Wooster | mwooster@wellsmedia.com

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

News & Markets Impact of Driving Record on Auto Insurance Cost Varies by State

W

hile motorists who commit moving violations typically pay higher auto insurance costs, how much more they pay varies significantly by state, according to a report by an online insurance seller.

For example, drivers who receive a DUI charge will pay an average of 92 percent more for car insurance on a national basis. North Carolina residents will be hit much harder with an increase of 337 percent; while drivers in Maryland will only see a 15 percent increase for this violation, according to the report by insuranceQuotes.com.

In Hawaii, drivers charged with reckless driving will see costs rise 287 percent, which is significantly higher than the national average (83 percent) and residents of Arkansas (24 percent).

Smaller infractions showed great variance, as well. Driving without a license in

Maryland will increase a driver’s cost by 95 percent, compared to no increase at all in Rhode Island.

North Carolina topped the list for highest rate increase for over half of the violations the study researched, whereas New York most consistently showed the lowest percentage increase.

On average, the most expensive infractions on a national basis are DUI (92 percent), reckless driving (83 percent) and speeding 31+ m.p.h.

(29 percent).

The least expensive violations include not wearing a seatbelt (6 percent), driving without a license (16 percent) and violating railroad rules (18 percent).

In California and Hawaii, driving record must be the primary factor in auto insurance charges thus violations can have more of an impact.

North Carolina poses a unique situation

2014 Workers’ Comp Rates Ranked by State

T

he median index rate for workers’ compensation insurance fell to an all-time low in 2014 to $1.85 per $100 of payroll.

Index rates in 2014 varied from a low of $0.88 in North Dakota to a high of $3.48 in California, according to the 2014 Oregon Workers’ Compensation Premium Rate Ranking report.

The study, which the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services conducts every two years, looks at workers’ compensation rates for a mix of industries in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

For 2014 rates, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Alaska and Oklahoma ranked the highest, while North Dakota, Indiana, Arkansas, Virginia, Massachusetts and Nevada were the lowest and well under the median.

8 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

The report includes data showing premium level changes by state from 2010 to 2014.

About three-fifths of the states that report premium level changes to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) had a net rate decrease over the five-year period from Jan. 1, 2010, to approximately May 2014. Montana (-39.1 percent), Kentucky (-30.65 percent) and West Virginia (-25.4 percent) had the biggest drops, while Delaware (52.3 percent), New York (24.2 percent) and Connecticut (21.4 percent) saw the biggest increases for the period.

The report also compares maximum, median and minimum rates for 2016 through 2014; ranks 2014 premiums by class and other data.

The study can be found at: https:// www.insurancejournal.com/ research/research/workers-compensation-premiums-ranked-by-state/.

because it has the highest percentage of drivers in the “high risk” residual market for auto insurance and insurers are restricted in what they can charge.

For their report on moving violations, InsuranceQuotes.com and Quadrant Information Services said they calculated the impacts of 17 common moving violations in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. using data from the largest carriers in each state/district.

Averages are based on a 45-year-old married, employed female with a clean driving record driving a 2012 sedan. The hypothetical driver has a bachelor’s degree, an excellent credit score, no lapses in coverage.

2015 Outlook: Profitable Despite Lower Rates

T

he commercial property/casualty insurance market should remain stable and profitable in 2015, according to the Wells Fargo Insurance 2015 Insurance Market Outlook. Abundant market capacity and an improving economy have positioned the commercial insurance industry for an extended soft market in 2015, said Kevin Brogan, head of the Property and Casualty National Practice at Wells Fargo Insurance, in a statement.

“Despite rate reductions — forecast to be in the high single to low double digits — the market should see sustained underwriting profitability and attract new capital as a result of GDP growth and rising interest rates,” he said.

Key findings of the Wells Fargo report include: • Workers’ comp rates are expected to decrease 5-10 percent.

• Property-catastrophe rates are expected to decrease 10-20 percent.

• Despite the large catastrophic losses for aviation in 2014, overcapacity in the sector will keep premiums low. www.insurancejournal.com

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

FIGURES

152

The number of students that have left Ocean View School District, an Orange County school district in California, that closed three campuses as of January due to asbestos. The loss could impact its funding.

DECLARATIONS

$100 Million The amount North Carolina-based Duke Energy expects to settle the ongoing federal criminal investigation into the 2014 Eden plant coal ash spill, according to the energy company’s earnings report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The spill coated more than 70 miles of the Dan River in toxic sludge; an estimated 39,000 tons of ash were leaked.

Bad Geometry

“Our current station geometry does not serve eastern Washington well.”

— John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington, said following a magnitude-4.3 earthquake that rumbled under Washington’s Cascade Range that a new detection system noticed the quake 18 seconds late.

Rideshare Impact

“After many years of rising prices due to limited supply, the average price of a single (New York City) taxi medallion fell around 20 percent from their peak in 2013.”

— Sean Darby, analyst at Jefferies & Co., on New York City taxi medallions. He said on Feb. 17 the medallion price has been falling due to the growing popularity of car-hailing apps. The average price of an individual New York taxi medallion was $840,000 in November, down from $1.05 million in 2013. (New York Times)

$31 Million $32 Million The amount that the federal government is allocating to the state of New York to cover expenses related to Ebola readiness.

Officials said last month the Department of Health and Human Services will reimburse the state’s designated Ebola treatment centers. The government will additionally pay for any expenses incurred by New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, which successfully treated Ebola-stricken Dr. Craig Spencer last year.

10 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

The amount that Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposes to tap from an Arkansas Insurance Department reserve fund to help pay for a program to ease prison overcrowding in the state. The governor would also earmark an additional $2.6 million from the state’s unclaimed property fund to pay for the plan to open new prison space, hire additional parole officers and expand alternative sentencing programs.

1-in-3

The ratio of Missourians whose personal information was compromised during a recent widespread cyberattack on the health insurer, Anthem, according to the Missouri Department of Insurance. More than 2 million Missourians are affected by the data breach. The department, along with Indiana, California, Maine and New Hampshire, is leading a multistate examination of the Anthem companies.

On the Money

“This is the finest resort in the world and you have to cut the grass.”

— Donald Trump on his suit against Doral, Fla., over a reported 100-plus noise violation citations — mostly stemming from lawn maintenance — at his Trump National Doral resort. Each violation carries a $1,500 fee and he has spent $50,000 in attorney’s fees fighting the citations.

Trump subsequently withdrew the lawsuit “in good faith” and plans to work with the city.

Unsanitary, Overcrowded

“The unsanitary conditions and overcrowding makes for a tense atmosphere.”

— Carl Takei, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Prison Project, comments on conditions at the Willacy County Correctional Center in South Texas. Prisoners at the 2,800-inmate facility took over the center in late February, setting fires and causing significant damage to protest living conditions and poor medical care.

Community Empathy

“We empathize with community members ... who have suffered illnesses or deaths.”

— Whirlpool Corp., in a statement released after families whose children have been among dozens sickened in a northern Ohio town dropped a federal lawsuit linking the illnesses to the company’s washing machine factory. While the families dropped their suit, the owners of contaminated land once owned by Whirlpool reportedly plan to continue with their part of the case. www.insurancejournal.com

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News & Markets Nevada Bill Proposes Liability Protections for Horse-Related Injuries

R

ural Nevada lawmakers are proposing a bill that would improve liability protections for horse-related accidents and injuries.

Sen. Pete Goicoechea and Assemblyman John Ellison introduced SB 129 to the Senate Committee on Judiciary in February.

Current state law puts an automatic liability on land or horse owners if a horse-related injury happens, even if the person riding the horse was acting negligently, Goicoechea said. He said the bill was a “reasonable” guard against friv-

olous lawsuits and would protect veterinarians and horse owners from liability as long as they act safely and let participants know of the “inherent risks” involved with riding horses.

Nevada is one of five states, including Alaska, California, Maryland and New York, that don’t have horse-related injury liability laws in place. Goicoechea said the bill is especially important for rural Nevadans who use horses on a regular basis.

Nevada Justice Association lobbyist Bill Bradley said the bill went too far in how it defined negligence and it could prevent the victims of preventable accidents from filing lawsuits. Bradley said he’d work with Goicoechea on changing the bill’s language.

Goicoechea said he has introduced similar legislation in past sessions but believed it stands a better chance of passing now that Republicans control the Senate.

Copyright 2015 Associated Press.

New Drought Rules at Restaurants, Hotels Considered in California

Nevada Governor Brian Signs Construction Defect Bill

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N

fficials are considering new water restrictions as California’s drought drags on, possibly forcing residents to ask for water at restaurants and for fresh towels and sheets at hotels.

The State Water Resources Control Board floated the ideas at an informational hearing in February as it considered extending and expanding mandatory water-use rules.

The board last summer imposed emergency regulations prohibiting Californians from washing their cars with hoses that don’t shut off and limiting how often they can water their lawns. The board has the sweeping power to define when water use is unreasonable, and it could eventually expand the definition to include using drinking water to maintain golf courses and cemeteries.

Existing emergency regulations have authorized agencies to fine water wasters up to $500 a day, though such stringent enforcement has been rare. For homeowners, new rules also could include a ban on watering lawns during cold and rainy periods.

Some proposals presented targeted businesses, such as requiring restaurants to only serve water on request and telling hotels not to automatically provide guests with fresh towels and sheets every day.

The board has considered making some water restrictions permanent with the prospect of future droughts looming.

The board could consider the extension of restrictions this month and take up other possible regulations later in the year.

Copyright 2015 Associated Press.

W2 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 9, 2015

evada Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed a bill aimed at curbing frivolous lawsuits over construction defects after the measure passed through the Republican-controlled Legislature along party lines.

The Republican governor said AB125, which was sponsored by Republican Assemblyman Ira Hansen, incorporated ideas that had been discussed for more than a decade.

The measure would more narrowly define construction defects so they wouldn’t include issues that crop up as a result of remodeling or later construction. It would require homeowners to exhaust other options, such as using the builder’s warranty and seeking resolution through the Nevada State Contractors Board, before pursuing a lawsuit. The bill would also require parties to pay their own legal fees.

Republicans said the bill would fix a law that was originally meant to protect homeowners when flaws surfaced in their houses but has opened the floodgates for expensive litigation and created a financial incentive for attorneys to file suit. Construction companies testified that the litigious environment raised their insurance rates and discouraged them from taking on projects.

Democratic opponents said they worried the bill helps contractors while making it harder for homeowners to get recourse when they encounter a problem with their house.

Copyright 2015 Associated Press. www.insurancejournal.com

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News & Markets California ‘Superbug’ Outbreak Prompts FDA Alert on Device

T

he complex design of endoscopes that have been linked to a “superbug” outbreak at the UCLA Health System in California may hinder proper cleaning, the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned.

The hospital system said seven patients were infected with a potentially deadly,

drug-resistant strain of bacteria and that more than 100 may have been exposed to it between October and January. The bug may have contributed to the death of two patients, UCLA said.

The FDA said it wanted to raise awareness among healthcare professionals that the complex design of the devices — flexible tubes that are threaded through the mouth, throat and stomach to drain fluids from blocked pancreatic and biliary ducts — is associated with a risk of multidrug-resistant infections even when a manufacturer’s cleaning instructions are followed correctly.

Makers of the devices, known as duodenoscopes, include Olympus Corp., Fujifilm Holdings Corp. and Pentax Medical. An FDA spokeswoman said the agency has been working with federal partners, manufacturers and other stakeholders to better understand what can be done to mitigate them.

Copyright 2015 Reuters.

After Deadly California Fire Thousands of Smoke Alarms Installed

V

olunteers have installed thousands of free smoke alarms in a Southern California neighborhood where a fire killed a mother and her two sons.

Five-thousand smoke alarms donated by the Kidde fire safety products firm were installed in San Juan Capistrano, where authorities say there were no working smoke alarms in a condominium that caught fire on Jan. 20. The fire killed a woman, her 2-year-old son and his 3-yearold brother, injured others and displaced dozens of people from surrounding units.

Copyright 2015 Associated Press.

ABRAM16736.indd 1

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2/23/15 12:53 PM

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People Brian Weaver

Tony Marini

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Aegis Specialty Insurance Services has named Brian Weaver vice president of sales.

Weaver has more than 34 years of insurance sales experience. Most recently, Weaver was vice president of sales for Pacific Specialty Insurance Co. Aegis Specialty is a part of Aegis General Insurance Agency. Aegis provides homeowner, condominium, townhouse, renters, mobile home, earthquake and motorcycle insurance, along with specialized products sold by powersport dealerships.

Reno, Nev.-based LP Insurance Services Inc. has made several moves on its employment roster.

Tony Marini was mamed to the northern Nevada sales team beginning Sept. 1.

Marini will be joining LP Insurance as a sales executive.

He will be responsible for developing new business relationships, and retaining and servicing existing clients.

Marini has more than 20 years of experience throughout northern Nevada.

Angela Atchley was named human resources manager after the recent promotion of Teri Wood to senior operations manager.

Atchley is responsible for human resource relations and compliance. Atchley, formerly a senior associate at the Human Resource Connection, has more than 20 years of human resource experience.

Christi Johnson was named a workers’ compensation consultant in the risk management services division.

Johnson, formerly a workers’ comp consultant with Wells Fargo Insurance Services in Reno, has more than 11 years of experience.

Cathy Scheibelhut was made an account manager within the personal insurance division.

Scheibelhut, formerly a personal lines account executive with Wells Fargo Insurance Services in Reno, has more than 22 years of industry experience.

LP Insurance has offices in Elko and Las Vegas, as well as Sacramento and Truckee, Calif.

San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. has named four executives as partners: Kim Armanasco and Michelle Droz from the San Francisco office, Jared Pelissier of the Southern California office, and Brad Wagenaar in the firm’s Hawaii office/Risk Solutions Partners.

Armanasco, senior vice president of insurance operations, is responsible for driving operational strategy and initiatives. She leads the crisis management team and is a member of the operating and executive committees.

W6 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 9, 2015

Droz, senior vice president in employee benefits, is also president of the Woodruff-Sawyer CARE committee, the firm’s community service arm.

Droz has more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

Pelissier, senior vice president of directors and officers liability, specializes in management liability and cyber liability risks.

Wagenaar, principal in insurance and surety, has experience as an insurance and risk management advisor in the Hawaii construction industry.

Woodruff-Sawyer has offices in California, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington.

Worldwide Facilities Inc. has hired Craig Day and Brian Donovan in its Seattle, Wash., office.

Day was named senior vice president, and casualty specialist. He will lead the growth for all lines of business in the Northwest.

Donovan was named assistant vice president. He is primarily focused on CAT driven risks, all risk, DICs, manufacturing and builders risk placements.

Day has worked as an underwriter, national retail broker and part owner of a wholesale brokerage firm.

Recently he was with Brown & Riding’s Washington’s office.

Donovan comes from Worldwide’s St. Louis office to lead the property initiative for the Northwest.

Worldwide is a Los Angeles, Calif.-based wholesale insurance brokerage firm and managing general agent.

San Diego, Calif.-based Atlas General Insurance Services LLC has named Charles Lasher senior vice president of commercial operations and has named Mark Williams executive vice president of underwriting.

Lasher will be responsible for development, implementation and distribution of small-to-medium sized niche managed programs for various commercial segments.

Lasher has more than 10 years of experience in commercial insurance program management.

Most recently, he was vice president of operations at SIS Wholesale Insurance Services Inc. Williams will be responsible for driving profitable growth. He will also assist in the management of all underwriting personnel in the workers’ compensation division.

Williams was vice president of underwriting in the workers’ comp division. He has 10 years of experience.

Atlas is a full-service general insurance agency with experience in developing and underwriting programs with a variety of insurance carrier partners. www.insurancejournal.com

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News & Markets Report: Wildfire Reconstruction of West’s Riskiest Homes is $237B

By Don Jergler

I

n the Western U.S. there are nearly 900,000 homes representing an estimated reconstruction cost of more than $237 billion considered at “very high” or “high” risk from wildfires, a report issued in late February shows.

CoreLogic’s Wildfire Risk analysis is the latest of the firm’s running wildfire risk assessment reports. A report in 2013 from the property and analytics firm using different metrics showed $189 billion worth of properties in the Western U.S. were at “high risk.”

This year’s report assigns risk scores for properties from 1 to 100, which indicates the level of susceptibility to wildfire, as well as the risk associated with the property being located in close proximity to another highrisk property or area.

The report gives 1.1 million Western U.S. homes the highest score segment (81-100), representing a combined potential reconstruction value of more than $268.5 billion.

“You’re always a little shocked when you see the numbers,” said Tom Jeffery, a CoreLogic senior hazard scientist, who was involved in putting the report together.

While those homes in the 81-100 segment may not be fire hazards themsleves, their proximity to the wildland area should be a concern, he said.

“Some of these homes are tremendously high risk,” Jeffery added.

More surprising to Jeffery was that with much of the West in an ongoing drought, there were few major losses due to wildfire

W8 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 9, 2015

last year. Last year saw the second fewest number of major wildfires over the past two decades and it recorded the second lowest total for acreage burned in the last 10 years, the report shows.

“I think we really kind of dodged a bullet last year,” he said.

Jeffery offered a few reasons for last year’s relatively tame wildfire season, putting luck at the top of his list.

He also credited state and regional governments, and fire officials, for large responses in terms of equipment and personnel to even small fires, which has helped contain some potentially disastrous blazes.

Timely precipitation — also luck — had a hand in a few other fires, and lastly Jeffery credited more homeowners in the wildland-urban interface for being proactive by doing things like taking care of excess brush, treating wooden structures and trimming nearby trees.

“I think the homeowners have really taken mitigation to heart,” he said.

With the 2015 fire season just around the corner, Jeffery isn’t so sure this year will be such a lucky one.

While some parts of the West broke free of drought conditions over the past year and

received some precipitation, Jeffery considers that a double-edged sword because the rainfall will also lead to growth in vegetation — or, as he calls it, “fuel.”

There are other parts of the West like California, which has remained under drought conditions for three years and counting, where many counties are a virtual tender trap. The state’s Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Sacramento-RosevilleArden-Arcade and Truckee-Grass Valley regions were in the top 10 listed in the report as among the riskiest regions in the West. There were a combined 28,516 homes considered “very high” risk in those regions.

The West’s riskiest region may be the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. area, where 17,860 homes are at “very high” risk, representing more than $5.35 billion in reconstruction value.

In the report California nudged Colorado for having the largest number of homes at “very high” wildfire risk. There were 50,905 such homes in California, representing more than $16.1 billion in reconstruction value. In Colorado there were 49,667 homes considered “very high” risk, followed by Texas (35,016), Oregon (13,788), Idaho (11,078), Montana (9,601) and Arizona (8,089).

Texas led with the most homes at “high risk,” with 261,855, followed by California (255,023), Oregon (51,872) and Colorado (50,009). www.insurancejournal.com

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WEST COVERAGE

News & Markets Sophisticated Resilience Model in Development in Colorado – And It’ll be Free

By Don Jergler

E

fforts are underway in Colorado to build a sophisticated computer model that will offer a look down to the minute details at just how communities may withstand — or crumble under — perils like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and other catastrophic risks.

Those in charge of the project say it will yield the world’s most sophisticated model for forecasting community resilience when it’s completed in five years.

And it will be free to anyone who wants to use it.

Backed by a $20 million grant announced this week from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Community Resilience Center of Excellence is being established at Colorado State University.

The grant for the Fort Collins-based cen-

W10 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 9, 2015

ter is for $4 million annually over five years. a wall and push it to extremes, watch That funding will enable a team of roughing it deform as if during an earthquake. ly 60 NIST researchers and partners from Researchers will measure the wall’s behavior 10 universities to develop computer tools — how it flexes and strains — and they to help local governments decide how each will record that behavior to determine with can best invest resources intended to lessen how much force the wall pushed back with, the impact of extreme weather and other how it reacted when ever-greater force was hazards on buildings applied and what was left ‘We’re going to do it for of the wall after its breakand infrastructure and to recover rapidly wildfires, we’re going to ing point. in their aftermath, “What we’re concerned do it for earthquakes, according to John Van with is ‘What was the we’re going to do it for de Lindt, the center’s behavior?’” Van de Lindt principal investigator tornadoes, we’re going to said. “We’re really getting do if for tsunamis.’ and co-director. down to the details of the The focus of the underlying physics of the center’s effort is NIST-CORE. That sands process.” for the National Institute of Standards and The model they plan on developing over Technology — Community Resilience the next five years will enable researchers to Modeling Environment. tie the interdependencies of the aforemen The goal is for the computer model and tioned wall to its structure, and then even associated software and databases to be capatie that structure to the larger community. ble of mechanistic modeling — a modeling The plan is to eventually enable commumethod that examines a complex system nities to make the best business decisions though the workings of its individual parts about where and how to use their resources and the manner in which they are coupled. to be more resilient, according to Van de

Unlike catastrophe modLindt. els used by the insurance indus “There’s no model like NIST-CORE yet,” try that rely on historical data he said. “There’s nothing like it on Earth.” and are focused on calcu NIST-CORE is literally in its embryonic lating the probability of stage. losses, NIST-CORE is It is being built on the open-source framea physics-based prowork from existing software used by the gram that will help Mid-America Earthquake Center in Illinois, researchers look into called MAEviz, a highly sophisticated piece the details of what of risk analysis software. occurs in a disaster A team of software developers and engifrom the larger perspecneers will use MAEviz as a base for building tive of how an entire a computational modeling environment that community fares down to when completed will be able take a look at how an individual wall in any community and offer important details a home behaves, said Van on its resilience to every peril known, Van de Lindt, who is a professor de Lindt said. of civil and environmental “We’re going to do it for wildfires, we’re engineering for Colorado State. going to do it for earthquakes, we’re going to

For example, the model do it for tornadoes, we’re going to do it for will enable researchers to take continued on page W12 www.insurancejournal.com

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News & Markets Operations in Boise, Idaho Suspended by Uber After Impasse

U

ber said it was suspending its operations in Boise, Idaho, after reaching an impasse in negotiations with city leaders over new regulations.

“Steep and growing costs that come from offering thousands of free rides combined with unworkable and onerous regulations being proposed by the City leave Uber no other choice than to suspend operations in

Boise for the foreseeable future,” the company said in a blog post. In a letter to Mayor David Bieter, Uber said Boise officials were contemplating an ordinance that would make it impossible for the company to operate in the city.

Uber’s business practices have come under scrutiny.

In the letter to Bieter, Uber said safety goals sought by Boise were already being met.

Copyright 2015 Reuters.

continued from page W10 tsunamis,” he said. “If it’s a hazard, we’ll do it.”

Already working on NIST-CORE is a team of 31 researchers, and they are in the process of adding 20 to 25 students and post-doctoral candidates from the 10 universities involved in the project.

To help create their model researchers will use a computer at University of Illinois called Blue Waters, which is considered one of the most powerful supercomputers in the

Arizona Court Rules on Travel for Injured Worker Care

A

court ruling says Arizona workers being treated for on-the-job injuries aren’t entitled to travel expenses if they haven’t shown they cannot get necessary care locally.

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in February in the workers’ compensation case of a Flagstaff city employee seeking reimbursement for traveling to Phoenix for treatment of neck pain. The worker initially was treated in Flagstaff but still had pain that

wasn’t relieved until after he had surgery in Phoenix.

The court’s ruling said workers’ comp claimants can select their treating physicians but for now there’s an entitlement to travel expenses only if necessary treatment isn’t available locally.

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Blue Waters can reportedly achieve peak performance of more than 13 quadrillion calculations per second.

When built out NIST-CORE not only will provide the scientific basis for developing more resilient communities, it will integrate into these tools considerations for social systems that are vital to the functioning and recovery of communities — healthcare delivery, education, social services and financial institutions, Van de Lindt said.

Speaking like the proud father of a budding prodigy, he also noted that NIST-CORE will be able to learn from one analysis to the next, a capability that does not exist in any other risk or disaster-resilience model in the world.

Initially the model will be primarily a research tool to be used solely by engineers and scientists who can handle its complexity.

Eventually it will become an open source tool with versions that can be run at various levels, down to a version for the desktop computer of a city’s emergency planner.

“It will be eventually be open to anyone in the world that wants to use it,” Van de Lindt said. www.insurancejournal.com

NATIONAL COVERAGE

News & Markets Google to Face Same Obstacles Selling Insurance Online, Says Overstock’s Byrne

By Amy O’Connor

T

hose now running comparison insurance shopping websites believe that they could be helped if Google enters into the business because the giant search engine could draw more attention to buying insurance online.

However, they also believe Google would face the same obstacles they have been dealing with in getting shoppers to move beyond getting a quote and actually complete the buying process online. They say the challenge in online selling is not about search, which is Google’s strength, but about closing the deal.

Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne says Google’s rumored partnership with auto

insurance comparison site compare.com, if it happens, would be a disruptor to the insurance industry and possibly a boon to his business.

At the same time, Byrne acknowledges that his e-tailer’s foray into insurance has not been as successful as hoped, at least not yet.

“Naturally we expected a higher response. We only sold a few thousand policies in the first nine months of business.

However, we see consumer interest increasing. We are working on adding functionality to enable consumers to receive their quotes faster among other improvements,” said Byrne.

The problem hasn’t been getting customers to obtain an insurance quote from Overstock’s online system but getting them to go through the entire purchasing pro-

cess, says Jeff Chesky, CEO of Insuritas, the agency arm behind Overstock.com’s home, auto, renters and small business insurance offerings.

In fact, Chesky says if anything Overstock’s new insurance venture has proven how a retailer can attract customers that are a good risk “at a fraction of what the industry normally pays to get a customers attention.”

“From a lead opportunity and shopping opportunity [the partnership] has been phenomenal,” he says. “The challenge Patrick [Byrne] is describing is getting more customers to shop and buy. We think of that as the last yard on the field that has to be navigated.”

He doesn’t expect compare.com and Google will see a different result because he believes consumers want to go through the entire insurance purchasing experience at one time — not just get price indications through comparison websites and then be sent to another website or pick up the phone to finish the transaction.

Chesky says Google doesn’t solve this problem because it will still be sending customers to another site to buy the coverage.

“The C-suite of the carriers needs to stand up and recognize that they have to support this last yard in migration from product-centric to customer-centric distribution,” he says.

Compare.com Andrew Rose, president and CEO of compare.com, says his firm’s model has been very successful. It currently works with more than 30 carriers. The site provides bindable rates to customers from seven or eight regional and national carriers. When customers choose a rate and company to buy from, they have the option to leave compare.com’s website and purchase continued on page 12

www.insurancejournal.com

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL | 11

NATIONAL COVERAGE

News & Markets continued from page 11 directly from the company’s website or be contacted by an agent of the company.

The key to the success of this model, Rose says, is the rate doesn’t change if the customer leaves the site or buys from an agent. What customers see from compare. com is what they will pay for coverage and when they leave the site it is to complete the purchase.

“The customer is just going to a page where they enter their information to buy the coverage. This is a key thing in our contract with carriers — the rate cannot change. Any fees must be shown with the quote so the customer gets a true and accurate understanding of the price,” says Rose.

Rose wouldn’t comment on a Google partnership, except to say that Google Compare for selling insurance does exist in the UK and there is a likelihood of it entering in the U.S. as well.

Last Yard The insurance industry has yet to figure out how to allow customers to compare and buy in one place, says Chesky of Insuritas.

“Carriers have yet to set the last yard of the process and this last yard is entirely in their control,” he says.

The Insuritas system is able handle the entire transaction process for three of the carriers it works with, but Chesky says the rest of the 30-plus companies are not ready to get onboard.

“There’s a fear in the C-suite of P/C carriers about going into a true shop-compare-and-buy experience that they don’t control. I think a lot of that goes back to insurance.com and insure.com when they wrote lots of risks that they didn’t want to write,” says Chesky.

But Chesky says today’s online model is much different because insurance agencies are more portable and can easily be set up inside of stores like Walmart or Overstock.

12 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

Carriers can decide where they want their products to be sold.

“It is much more controlled and a predictable kind of shopper that is going to see your products in these stores,” he says. “If you are a carrier that is attracted to writing attractive standard or preferred risks with low loss ratios and consistency, you want to have your products on Overstock’s shelves because that is a good buyer.”

Chesky says his firm plans to add two more carriers to its list of companies that customers can access through Overstock’s site in the first half of 2015, but Insuritas has more work to do in improving Overstock’s insurance sales. Overstock also expects to add life insurance to its list of coverage offerings.

“All of the work will be on our end — in getting that last yard achieved.”

UK Model Compare.com comparison’s model is the U.S. version of confused.com that started back in 2002 in the UK and is also owned by parent company, Admiral, the former owners of esurance.com. Rose says last year 70 percent of UK consumers did their insurance transactions through online comparison sites. The model has also been successful so far in France and Spain, he says.

Compare.com was established in 2013 and began writing business in the U.S. market in 2014 with auto insurance. Rose said it plans to expand into the renters and homeowners markets this year.

Compare.com doesn’t charge customers to use the site. The site charges carriers a flat fee per sale that is based on the segment of business. Carriers are only charged if a customer actually buys the policy from the company. Compare.com then uses that money to advertise on behalf of the carriers that Rose says are trying to compete with the “avalanche of advertising from the State Farms, Geicos and Progressives.”

Currently compare.com only advertises in California, Texas and Illinois because those are the states where Rose said it has the most available carriers, which means more quote options to customers and a better

chance for them to save money. He says as carriers begin to see more volume flow to the site, more will opt to come onboard.

Rose says the compare.com model also supports the agent platform because consumers have the option to be matched with a local agent for buying. Carriers can also list what purchase options they want to offer to customers, including purchasing coverage through an agent. He says agents have the opportunity to build relationships with new clients through the site and make additional coverage sales to these customers.

“Agents are the fabric from how auto insurance is done in the U.S. and we don’t preclude them from involvement in our process,” he says. “A lot of folks are talking about the demise of the agent — I think they are wrong.”

Rose says currently only 40 percent of consumers choose to buy directly from the carrier after starting a quote on compare. com and the other 60 percent choose to have help from an agent. He believes agents should be encouraging their carriers to join compare.com’s carrier panel.

Google Factor Overstock.com’s CEO Byrne isn’t worried about Google.

“There is enough room for more players in this space,” he says. “Google can help educate the public on the concept of insurance marketplaces. This will drive more consumers to the internet and we’ll be there with our platform, helping the consumer find the best deal for their insurance needs.”

Chesky agrees and says Google is going to show the industry that insurance products no longer need to be sold in the traditional “brick and mortar agency” and that will prompt carriers to think about whether Google is the best store aisle to put their insurance products in. “All this talk about Google misses the point because it doesn’t have anything to do with search and analytics. The issue at the moment is the last yard — if consumers can’t shop, compare and buy their insurance online then the insurance industry has failed.” www.insurancejournal.com

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Business Moves tor clients, from water well to environmental to geothermal drillers.

The $2 million revenue agency will continue to operate from its current location under the local leadership of President and Founder Paul Andrews and Vice President Chris McMahon. It will report through Assured SKCG insurance and risk management advisory firm, an AssuredPartners platform company in the Northeast, serving commercial and private clients throughout the U.S. and overseas.

Headquartered in Lake Mary, Fla., AssuredPartners acquires and invests in insurance brokerage businesses across the U.S. Integro, E&O Pros Integro Ltd. has acquired E&O Professional Risk Management and Insurance Services Inc. of Mission Viejo, Calif.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

E&O Pros founder and CEO Sheri Pontolillo will lead the E&O Pros group within Integro and report to Chuck Shay, co-leader of Integro’s management risk practice.

E&O Pros is a specialized team of brokers focused on niche segments of the E&O marketplace, such as broker/dealer, investment advisor, insurance agent and real estate errors and omissions.

New York, N.Y.-based Integro is an insurance brokerage and risk management firm.

AssuredPartners, Amtech Insurance Brokers AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired Amtech Insurance Brokers in Latham, N.Y. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Amtech has been providing commercial insurance and risk management services for businesses for the past 22 years. Its industry specialties include construction, welding supply and compressed gas. In addition, the agency has a custom-tailored Drillers Insurance Program for a variety of contrac14 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

FBinsure, Henry L. Newbury Insurance Agency FBinsure, an independent insurance agency based in Taunton, Mass., has acquired Henry L. Newbury Insurance Agency, an independent agency in North Attleboro, Mass. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

FBinsure said Henry L. Newbury Insurance Agency’s co-owner and president, Jim Newbury, and his brother and agency co-owner John Newbury will maintain their roles within the agency throughout the process to ensure a smooth transition to the FBinsure brand for the agency’s 1,400 clients. They will be taking their leave and retire from the agency after the full transition process has been completed, though there is not a defined timeline, according to FBinsure.

Long time employees of Henry L. Newbury Insurance Agency, Lynne EngelHomes, Pam Folan, Barbara Stanford, and Linda Kozlowski, will retain their active roles with FBinsure’s growing team.

Changes to the agency will be minor, mainly aimed at updating technology and providing greater access to new companies, according to the announcement.

FBinsure is an independent agency, in partnership with Bristol County Savings

Bank based in Taunton, Mass., that provides personal and commercial insurance services.

IBTX San Antonio-based independent insurance agency, IBTX Risk Services, has expanded into the Houston market.

IBTX will expand their client base in the property and casualty, oil and gas, healthcare and risk management fields.

Tim Aguilar, risk advisor and Kathy Havey, account executive are the first two employees in the Houston office.

Aguilar brings more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry to IBTX with expertise in property, automobile, workers’ compensation, director and officers, professional and general liability, and healthcare benefits coverages for a variety of businesses.

Havey has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas, and construction insurance fields.

Palomar Specialty Insurance, Wellington Risk Insurance Agency Palomar Specialty Insurance Co., based in La Jolla, Calif., has partnered with Fort Worth-based Wellington Risk Insurance Agency Inc. (Wellington), to offer wind-exposed residential property insurance in Tier II counties in Texas.

This represents Palomar Specialty’s first expansion product category outside of earthquake coverage. Palomar Specialty is currently offering select homeowners, standard homeowners and standard dwelling fire coverage through Wellington-appointed agents.

Palomar Specialty Insurance Co. is a recently established catastrophe insurer that has initially focused on writing residential earthquake insurance, commercial earthquake insurance and difference in conditions (DIC) in earthquake-exposed states including California, Oregon and Washington. The company is now an admitted carrier in 17 states.

Wellington Risk Insurance Agency is a member company of the Wellington Insurance Group. www.insurancejournal.com

CLOSER LOOK

Directors & Officers Liability The Key Coverage Business Partnerships Might Be Missing

T

here could be a risk flying under the radar in your client portfolio, one you may believe is satisfactorily covered. You can reveal it by answering a seemingly basic question: how are your clients’ businesses structured?

This question matters because standard directors and officers (D&O) liability policies do not broadly address the myriad exposures that today’s executives face. There

By Dana Ross-Paige are many fiduciary capacities within different legal entities, in particular companies that have limited partnerships and/ or limited liability companies in their organizational structures. The difference lies in the simple fact that LLCs, corporations and limited partnerships can expose their executives to distinct risks. In all cases, your clients need coverage specifically tailored to address both D&O liability and general partnership liability.

In corporations, executives are largely shielded from personal liability. Directors and officers of a corporation have a duty of loyalty and duty of care, but they generally cannot be held personally financially responsible for a bad decision they make on behalf of the organization. In this case, they are afforded the protection of the business judgment rule. In short, they do not assume personal liability for many of the exposures related to the business.

Both the entity limited partnership and the general partners carry more liability due to the nature of the structure.

A general partner can serve as both a manager and invest alongside their investors.

This creates an inherent conflict of interest since they can benefit financially from the partnership they are managing. This 16 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

business operations, failing to equitably distribute profits according to the terms of the partnership, or exerting undue influence in causing a partner to amend the partnership Partnership Exposures agreement against his or her interest.

This exposure presents a bigger (and Historical court cases have included more expensive) problem than you might actions against the individual and corpothink. Limited partnerships and limited rate general partner and the entity limited liability companies, which are common in partnership for breach of the real estate and energy Most standard D&O fiduciary duties and misrepsectors, can be delicate arrangements, and accusapolicies explicitly resentations.

For example, a limited tions of various misdeeds exclude or restrict partner plaintiff who were can escalate to legal issues coverage for general the investors in a limited in a hurry. and limited partnership accused the Common allegations general partner defendant may include misrepresenpartnerships. of purchasing and retaining tations in order to induce a piece of land, thus preventing the limited an investor to purchase limited partner partners from gaining any opportunity or interests, misappropriation of the partnerbenefit from that purchase or possible sale. ship’s assets or funds, as well as misappro According to the plaintiff — and, ultipriation of partnership opportunities. mately, the judge — this constituted breach In addition, individual general partners of the limited partnership or contract. The and entity general partners and the limitplaintiff was awarded upwards of $1.5 miled partnership, itself, may be accused of lion. breaching the partnership agreement, Another notable case demonstrates what providing excessive compensation to the can happen when there are allegations of general partner, breach of the partnership agreement. fraud, mis The plaintiffs, who were investors in managethe limited partnership, alleged that the ment defendant, who was the corporate general or mispartner, failed to pay the correct amount of conduct the preferred return owed to the limited in the partners as specified in the partnership agreement. The plaintiff also accused the defendant of improperly paying management fees to himself and the corporation he wholly owned. The corporation was also a defendant in this case.

The total judgment against the individual and corporate general partner was $1.6 million. Prior to the trial, the plaintiff settled with the corporation for $2 million. leaves them exposed to lawsuits alleging various sorts of misconduct.

continued on page 18 www.insurancejournal.com

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Directors & Officers Liability continued from page 16

D&O Alone Does Not Always Protect Though this may seem like the type of situation where D&O would apply, it does not.

Designed for corporations, D&O coverage protects the board of directors and executives of a corporation in that capacity only against suits brought by stakeholders, such as shareholders, regulators, competitors and vendors. The coverage is designed for allegations that the directors or officers made decisions as managers that led to negative financial outcomes. It does not address if these executives were acting in a different fiduciary capacity like a general partner or partnership manager.

Most standard D&O policies explicitly exclude or restrict coverage for general and limited partnerships. Some D&O underwriters will attempt to respond to this capacity by providing coverage to individual general partners or by general

18 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

partnership liability (GPL) endorsement.

However, this approach may be imperfect because it does not extend coverage to exposures specific to limited partnership exposures.

General partners and limited partnerships need a defined policy that responds to the risks specific to both corporations and general partners, as well as the limited partnership. Instead of a standard D&O policy, partnerships should seek a blended directors and officers/ general partnership liability coverage (D&O/GPL). Though they address the same risks, D&O and GPL are two different types of coverage for two different types of legal structures.

When pursuing a D&O/GPL policy for a client, seek coverage that provides a broad definition of insureds, including directors and officers, individual general partners and corporate general part-

ners. Also seek policies that cover a broader range of entities, from corporations to limited liability companies and scheduled limited partnerships. A comprehensive policy will also provide automatic coverage for newly formed or acquired partnerships, as well as subsidiaries of the insured organization.

There’s one promise I can make to agents and brokers: you have these risks in your client portfolio. These are difficult exposures requiring the proper coverage with adequate limits.

When advising a new client, be cautious about steering them towards a standalone D&O policy. Their business structure may necessitate an executive liability package that includes D&O/GPL coverage. And do not forget to review existing clients’ organizational structures next time their D&O policy comes up for renewal. You may find they are taking unnecessary risks in their business.

Ross-Paige is senior vice president and national practice leader for professional lines at V3 Insurance Partners, a managing general underwriting agency offering insurance programs targeted at middle market companies. Email: Dana.paige@v3ins.com.

Phone: 215-600-0748. Website: www.V3ins.com.

www.insurancejournal.com

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CLOSER LOOK

Directors & Officers Liability Capacity Plentiful, Pricing Remains Soft in D&O Marketplace

By Young Ha

T

he directors and officers liability insurance marketplace continues to be a buyer’s market — with new entrants contributing to the plentiful capacity, competitive pricing and expanded terms, according to industry participants who spoke with Insurance Journal in February at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) D&O Liability Symposium in New York.

“For a period of time, over the last number of years, the number of players in the professional liability space has clearly grown. As a consequence of this, with basic laws of supply and demand, the terms have expanded. Pricing remains soft,” said James Skarzynski, current president of PLUS and chairman at law firm Skarzynski Black LLC who specializes in D&O and other forms of professional liability coverages.

Of course, the drum beat of the claims continues on, said Skarzynski.

“To give one example, the definition of claim — which has taken on a lot of relevance — while simplifying somewhat historically, a claim used to be defined as a lawsuit, or a written demand for money, or damages,” he said. “Now the definition of claim, again, simplifying somewhat, has been greatly expanded, such that insureds were arguing for coverage for SEC investigations, grand jury proceedings, internal investigations.”

In the past, the insurers reacted negatively to those efforts by the policyholders to expand the coverage, saying that the wording did not cover these claims, said Skarzynski.

But he said in more recent times, as a consequence of the amount of capacity in 20 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

the marketplace — as well as some developments in the case law — a number of large players in the market have expanded the coverage in their forms to give much broader coverage within the scope of what is a claim, clearly covering investigations to some extent.

Another trend that’s happened over the past few years is the skyrocketing cost of governmental investigations. “It is not unusual for fees in connection with the governmental investigation under a D&O policy to exceed $10 million and get into eight figures, which is a number significantly higher than what a complex security case might have cost the defense, say 10 years ago,” said Skarzynski. “That has certainly been a large development, a significant development over the last number of years.”

Todd Greeley, head of claims for the Executive and Professional Lines Product at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, a relatively new player in the marketplace, agreed that in the commercial D&O market, there is a tremendous amount of capacity, particularly for excess placements.

“That, of course, has an effect on the supply-and-demand equation, so pricing is definitely reflecting the fact that there’s probably more capacity than is needed,” said Greeley.

“The biggest issue is definitely the capacity in the marketplace, and the impact that has on pricing especially when you get to the excess layers. Not as pronounced when you’re talking about D&O for financial institutions, but even there, there’s a fair amount of capacity in the marketplace.”

Entity Coverage ‘Underwriters need Greeley also to figure out a way said the cover to differentiate for entities when they’re investigat- themselves.’ ed is probably one area that’s being pushed in terms of trying to expand the scope of coverage in the D&O form.

“There are several things you can get in the marketplace that provide some form of cover when the entity is a subject of an investigation, typically the D&O form — www.insurancejournal.com

Product Differentiation the D&O policy’s going to cover individuals In such a competitive environment, it’s when they’re subject to a formal investiganot easy to differentiate one’s product, tion,” said Greeley. “There’s been a lot of according to Dan Fortin, senior vice presievolution in that in the main D&O forms dent of Executive & Professional Lines at today you can get some coverage for what I Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance. would call an informal investigation of indi “On one hand, there are challenges from viduals. It’s going to vary by carrier.” a risk and exposure perspective. But on There is also some additional erosion the other hand, there is a ton of available in terms of limiting existing exclusions in capacity out there, a lot of D&O insurers — D&O policies, he said. “You’re seeing efforts probably at an all-time high in terms of the to broaden the notice provisions of the polamount of capacity out there, not only in icy so that it’s less likely a customer will be the U.S., but globally,” said Fortin. tripped up on a technicality on a claim.”

“I see a lot of healthy capacity, some The marketplace’s abundant capacity was pretty good underwriters in also mentioned by Kevin marketplace. There are LaCroix, executive vice ‘Pricing is definitely the pockets of irresponsibility, I president at RT ProExec, am sure everyone has a story a division of R-T Specialty reflecting the fact that there’s proba- here,” said Fortin.

LLC and an insurance “By and large, I think the intermediary focused bly more capacity market’s disciplined. So I on management liability than is needed.’ think underwriters are going issues. to have to dig deeper in 2015 “It is a marketplace that’s to figure out ways to compete and win characterized by abundant capacity. Every business other than just with the typical buyer is going to find someone that will weapon of choice, which is price.” write them. There are new entrants. There “And so, the underwriters need to figure are entrants that have been not as signifout a way to differentiate themselves. It icant players that are seeking to expand starts with understanding the needs of their capacity. As a result, there’s a great the client, understanding the needs of the deal of insurance capacity available,” said broker, what they want to accomplish, and LaCroix. then how can you help them do that? The Just the basic law of supply and demand days are gone that you rolled out a D&O means that that’s going to be a favorable product or a D&O policy and you said, environment for buyers because the supply ‘Here it is. Take it or leave it.’” is abundant, he said.

“You need to be able to customize, have “The exception is going to be companies the flexibility and the expertise to really that are financially understand what’s unique for that risk in troubled, companies order to adjust the contract,” Fortin advised. in certain specific risk “From a buyer’s perspective and broker’s classes,” said LaCroix. perspective, there’s a lot of options out “I would say biotech there. It’s a lot of opportunity to really put companies, companies together a D&O program for the long run.” in legally complicated Fortin, who began his career in underindustries like gamwriting in 1991, said the weapon of choice bling, or firearms man- Kevin LaCroix for most underwriters has been price, but, ufacturing ... those are he added, “as somebody who has been in always going to be difficult placements,” he the business for as long as I have, I undersaid. But other than those types of compastand where that usually leads, and it nies, the vast majority of buyers will have doesn’t end well for most underwriters.” abundant supply, and will be able to find “You need to find a way, first of all, by attractive terms and conditions in the D&O understanding the fit with the client. What market, says LaCroix. www.insurancejournal.com

does the client value?

Then sizing that up and putting a product out there.”

Most James Skarzynski clients value financial strength, Fortin noted, and increasingly, brokers have become sophisticated in understanding the service that underwriters are providing, the flexibility of coverage, the responsiveness in issues of policies, and just simply underwriters getting back to them on a timely basis and being responsible, flexible, and professional.

“But I think, increasingly, maybe most importantly, is the claims organization,” said Fortin.

“There is not a meeting that goes by with a broker, a client, or a prospective client where they don’t ask about how we are handling claims,” he said. “What are we seeing first of all, but how are we handling them?

Do we have that expertise in-house? Because that’s a capability that you really have to think twice about outsourcing.”

On the Web

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o watch a video interview of Dan Fortin, senior vice president of Executive & Professional Lines at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, visit: http://www.insurancejournal.tv/videos/11920/ To watch a video interview of Todd Greeley, head of claims for the Executive and Professional Lines Product at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, visit: www.insurancejournal.tv/videos/11885/

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL | 21

SPOTLIGHT

10 Things to Know About Homeowners The top 10 writers of U.S. homeowners insurance by direct premiums written in 2013 include: 1. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance; 2. Allstate Corp.; 3. Liberty Mutual; 4. Farmers Insurance Group of Cos.; 5. USAA Insurance Group; 6. Travelers Cos. Inc.; 7.

Nationwide Mutual Group; 8. American Family Mutual; 9. Chubb Corp.; 10. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. — SNL Financial

Preliminary figures compiled for homeowners show that insurance companies increased their rates by an average of 2.9 percent nationwide in 2014, while renters insurance rates were up 2.3 percent and condominium insurance rates rose 2.4 percent. This is a reduction from 2013 figures, which were 5.7 percent for homeowners, 2.9 percent for renters and 3.4 percent for condominiums. — Perr & Knight’s RateWatch

The cost of homeowners insurance claims has been increasing at twice the rate of inflation despite significant declines in recent years. — Insurance Research Council (IRC), “Trends in Homeowners Insurance Claims, 2015 Edition” The five states with the highest overall increases in 2014 for homeowners insurance were Nebraska at 8.1 percent, Montana at 7.5 percent, Kansas at 6.9 percent, and Oklahoma and Texas at 6.1 percent. Three states, California, Florida, and Hawaii, experienced overall decreases in homeowner insurance rates in 2014 of -0.3 percent, -0.6 percent and -0.2 percent, respectively. — Perr & Knight’s RateWatch

Florida, Louisiana and Texas are the most expensive states to buy homeowners insurance. Utah, Oregon and Idaho are the least expensive. — National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2012 data.

22 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

Homeowners claims related to wind or hail are the most frequent; the costliest are related to fire, lightning or debris removal. — Insurance Information Institute/ISO About one in 15 insured homes have a claim each year. — Insurance Information Institute/ISO

Homeowners with poor credit pay 91 percent more for homeowners’ insurance than people with excellent credit.

Homeowners with median credit pay 29 percent more than those with excellent credit.

— insuranceQuotes.com

The average claim payment per insured home countrywide rose from $229 in 1997 to $625 in 2011, before falling to $442 in 2013. Even with the recent decline, average claim payments per insured home have increased at an average annualized rate of 5.0 percent since 1997. — Insurance Research Council (IRC), “Trends in Homeowners Insurance Claims, 2015 Edition”

Gen Y customers — or Millennials — who comprise the largest group of homebuyers and renters in the U.S., are more critical of their insurance experiences than any other group. — J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Household Insurance Study

www.insurancejournal.com

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SPECIAL REPORT

Auto

By Andrea Wells

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he nonstandard auto market is characterized by substandard operating performance. Since 2007, carriers writing nonstandard auto policies have reported deteriorating operating performance and many are struggling to maintain market share.

But that hasn’t stopped interest in this large — and extremely volatile — segment of the property/ casualty industry.

Carriers, managing general agencies and retail agencies with the tools to succeed in this commoditized sector of the insurance industry are gearing up for growth in the years ahead.

Nonstandard auto insurance has been traditionally defined as a market for drivers who have certain risk factors that make it difficult or impossible for them to obtain insurance in a standard or preferred market. These insureds

24 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

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include new or young drivers, drivers with credit problems, drivers with multiple losses or moving violations, people who want only minimum limits coverage and those with an unusual driver’s license status.

“For us it’s the customer that wants minimum state required limits of liability coverage,” says Andy Jordan, senior vice president, corporate marketing and business development for GAINSCO Inc., a property/ casualty insurance holding company for GAINSCO Auto Insurance Co. in Dallas. “It doesn’t sound like nonstandard but for us, it starts there.”

For GAINSCO, that might include risky drivers or just those that fall outside the risk profile of what most insurers prefer.

“It’s not always extremely risky drivers,” Jordan says.

No one knows the exact size of the nonstandard auto market but industry estimates calculate the market at around 30 percent to 40 percent of the total private passenger auto insurance industry. According to Conning Research & Consulting’s “Personal Lines Consumer Markets Annual” report published in late 2014 that figure could be as much as $33 billion to $40 billion in annual premium.

“It’s a large part of the overall auto market and it’s growing along with the total U.S. population,” says Jordan. GAINSCO specializes in selling minimum limits nonstandard personal auto insurance exclusively through independent agents in eight states.

Nonstandard auto is a segment with identifiable needs and a segment that is ideal for specialty insurers and agencies.

The Conning Research & Consulting report says that a declining presence by some of the largest personal auto insurers in this market is opening the door for a number of specialists to expand.

One specialist who’s riding high in the nonstandard auto world is Confie Seguros, a California-based national insurance distribution company primarily focused on Hispanic and C-segment consumers, or those that fall within a household income of $30,000 to $60,000 annually.

Confie Seguros began to build its portfolio of regional personal lines brokerages in www.insurancejournal.com

the nonstandard auto world in 2008. Today, the firm boasts annual revenues of more than $360 million with 650 retail locations in 17 states. In the past couple of years, Confie Seguros has broadened its business to include some preferred and standard auto business as well as small commercial, according to Mordy Rothberg, president of Confie Seguros. But overall the organization still gets 75 percent of its revenues from the nonstandard auto world.

Rothberg says that while his organization is expanding into other markets, its commitment to the nonstandard auto client is not waning. In fact, he sees Confie Seguros more than doubling in size in the next five years with a substantial part of that growth coming from nonstandard auto business.

“We think the nonstandard auto market is actually growing faster than the standard and preferred marketplace,” Rothberg says.

Rothberg is not alone in that assessment.

GAINSCO’s Jordan says the population that falls under the nonstandard auto umbrella is considerable. “It’s a large market, especially in Texas and in other states with growing populations,” he says.

In many of the states in which GAINSCO operates there’s also a rising population of Hispanic consumers. “In the Sunbelt states — Florida, Texas and Arizona — there’s a greater percentage of the Hispanic auto insurance market that is inherently nonstandard,” Jordan says. “There are also lots of folks who only want minimum limits coverage and people with an unusual driver’s license status such as a Mexican driver’s license or an international driver’s license that would fall into the nonstandard market. That can be a huge chunk of the population in some of these states.”

The nonstandard auto industry is highly concentrated geographically, as three states — Texas, California and Florida — accounted for 59 percent of all direct premiums written in 2013, according to an A.M. Best Co. report, “Under Pressure: U.S. Private Passenger Nonstandard Auto Market,” published November 2014. The remaining premiums are spread more evenly throughout the United States, with no continued on page 26 March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL | 25

SPECIAL REPORT

Auto

— new or young drivers, prior violations or accidents, poor credit history, drivers who have lapses in coverage, or just those other state accounting for more than 5 perdrivers looking for minimum cent of nonstandard auto premium. limits coverage — there are The A.M. Best report noted that no sinsome risks that are much better gle carrier in this segment writes more than than others, he adds.

10 percent of written premiums and that “You want to stay toward the 91 percent of the companies examined in top of the barrel and get the best the report hold market shares of less than 2 nonstandard risk possible,” Burtone percent. says. “In general, the smaller companies don’t have the technology Big Changes to compete with some of the bigger As the population nonstandard providers players in the market.” As a result serve is changing, so is how the providers those carriers are getting the “bottom of are going about serving this market. the barrel” risks, he says.

Specialty carriers and managing general Technology and scale are an advantage agencies (MGAs) in the nonstandard auto not only for carriers in this segment but space have made big changes in technology, also for MGAs and retail agents. underwriting, claims, marketing and in The nonstandard auto business is how they serve insureds in this segment. transaction-heavy. Just 10 years ago, the Those that haven’t kept pace may be the industry handled nonstandard auto apps ones suffering, says Kenneth Tappen, senior by hand, mail and check, according to financial analyst for A.M. Best Co., and Andy Swindall, CEO of Personable General co-author of the report.

Insurance Agency Inc., a general agency and According to the A.M. Best report: specialist program underwriting manager in “Small, regional and single-state writers San Diego, Calif. “Those of private passenger nonstandard auto pol‘We think the nonstan- days are over. Today, there is no preprinted icies have seen their app. There’s hardly any operating performance dard auto market is actually growing faster business that comes deteriorate over the in with a check anypast decade and are than the standard and struggling to maintain preferred marketplace.’ more; it’s all electronic,” Swindall says. market share in this Nonstandard auto cussegment of the insurtomers typically buy an auto policy that ance industry. Factors such as increased ends up lapsing sometime within the first competition from large standard auto three months. “And then they rewrite writers, economic conditions, limited scale, with us within 30 days,” Swindall says. rising loss severity trends and fraud all have Swindall’s customers tend to be played a role in this downturn, which will facing economic challenges. “As a not likely subside in the near future.” lower income earner they are making Tappen says that large standard carriers choices, ‘Do I put food on the table have grown in the nonstandard segment, or pay for insurance every month?’ So as their technological capabilities and scale that fragmentation or transit customer make it easier for them to target the most creates a lot of transactions with new profitable policies, leaving the riskier polibusiness, rewrites, cancellations … you cies to the smaller nonstandard auto writhave to be very automated,” Swindall says. ers.

Personable Insurance has invested in “If you want to conduct business in this technology to improve processes and segment you want to get the best possible vendor relationships in order to remain risk,” says Joe Burtone, assistant vice presicompetitive, including in the area of data dent at A.M. Best & Co. While all nonstananalytics, Swindall says. dard auto insureds come with challenges

continued from page 25

26 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

Being big comes with advantages for retail agencies as well when specializing in nonstandard auto.

“We touch our customer a lot more than the standard agents do with different endorsements, monthly bills, coming into pay, whatever, both on the phone as well as in person and that’s a big factor,” says Confie Seguros’ Rothberg. In nonstandard auto, the commission

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made on each sale is small and agents must also service the customer more often. “The only way to be successful in this business is having the scale, having the resources and investing in technology to really understand your business because things have changed a lot over the years.”

A.M. Best’s Bartone says the most successful nonstandard auto insurers also have implemented substantial changes in the past five years in technology and underwriting.

“It’s been a real whirlwind change in the auto line of business,” Bartone says. “The underwriting tools over the years have greatly

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improved. Rating algorithms have improved, and rate tiering is more prominent now than it’s ever been and for the most part the larger carriers have the resources and ability to utilize these tools and invest in them.” Those carriers more adequately price nonstandard business and “cherry-pick” or take only the risks that meet their underwriting guidelines. “That’s why you’ll see a lot of the larger carriers playing in this segment a little more.”

Years ago the nonstandard auto market was much less scientific about risk selection. According to Tappen, nowadays smaller writers of nonstandard auto have to start investing in technology and doing the same things as their larger counterparts or they will get pushed to the side.

Ripe for Consolidation Over the past five years, poor operating results among some private passenger nonstandard auto insurers has led to consolidation, according to the A.M. Best report.

At least 10 nonstandard auto writers have either merged with or been acquired by other companies since 2009. A.M. Best reports that much of the M&A activity has been and will continue to be driven by larger writers looking to acquire smaller nonstandard auto writers with brand name recognition in localized areas and multiple distribution channels.

Private-equity firms also appear to have an eye on the nonstandard auto market.

Palladium Equity Partners announced in October 2014 the purchase of Pronto General Agency Ltd., a Texas-based nonstandard auto insurance managing general agency that focuses on the Hispanic market. HGGC, a middle market private equity firm in Palo Alto, Calif., bought a majority interest in Pearl Holding Group, an MGA focused on the nonstandard auto insurance market in Florida. And Personable Holdings Inc., which operates Swindall’s Personable Insurance platform, was brought under the umbrella of Confie Seguros in the fall of 2014 by its private equity investor, ABRY Partners based in Boston, Mass.

Confie Seguros’ Rothberg agrees and says the nonstandard auto market, in particular the nonstandard auto agency world, is ripe for consolidation.

“It is still a very fragmented marketplace,” says Rothberg, who has seen studies showing there are just under 25,000 nonstandard agents around the country.

Rothberg says that Confie Seguros will be a player in the M&A frenzy, bringing more of the “mom-and-pop” nonstandard auto agencies together. Confie Seguros has acquired more than 80 agencies since 2008 and Rothberg plans to acquire another 40 agencies in 2015 alone.

“We think that [acquisition growth] is sustainable over the next 20 years,” Rothberg says. “We are very bullish about acquisitions but we also are growing and plan on growing organically as well.”

Rocky Golem, managing director of StoneRidge Advisors LLC, an investment banking firm that specializes in the insurance industry, says that for carriers, MGAs and retail agencies, growth through acquisition makes sense in nonstandard auto.

“The easiest way to grow in nonstandard auto is to acquire established companies and for nonstandard I think that works because it’s a regionalized business,” Golem says. “There are a lot of examples of companies that have tried to grow organically in different states and have fallen on their face in a big way.”

The smarter way in the nonstandard world is to buy someone in that region that knows it well and knows the pitfalls, according to Golem. “It’s a smarter way to grow than appointing new agents and opening new offices because in nonstandard that can be a long way to profitability.”

Rothberg says that’s where Confie Seguros’ acquisition eye will target — the regional, local mom-and-pop agencies.

“Our competitor is not the big national players. It is not the Googles or the Overstocks of the world. Our real competitor is the ‘mom-and-pop’ shop that doesn’t have the resources it needs to compete in this market,” he says.

That’s why he believes the industry, and Confie Seguros, will see more consolidation in the future.

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL | 27

IDEA EXCHANGE

Agency Management Best of the Best: Employee Productivity

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evenue per employee has historically been the measuring stick for staffing and employee efficiency within independent insurance agencies. The industry average revenue per employee continues to show improvement.

But, before you get done patting yourself on the back for improving efficiency, consider the followBy Tommy McDonald ing: 1. The number of accounts per employee is also a powerful statistic. Because of improvement in the property and casualty rate environment, agencies are growing without adding a increased. significant number of net The best firms 2. Are your employees in the industry new accounts. Typically, an asset or an expense? servicing work is fairly Employee margin matters. If pay their consistent for accounts revenue per employee employees more, your as they renew, regardless is above average at $175,000, while improving but your payroll per employof whether commission the individual revenue on the account ee is $175,000 (total payroll increases or decreases. employee margin. divided by number of Before adding anothemployees), the employee er employee to balance workload, productivity and efficiency becomes make sure the workload has actually irrelevant. The business has profit-

ability issues. It is important to track revenue per employee in line with payroll per employee to ensure that your strong efficiency relates directly to improved profitability. The best firms in the industry pay their employees more, while improving the individual employee margin. Much like a quality acquisition, adding payroll expenses should be accretive to long-term value.

How do you stack up against the most productive firms in the industry?

McDonald is vice president at MarshBerry.

Phone: 440-392-6700. Email: Tommy.McDonald@ MarshBerry.com.

Insurance Journal’s Research & Trends Center Quality Research for the Property/Casualty Insurance Industry

insurancejournal.com/research

28 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

www.insurancejournal.com

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IDEA EXCHANGE

Tech Talk The Best Apps and Why for Independent Agents

By Tom Wetzel

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here appears to be little dispute among agents about the importance of going mobile, particularly for younger clients who expect it. What’s in doubt, however, is which mobile applications, or apps, make the most sense for agents to use, both for themselves and their clients.

“Too many agents are buying an app just to say they have one,” says Chris Paradiso of Paradiso Insurance, based in Stafford, Conn. “There are so many poorly developed ones and almost none are designed specifically for insurance agents.”

“An app needs to serve both the agent and client,” he says. “It must deliver value or a client will never add it to his or her smartphone. For us, we want to communicate with our clients, to know who has downloaded it and to make it easier for them to do business with us, such as providing insurance cards and the ability to take photos and start the claims process.”

“My criteria for what makes a good app is simple; does it allow me to accomplish something other than simple information lookup,” says Bruce Cochrane of Renaissance Alliance, a consortium based in Wellesley, Mass. “Mobility to me means productivity, so a good app allows me to do more in less

time and conduct business transactions at the push of a button.

30 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

Simple and intuitive — I don’t have time for a manual.”

Paradiso notes that a good app also contributes directly to an agent’s bottom-line.

“Every day a claim isn’t reported the payout increases, and that affects our income,” he says. “The claims reported through our app can occur within minutes, at most an hour. If we call in a claim, that can take three days.”

Ron Berg, executive director of the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) stressed the need for an app to enhance productivity.

“Carriers have their apps for insureds to file claims and agents have theirs that allow customer access to carriers and limited business transactions,” Berg says. ”That’s fine as another iteration of what their websites already offer, but there is a dearth of apps being developed to provide the productivity enhancement sought by agents and consumers.”

Many agree that one app that delivers benefits to both agents and consumers is www.goinsuranceagent.com.

“This app has a great accident data collection and reporting feature that uses many of the features found on a typical smartphone,” says Claudia McClain, founder and owner of McClain Insurance Services of Everett, Wash. “There is also a home inventory option, ability to store dec pages and ID cards.” Some agency management systems can actually download into the app, updating ID cards and decs automatically.

Mobile apps and the importance of mobile-optimizing agency websites was a much-discussed topic at a recent ACT meeting in Tampa, Fla. “Half of all insurance shoppers start their searches on a smart phone,” Berg says. “If an agency website

is not mobile-enabled, two-thirds of them drop off immediately, according to (comScore, 2014). Young agents say their clients rely on the smart phone as a primary means of communication — via app, text, email, and social.”

Last month, ACT also released a report and recommendations from its Customer Experience Work Group. The report includes a listing of mobile apps. (To access the report, visit: www.independentagent.com and then search for ACT Customer Experience Work Group Recommendations – 2015.)

McClain, who also attended the February conference, said that the consensus among the young agents there focused on the most useful apps, including, in no specific order: • Evernote (for organizing everything, synching across all platforms, absolutely the top vote getter!) or OneNote • Hootsuite (for organizing social media) • Dropbox • LinkedIn (for contact management) • Google Maps Runners up include: • DocuSign (mobile signatures anywhere) • Redfin/Zillow (for looking up info on new homes being purchased by clients) • Amazon (for quick purchase and delivery of office supplies and equipment) • PdfExpert (document annotation and management “Apps are a must…for the client and the agent,” says Jason Cass of JDC Insurance Group of Centralia, Ill. “The client will need and demand the ability to gather quotes and the agent will demand it because it is what they need to keep that client.”

Wetzel heads his own insurance marketing firm that specializes in social media programs for agents through its Social Media Content Roadmap©.

Contact him at twetzel@wetzelandassociates.com.

Website: www.wetzelandassociates.com.

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IDEA EXCHANGE

The Competitive Advantage Insurance Language – Clear as Mud

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n occasion I find myself in a position having to explain insurance language to non-insurance people, particularly attorneys and CPAs. Their responses range from vacant stares to confusion.

For example, think about explaining the term “broker” to a non-insurance person (or your latest hire).

A broker may be a wholesaler. A broker may be an agent that works at one of the large publicly traded

By Chris Burand brokerages. A broker may actually be an insurance broker (vs. an agent). A broker may sell insurance provided by a broker though an agent can’t usually sell insurance provided by another agency. In some states, an agency may be a broker but in other states, even a broker cannot be a broker.

However, within the industry, we simply use the term “broker” without an attached descriptive. Within the industry everyone knows what the term means within the context. For a non-insurance person, they might be completely lost.

Another interesting term is the title, “producer.” I’m not sure how such a term came to be for a sales person. “Producer” does not sound any better to me than “salesman.” Either way, the title “producer” means, “to produce.” Ever try to explain to an attorney in a lawsuit why someone has the title “producer” but the person does not have to produce to keep their job?

A lot of producers in this industry haven’t produced in years. The job title does not really follow the job but we pretend it does and inside the industry, we all get it.

I’m not sure getting it is all that healthy.

Widespread acceptance of mediocrity is rarely healthy.

I have tried to explain to some really smart attorneys how producers do not have to produce. The result each time has been a question of, “If they do not have to produce but their

job description and title involves selling — per your opinion Mr. Burand — then why did ABC Agency continue to employ them even though they do not materially sell?”

That’s a heck of a good question, isn’t it?

Accounting Another interesting example is insurance company profitability. Within the industry, the most common measure of profitability is the combined ratio but the combined ratio leaves out investment income (among other factors). Investment income is important, contributing about 11 percent of earned premium annually in revenue. Ever try to explain in court why profitability really is not total profitability? It gets confusing quickly.

Insurance agency accounting takes insurance language to an entirely different orbit.

Accrual versus cash accounting conventions are fairly standard in most industries but insurance agencies rightly use both, simultaneously, thereby violating basic accounting standards. Using both simultaneously

is so far outside the norm that many CPAs, other industry experts, and tax attorneys cannot believe accounting like this could ever be correct.

Another example of insurance accounting that leaves accountants scratching their heads is the issue of credits. They tend to think credits are credits but obviously we have two kinds of credits. We have credits based on clients paying money ahead of their due date. The agency has the cash and a credit is developed that goes away at the effective date. That credit is very, very different from a credit where the agency has to return money to the client.

In the first scenario, the differences are just timing issues but in the second scenario, the agency has legal obligations to return actual cash dollars within a limited time. These credits have to be treated different (which is a key reason agency owners should look at their aged accounts receivable on a gross basis, not just a net basis).

When CPAs are advising clients how much cash to leave in the agency at year-end, they have to understand credits are not all equal if they are to give accurate advice.

Moreover, accrual versus cash does not even address the “earned” factor. Everyone in every industry believes they earn their money but insurance premiums and commissions are literally “earned” differently, with an objective schedule and special rules for certain situations.

This industry gives earning money an entirely different meaning.

Reserves How many times have you explained claims reserves? Even to insurance people reserves get confusing. Many people in the industry do not understand reserving language. A good example of this are Incurred But Not Reported (IBNR) claims reserves.

How can a claim exist that has not been reported? The term, at least on the surface, almost seems oxymoronic and contradictory. continued on page 34 www.insurancejournal.com

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continued from page 32 Then you have policy language. The old joke — which is not really a joke, especially to new people and people outside the industry — is how insurance policies grant coverage, then take some (most) of the coverage away, and then maybe give some (or not) back in some other provision leaving many to wonder exactly what coverage they actually have. To insurance geeks this language may be acceptable and even fun because it is a puzzle. To normal people, such language is nothing but excessively complex, frustrating, and designed to rip them off.

Growth & Volume An interesting pair of terms lately has been tripping up even experienced insurance company people and agency people.

The terms are “growth” and “volume.” I’ve noticed people are using the terms synonymously. The terms are absolutely not synonymous.

Growth leads to volume but volume does not lead to growth. Growth is a percentage while volume is a dollar amount. Currently, when many companies ask for more volume, they really mean a higher growth rate.

The problem is that agency owners hear volume, they may think that buying another agency or forming a cluster is the solution.

For example, if the buyer has a $1 million book with Company A and they buy an

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agency with a $1 million book with the same carrier, the buyer can now give the carrier a book of $2 million.

That is volume. However, if the company means they want growth but say volume, this strategy completely fails.

Another key point here is that equal growth does not always produce the same volume and companies seem to be struggling to understand this important point.

For example, 10 percent growth on a $1 million book is not the same thing as 10 percent growth on a $10 million book. Language used well with a clear understanding go hand-in-hand.

Unfortunately, I do not have confidence that many insurance company people understand or take the time to use the language correctly, to their own detriment.

Language, in every business, is Widespread crucial to success. acceptance of The insurance mediocrity is industry is one of the oldest indusrarely healthy. tries in the world and has developed its own language. (For real nerds you know that some of the policy language originated 100 years ago in industries that for all practical purposes no longer exist, but the insurance policy language serves as an historic legacy.)

Take a little time to be cognizant of these important nuances and points when talking “insurance” to inexperienced people so they clearly understand your message. Some legal issues might clear, new people will be trained faster, clients will be happier, and accountants might grudgingly agree that insurance agency accounting makes a little sense after all.

Burand is the founder and owner of Burand & Associates LLC based in Pueblo, Colo. Phone: 719485-3868. E-mail: chris@burand-associates.com.

1/22/15 9:04 AM

www.insurancejournal.com

2015

2013 Hospitality Risks Directory

Hospitality Risks Directory

S

earching for the right market for a hard-to-place hospitality risk? Look no further than Insurance Journal’s Hospitality Risks Directory — a comprehensive listing of excess and surplus lines intermediaries and carriers offering hospitality risks coverage nationwide.

The information listed in this directory has been compiled to serve as a resource guide for independent agents and brokers looking for superior markets for everything from nightclubs to special events, hotels to motels, spas, resorts and restaurants too.

All markets profiled in this directory have been updated with the most current information available provided directly by the intermediaries and carriers writing the coverage. IJ has made every attempt to ensure the accuracy of all information listed in this directory.

To submit a listing for future Hospitality Risks directories, e-mail Kristine Honey at: khoney@insurancejournal.com. We hope you find IJ’s 2015 Hospitality Risks Directory to be a useful tool when searching for quality markets.

To comment on this directory, or any other Insurance Journal resource, please e-mail: editorial@insurancejournal.com.

Banquet Halls

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Ashley General Agency Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Bass Underwriters

Braishfield Associates, Inc. Brecht & Associates Burns & Wilcox CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices

Cochrane & Company Connecticut Underwriters, Inc. CPRO Associates www.insurancejournal.com

States Available MA RI CA IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO NE OH WI CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States IL IN KY MI OH TN TX Many States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA All States TX All States All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA ID MT OR WA CT MA ME NH NJ RI PA AR OK TN TX

Banquet Halls CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Founders Insurance Company

Gabor Insurance Services, Inc. Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. J.M. Wilson James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc.

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

McClelland and Hine, Inc. Monitor Liability Managers Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RCA Insurance Group RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA Specialty Insurance

SUITELIFE by Venture Insurance Programs Swett & Crawford TAPCO Underwriters, Inc. Tejas American General Agency The McGowan Companies Towerstone, Inc. U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services

All States CA All States OK TX AL CO CT FL IA IL IN KS LA MD MI MN MT NC NH NV NY OH OR TN VA WI FL CA Most States NJ NY All States All States Most States All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AR KS LA NM OK TX AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States TX All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN All States AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI TX All States Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA Most- see website for specifics CA CT MA ME NH NY RI VT All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States AL FL GA SC TN CA CT DE FL GA IL MA MD MI MN MO NJ NY OH PA RI TN TX All States All States Most States TX All States Most States All States CA All except Monopolistic All States IL MO LA ND NM OK TX CA

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N35

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Bars/Night Clubs

Bars/Night Clubs

Bars / Night Clubs coverage category sponsored by: Regency Insurance Brokerage Services - check out our ad on page 3 (Southeast & East)

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. ACE Westchester Specialty--Property Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Advanced E&S Group - Southeast (Taverns - no clubs) Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Ashley General Agency Bass Underwriters

Braishfield Associates, Inc. Brecht & Associates Burns & Wilcox Camford National Insurance Brokers, LLC. CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Cochrane & Company Connecticut Underwriters, Inc. CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Founders Insurance Company

Gabor Insurance Services, Inc. Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Horizon E & S Insurance Brokerage Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC International Excess Companies IPC Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. J.M. Wilson Jacobs & Associates James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc.

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

MAXIMUM McClelland and Hine, Inc. Midlands Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc.

States Available MA RI CA All States IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO NE OH WI All states except KY CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States IL IN KY MI OH TN TX AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA All States TX All States All States All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA ID MT OR WA CT MA ME NH NJ RI PA AR OK TN TX All States CA OK TX All States AL CO CT FL IA IL IN KS LA MD MI MN MT NC NH NV NY OH OR TN VA WI FL CA Most States NJ NY AZ CA NV WA AZ CA CO ID MT NV OR TX WA All States All States AZ CA ID NV OR WA All States Most States OH All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AR KS LA NM OK TX AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States TX Most States All States

N36 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 9, 2015

Market N-Surance Outlets, Inc. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Partners Specialty Group, LLC Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities Promont Advisors, LLC Promont Specialty (no nightclubs) Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RCA Insurance Group (and Taverns) Regency Insurance Brokerage Services RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. RMS Hospitality Group Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA Specialty Insurance (and Taverns)

Swett & Crawford Tejas American General Agency Towerstone, Inc. U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USASIA Insurance Services USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Western Special Risks, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC

States Available AL FL GA LA NC SC TN AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI All States TX All States All States All States Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA Most- see website for specifics

State availability varies - call us!

CA CT MA ME NH NY RI VT All States All except AK VT WV IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States AL FL GA SC TN CA CT DE FL GA IL MA MD MI MN MO NJ NY OH PA RI TN TX All States TX Most States All States CA All except Monopolistic CA NV All States IL MO CA TX AZ NV LA ND NM OK TX CA All States

Bed & Breakfasts

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Appleby & Sterling Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana

States Available MA RI IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO NE OH WI CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States AZ CA NV IL IN KY MI OH TN www.insurancejournal.com

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Bed & Breakfasts

Market Ashley General Agency Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates Burns & Wilcox CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

CITA Insurance Services Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices

Cochrane & Company Connecticut Underwriters, Inc. CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey IPC J.M. Wilson James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

McClelland and Hine, Inc. Monitor Liability Managers Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Philadelphia Insurance Companies Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities Promont Advisors, LLC Promont Specialty (GL & Liquor only) Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA SUITELIFE by Venture Insurance Programs Swett & Crawford TAPCO Underwriters, Inc. Tejas American General Agency www.insurancejournal.com

Bed & Breakfasts States Available TX Many States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA TX All States All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA All States AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA ID MT OR WA CT MA ME NH NJ RI PA AR OK TN TX All States CA OK TX All States CA Most States NJ NY AZ CA ID NV OR WA Most States All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AR KS LA NM OK TX AK AZ CA HI NV All States TX All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN All States AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI TX Most States All States All States All States (no GL in LA) Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA CA All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States AL FL GA SC TN All States All States Most States TX

Market The McGowan Companies Towerstone, Inc. U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Special Risks, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services

States Available All States Most States All States CA All except Monopolistic All States IL MO AZ NV LA ND NM OK TX CA

Breweries/Micro

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. ACE Westchester Specialty--Property Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Appleby & Sterling Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc. NV OR PA TN TX UT WA Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices

Cochrane & Company CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Delta General Agency Corp.

Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Founders Insurance Company

Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC International Excess Companies IPC Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. J.M. Wilson Jacobs & Associates James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst M.J. Hall & Company, Inc.

States Available MA RI CA All States CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States AZ CA NV IL IN KY MI OH TN AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA TX All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA ID MT OR WA AR OK TN TX All States CA TX OK TX All States AL CO CT FL IA IL IN KS LA MD MI MN MT NC NH NV NY OH OR TN VA WI CA Most States NJ NY AZ CA CO ID MT NV OR TX WA All States All States AZ CA ID NV OR WA All States Most States OH All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AR KS LA NM OK TX AK AZ CA HI NV

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N37

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Casinos

Breweries/Micro

Market Market Finders Insurance Corp.

Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Partners Specialty Group, LLC Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RCA Insurance Group RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Specialty Insurance

Swett & Crawford Tejas American General Agency Towerstone, Inc. U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC

States Available All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI All States TX All States Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA Most- see website for specifics CA CT MA ME NH NY RI VT All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States CA CT DE FL GA IL MA MD MI MN MO NJ NY OH PA RI TN TX All States TX Most States All States CA All except Monopolistic All States IL MO CA All States

Casinos

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. ACE Westchester Specialty--Property Agency Intermediaries, Inc. American Specialty Ins. & Risk Services, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Cochrane & Company CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC

States Available MA RI All States CT ME All States Has Pen, All States All States All States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA TX All States CA NJ NV NY ID MT OR WA AR OK TN TX All States All States OK TX

N38 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 9, 2015

Market Executive Perils Fulcrum Insurance Programs Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. James River Insurance Company K & K Insurance Group, Inc. LevelFirst Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc.

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. MAXIMUM Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Swett & Crawford U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC

States Available All States All States Most States All States All States All States AR KS LA NM OK TX AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI TX CA All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States All States All except Monopolistic All States IL MO CA All States

Caterers

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Ashley General Agency Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Bass Underwriters

Braishfield Associates, Inc. Brecht & Associates CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices

Cochrane & Company Connecticut Underwriters, Inc. CPRO Associates

States Available MA RI CA IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO NE OH WI CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States IL IN KY MI OH TN TX Many States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA All States TX All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA ID MT OR WA CT MA ME NH NJ RI PA AR OK TN TX www.insurancejournal.com

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Caterers

Market CRC Insurance Services Delta General Agency Corp.

Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Founders Insurance Company

Gabor Insurance Services, Inc. Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

International Excess Companies J.M. Wilson Jacobs & Associates James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc. (Large Caterers)

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

McClelland and Hine, Inc. Monitor Liability Managers Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Partners Specialty Group, LLC Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities ProHost USA Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RCA Insurance Group Regency Insurance Brokerage Services RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA Specialty Insurance (and Delis)

Swett & Crawford TAPCO Underwriters, Inc. Tejas American General Agency The McGowan Companies Towerstone, Inc. www.insurancejournal.com

Caterers States Available All States TX All States OK TX All States AL CO CT FL IA IL IN KS LA MD MI MN MT NC NH NV NY OH OR TN VA WI FL CA Most States NJ NY AZ CA CO ID MT NV OR TX WA All States Most States OH All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AR KS LA NM OK TX AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States TX All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN All States AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI All States TX All States All States except AK Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA Most- see website for specifics

State availability varies - call us!

CA CT MA ME NH NY RI VT All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States AL FL GA SC TN CA CT DE FL GA IL MA MD MI MN MO NJ NY OH PA RI TN TX All States Most States TX All States Most States

Market U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Western Special Risks, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC

States Available All States All except Monopolistic All States IL MO CA TX AZ NV LA ND NM OK TX CA All States

Dinner Theaters

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Cochrane & Company CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Delta General Agency Corp.

Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC J.M. Wilson James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

K & K Insurance Group, Inc. LevelFirst Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc.

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

McClelland and Hine, Inc. Monitor Liability Managers Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

States Available MA RI CA CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States IL IN KY MI OH TN AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA TX All States CA NJ NV NY ID MT OR WA AR OK TN TX All States CA TX All States OK TX All States Most States NJ NY All States Most States All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV All States AR KS LA NM OK TX AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States TX All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN All States AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N39

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Dinner Theaters

Market Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Philadelphia Insurance Companies Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA Swett & Crawford Tejas American General Agency U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC

Gentleman’s Clubs States Available TX Most States All States Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA CA CT MA ME NH NY RI VT All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States AL FL GA SC TN All States TX All States CA All except Monopolistic All States IL MO CA All States

Gentlemen’s Clubs

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Bass Underwriters

Braishfield Associates, Inc. CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc.

States Available MA RI CA CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States IL IN KY MI OH TN AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA All States All States CA NJ NV NY

CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Cochrane & Company CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Founders Insurance Company

Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Horizon E & S Insurance Brokerage Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC J.M. Wilson Jacobs & Associates James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA ID MT OR WA All States CA OK TX All States AL CO CT FL IA IL IN KS LA MD MI MN MT NC NH NV NY OH OR TN VA WI CA Most States NJ NY AZ CA NV WA All States Most States OH All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV

N40 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 9, 2015

Market LevelFirst Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc.

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

MAXIMUM McClelland and Hine, Inc. Midlands Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc.

Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Partners Specialty Group, LLC Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RCA Insurance Group Regency Insurance Brokerage Services RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. RMS Hospitality Group Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Swett & Crawford Tejas American General Agency Towerstone, Inc. U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC

States Available AR KS LA NM OK TX AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States TX Most States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA

AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI All States TX Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA Most- see website for specifics

State availability varies - call us!

CA All States All except AK VT WV IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States All States TX Most States All States CA All except Monopolistic All States IL MO CA All States

Hotels/Motels Hotels / Motels coverage category sponsored by: McClelland and Hine, Inc. - check out our ad on page 5 (South Central) & page 4 (Southeast)

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. ACE Westchester Specialty--Property Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Advanced E&S Group - Southeast Region Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. American Union Risk Associates, LLC AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc.

States Available MA RI All States IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO NE OH WI All states except KY CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States All States www.insurancejournal.com

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Hotels/Motels

Hotels/Motels

Hotels / Motels coverage category sponsored by: McClelland and Hine, Inc. - check out our ad on page 5 (South Central) & page 4 (Southeast)

Market Appleby & Sterling Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Ashley General Agency Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates Burns & Wilcox CapSpecialty CITA Insurance Services Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices

Cochrane & Company Connecticut Underwriters, Inc. CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Delta General Agency Corp.

Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Fulcrum Insurance Programs Gabor Insurance Services, Inc. Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Horizon E & S Insurance Brokerage Hotels & Resorts Insurance Program – CITA Ins. Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC International Excess Companies IPC Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. J.M. Wilson Jacobs & Associates James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

KZ Insurance Brokerage, LLC LevelFirst M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

MAXIMUM McClelland and Hine, Inc. Midlands Monitor Liability Managers Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. Motel Insurance Brokers, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New Empire Group New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

www.insurancejournal.com

States Available AZ CA NV IL IN KY MI OH TN TX Many States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA TX All States All States All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA ID MT OR WA CT MA ME NH NJ RI PA AR OK TN TX All States CA TX All States OK TX All States All States FL CA Most States NJ NY AZ CA NV WA All States AZ CA CO ID MT NV OR TX WA All States All States AZ CA ID NV OR WA All States Most States OH All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AZ CA CO LA NV TN AR KS LA NM OK TX AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States TX Most States All States All States Most States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN All States AZ CA NV All States CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT

Market NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Partners Specialty Group, LLC Patriot National Underwriters, Inc.

Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities

Promont Advisors, LLC Promont Specialty (GL & Liquor only) Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company Regency Insurance Brokerage Services RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Sangamon Associates/Hotel Excess Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA SUITELIFE by Venture Insurance Programs Swett & Crawford TAPCO Underwriters, Inc. Tejas American General Agency The McGowan Companies Towerstone, Inc. Travelers U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc.

UCA General Insurance Services, Inc.

Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Special Risks, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC Zurich Programs

States Available All States MA All States TX

All States

All States All States (no GL in LA) Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA

State availability varies - call us!

CA All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States All States AL FL GA SC TN All States All States Most States TX All States Most States All States All States

AZ CA ID IL NV OR UT WA WI CA All except Monopolistic All States IL MO AZ NV LA ND NM OK TX CA All States Nationwide

Resorts Resorts coverage category sponsored by:

ACE Insurance- check out our ad on page 23 (National section)

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. ACE Westchester Specialty--Property Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates Burns & Wilcox CapSpecialty

States Available MA RI All States CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States IL IN KY MI OH TN Many States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA TX All States All States

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N41

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Resorts

Market Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CITA Insurance Services Cochrane & Company CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Delta General Agency Corp.

Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Fulcrum Insurance Programs Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Hotels & Resorts Insurance Program – CITA Ins. Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. J.M. Wilson James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

K & K Insurance Group, Inc. LevelFirst M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

MAXIMUM MexiPass International Insurance Services, LLC Monitor Liability Managers Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Philadelphia Insurance Companies Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities Promont Specialty (GL & Liquor only) Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA SUITELIFE by Venture Insurance Programs Tejas American General Agency The McGowan Companies Travelers Southern Cross Underwriters Swett & Crawford U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Willis Programs, ResortGuard Ins. Program Wright Insurance Services, LLC Zurich Programs

States Available CA NJ NV NY All States ID MT OR WA AR OK TN TX All States TX OK TX All States All States CA Most States All States All States Most States All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV All States AR KS LA NM OK TX AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States All States All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI TX Most States All States All States (no GL in LA) Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA CA All States IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

AL FL GA SC TN All States TX All States All States All States All States All States All except Monopolistic All States IL MO CA All States All States Nationwide

N42 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 9, 2015

Restaurants Restaurants coverage category sponsored by:

Brecht & Associates - check out our ad on pg 6 (South Central) Burns & Wilcox - we’re on page N7 (National) & pg 7 (West) M.J. Hall & Company - check us out on page 12 (West)

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. ACE Westchester Specialty--Property Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Advanced E&S Group - Southeast Region Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Appleby & Sterling Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Ashley General Agency Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Bass Underwriters

Braishfield Associates, Inc. Brecht & Associates Burns & Wilcox CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices Cochrane & Company Connecticut Underwriters, Inc. CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Crusader Insurance Company Delta General Agency Corp.

Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Founders Insurance Company

Gabor Insurance Services, Inc. Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey HCC Specialty (MA) Horizon E & S Insurance Brokerage Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC International Excess Companies IPC (includes Food Delivery) Irving Weber Associates, Inc. (no Fast Food) Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. J.M. Wilson Jacobs & Associates James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

KZ Insurance Brokerage, LLC LevelFirst

States Available MA RI CA All States IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO NE OH WI All states except KY CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States AZ CA NV IL IN KY MI OH TN TX Many States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA All States TX All States All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA

ID MT OR WA CT MA ME NH NJ RI PA AR OK TN TX All States CA TX All States OK TX All States AL CO CT FL IA IL IN KS LA MD MI MN MT NC NH NV NY OH OR TN VA WI FL CA Most States NJ NY All States AZ CA NV WA AZ CA CO ID MT NV OR TX WA All States All States AZ CA ID NV OR WA All States All States Most States OH All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AZ CA CO LA NV TN AR KS LA NM OK TX www.insurancejournal.com

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Restaurants

Market Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc.

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

MAXIMUM McClelland and Hine, Inc. Midlands Monitor Liability Managers Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc.

Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities

Spas States Available AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States TX Most States All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI TX

All States

ProHost USA Promont Advisors, LLC Promont Specialty Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company RCA Insurance Group Regency Insurance Brokerage Services RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. RMS Hospitality Group Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA Specialty Insurance (and Delis)

Swett & Crawford TAPCO Underwriters, Inc. Target Market Specialists Tejas American General Agency The McGowan Companies Towerstone, Inc. Travelers U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc.

All States All States AL FL GA SC TN CA CT DE FL GA IL MA MD MI MN MO NJ NY OH PA RI TN TX All States Most States All States TX All States Most States All States All States

Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USASIA Insurance Services USG Insurance Services, Inc.

CA All except Monopolistic CA NV All States

UCA General Insurance Services, Inc.

W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Western Special Risks, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC www.insurancejournal.com

All States except AK All States All States Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA Most- see website for specifics

State availability varies - call us!

CA CT MA ME NH NY RI VT All States All except AK VT WV IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

AZ CA ID IL NV OR UT WA WI

IL MO CA TX AZ NV LA ND NM OK TX CA All States

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Appleby & Sterling Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Ashley General Agency Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Bass Underwriters

Braishfield Associates, Inc. Burns & Wilcox CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices Cochrane & Company CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Executive Perils Gabor Insurance Services, Inc. Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

International Excess Companies Izzo Insurance Services, Inc. J.M. Wilson James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Philadelphia Insurance Companies Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities Professional Program Insurance Brokerage Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company Regency Insurance Brokerage Services RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc.

States Available MA RI CA CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States AZ CA NV IL IN KY MI OH TN TX Many States AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA All States All States All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA

ID MT OR WA AR OK TN TX All States All States OK TX All States FL CA Most States NJ NY AZ CA CO ID MT NV OR TX WA All States All States Most States All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV AR KS LA NM OK TX AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN All States AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI TX Most States All States Most States Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA

State availability varies - call us!

CA All States

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N43

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory Spas

Market Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) SASSI - Salon & Spa Specialty Insurance Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA SUITELIFE by Venture Insurance Programs Swett & Crawford TAPCO Underwriters, Inc. Tejas American General Agency Towerstone, Inc. U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Special Risks, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services Wright Insurance Services, LLC Zurich Programs

Special Events States Available IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

Most States All States AL FL GA SC TN All States All States Most States TX Most States All States All except Monopolistic All States IL MO AZ NV LA ND NM OK TX CA All States Nationwide

Special Events Special Events coverage category sponsored by:

Abram Interstate - check out our ad on page 4 (West Region)

Market A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc. Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc. Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Advanced E&S Group - Southeast Region Agency Intermediaries, Inc. All Risks, Ltd. American Specialty Ins. & Risk Services, Inc. AmWINS Group, Inc. Anderson & Murison, Inc. Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana Ashley General Agency Bass Underwriters

Braishfield Associates, Inc. Brecht & Associates Burns & Wilcox CapSpecialty Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc. CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

Cochrane & Company Connecticut Underwriters, Inc. CPRO Associates CRC Insurance Services Delta General Agency Corp.

Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon) Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC Founders Insurance Company

Gabor Insurance Services, Inc.

States Available MA RI CA IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO NE OH WI All states except KY CT ME Has Pen, All States All States All States All States IL IN KY MI OH TN TX AL CA CO FL GA LA MS NJ NV NY OR PA SC TX WA All States TX All States All States CA NJ NV NY AZ CA CO ID MD NE NM NV OR PA TN TX UT WA ID MT OR WA CT MA ME NH NJ RI PA AR OK TN TX All States TX All States OK TX AL CO CT FL IA IL IN KS LA MD MI MN MT NC NH NV NY OH OR TN VA WI FL

N44 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 9, 2015

Market Gateway Specialty Insurance Gorst & Compass Insurance Gray-Stone & Company, Inc. Gremesco Of New Jersey HCC Specialty (MA) Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

International Excess Companies J.M. Wilson Jacobs & Associates James River Insurance Company Jimcor Agencies

K & K Insurance Group, Inc. LevelFirst Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc. (Large Events)

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc. Market Finders Insurance Corp.

MAXIMUM McClelland and Hine, Inc. MexiPass International Insurance Services, LLC Midlands Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc. N-Surance Outlets, Inc. Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Partners Specialty Group, LLC Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. Philadelphia Insurance Companies Quaker Special Risk Quirk & Company Regency Insurance Brokerage Services RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc. Risk Placement Services, Inc. RMS Hospitality Group Roush Insurance Services, Inc. RSI International, Inc. (Missouri) Southern Cross Underwriters Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA Swett & Crawford TAPCO Underwriters, Inc. Tejas American General Agency The McGowan Companies Towerstone, Inc. U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. Unisource Program Administrators USASIA Insurance Services USG Insurance Services, Inc. W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc. Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Western Special Risks, Inc. Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc. Wholesale Connection Insurance Services

States Available All except AK LA WV CA Most States NJ NY All States AZ CA CO ID MT NV OR TX WA All States Most States OH All States DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH PA RI WV All States AR KS LA NM OK TX AZ CA CO HI ID NM NV OK TX UT WA WY AK AZ CA HI NV All States All States TX All States Most States All States AL FL GA LA NC SC TN All States AZ CA NV CT MA ME NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT All States MA AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS MO MT NE NM NV OK OR TX UT WA WI All States TX Most States Most States LA NM OK OR TX WA

State availability varies - call us!

CA All States All except AK VT WV IL IN OH

AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN

All States AL FL GA SC TN All States Most States TX All States Most States All States All except Monopolistic CA NV All States IL MO CA TX AZ NV LA ND NM OK TX CA

www.insurancejournal.com

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory - Alphabetical Directory of Markets

2013 HospitalityCITARisks Directory Insurance Services

A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc.

Appleby & Sterling

183 Davis St., Douglas, MA 01516 Phone: 508-476-1990, Fax: 508-476-1991 Email: info@agencyint.com www.agencyint.com

2290 Agate Ct., Ste. D, Simi Valley, CA 93065 Phone: 805-583-9828, Fax: 805-583-9832 Email: mike@applebyandsterling.com www.applebyandsterling.com

681 S. Parker St., Orange, CA 92868 Phone: 714-939-7420, Fax: 714-939-7437 Email: hotels@citainsurance.com www.citainsurance.com

Abram Interstate Ins. Services, Inc.

Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana

Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices

2211 Plaza Dr., Ste. 100, Rocklin, CA 95765 Phone: 916-780-7000, Fax: 916-780-7181 Email: media@abraminterstate.com www.abraminterstate.com

ACE Westchester Specialty--Property

8900 Keystone Crossing, Ste. 800 Indianapolis, IN 46240 Phone: 800-878-9891, Fax: 888-552-9891 Email: info@arlingtonroe.com www.arlingtonroe.com

San Francisco: Caroline Barwick - Phone: 415-547-4568 Email: caroline.barwick@acegroup.com Atlanta: John Lavin - Phone: 678-795-4022 Email: John.Lavin@acegroup.com www.acewestchester.com

Ashley General Agency

Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC

500 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 1039, Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: 866-867-0505, Fax: 312-245-3001 Email: quote@advancede-s.com www.aesins.com

4365 Executive Dr., Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92121 Phone: 877-66-ATLAS, Fax: 619-814-8914 Email: info@atlas.us.com www.atlas.us.com

Advanced E&S Group - Southeast Region

Bass Underwriters

3250 N. 29th Ave., Hollywood, FL 33020 Phone: 954-842-7826, Fax: 904-834-4479 Email: tstevens@advancedesgroup.com www.advancedesgroup.com

6951 W. Sunrise Blvd., Plantation, FL 33313 Phone: 954-473-4488, Fax: 954-316-3100 Email: businessdevelopment@bassuw.com www.bassuw.com

Agency Intermediaries, Inc.

Braishfield Associates, Inc.

1575 Boston Post Rd., Guilford, CT 06437 Phone: 203-453-2859, Fax: 203-453-8859 Email: info@agencyint.com www.agencyint.com

Cochrane & Company

P.O. Box 19150, Spokane, WA 99219 Phone: 509-838-0655, Fax: 509-838-1710 Email: marketing@cochraneco.com www.cochraneco.com

2040 N. Loop 336 W, Ste. 200, Conroe, TX 77304 Phone: 936-441-5959, Fax: 936-521-5922 Email: rcranford@ashleyga.com www.ashleyga.com

Connecticut Underwriters, Inc.

421 Wadsworth St., Middletown, CT 06457 Phone: 860-347-9600, Fax: 860-347-9611 Email: info@CTUnderwriters.com www.ctunderwriters.com

CPRO Associates

5501 LBJ Fwy., Ste 240, Dallas, TX 75240 Phone: 972-598-0400 Email: mhardin@cproassociates.com www.cproassociates.com

CRC Insurance Services - All Offices

2966 Commerce Park Dr., Ste. 350, Orlando, FL 32819 Phone: 407-825-9911, Fax: 407-825-9737 Email: info@braishfield.com www.braishfield.com

All Risks, Ltd.

See Website for Locations Headquarters - Birmingham, AL 35209 Phone: 205-870-7790, Fax: 205-879-3739 Email: marketing@crcins.com www.crcins.com

Crusader Insurance Company

10150 York Rd., 5th Fl, Hunt Valley, MD 21030 Phone: 800-366-5810, Fax: 410-828-8179 Email: allrisksij@allrisks.com www.allrisks.com

American Specialty Insurance & Risk Services, Inc.

See Website for Addresses, HQ - San Jose, CA 95037 Phone: 800-411-0083, Fax: 408-227-7732 Email: carol@ckspecialty.com www.ckspecialty.com

23251 Mulholland Dr., Woodland Hills, CA 91364 Phone: 800-669-9800, Fax: 818-591-9856 Email: dklayman@crusaderinsurance.com www.crusaderinsurance.com

Brecht & Associates

Delta General Agency Corp.

7609 W. Jefferson Blvd., Ste. 100, Fort Wayne, IN 46804 Phone: 260-969-5203, Fax: 260-969-4729 Email: sbatt@amerspec.com for Casinos Email: zachm@amerspec.com for Special Events www.amerspec.com

1450 Hughes Rd., Ste. 109, Grapevine, TX 76051 Phone: 817-424-5335, Fax: 817-424-3772 Email: jbrecht@brechtassoc.com www.brechtassoc.com

P.O. Box 2045, Houston, TX 77252 Phone: 713-570-2700, Fax: 713-570-2800 Email: billf@deltains.com www.deltains.com

American Union Risk Associates, LLC

Burns & Wilcox - All Offices See Website for Locations HQ - Detroit/Farmington Hills Phone: 248-932-9000, Fax: 248-932-9046 Email: quote@burns-wilcox.com www.burnsandwilcox.com

Entertainment Brokers International A member of the OneBeacon Insurance Group

1250 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd., Ste. 1003 Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 Phone: 954-362-1520, Fax: 954-362-1527 Email: Thomas.Clementi@aurains.com www.aurains.com

CapSpecialty

1600 Aspen Commons, Middleton, WI 53562 Phone: 608-829-4200, Fax: 608-829-7408 Email: marketing-agency@CapSpecialty.com www.capspecialty.com

AmWINS Group, Inc. - 80 Offices Nationwide See Website for Locations - HQ - Charlotte, NC 28210 Phone: 704-973-3489, Fax: 704-943-9000 Email: marketing@amwins.com www.amwins.com

Anderson & Murison, Inc.

800 W. Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041 Phone: 323-255-2333, Fax: 323-255-0957 Email: jmccarthy@amqts.com www.andersonmurison.com www.insurancejournal.com

Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc.

16800 Devonshire St., Granada Hills, CA 91344 Phone: 818-923-6090, Fax: 818-923-6203 Email: rchopra@choprainsurance.com www.choprainsurance.com

1100 Glendon Ave., Ste. 900, Los Angeles, CA 90024 Phone: 781-332-8450, Fax: 866-934-4992 Email: pwilliams@onebeacon.com www.onebeacon.com

Executive Insurance Professionals, PLLC 6001 W. Interstate 20, Ste. 214, Arlington, TX 76017

Phone: 800-779-4095, Fax: 866-779-4331 Email: cheryl@execins.com www.execins.com

Executive Perils 11845 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. 750, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Phone: 310-444-9333 ext. 145, Fax: 310-444-9355 Email: damienm@eperils.com www.eperils.com

CID Insurance Programs, Inc.

7125 El Cajon Blvd. Ste 3, San Diego, CA 92115 Phone: 800-922-7283, Fax: 619-593-2008 Email: Teresa@cidinsurance.com www.agostiniwholesale.com

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N45

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory - Alphabetical Directory of Markets

2013 Hospitality Risks Directory Hotels & Resorts Insurance Program – CITA Insurance Services

681 S. Parker St., Ste. 300, Orange, CA 92868 Phone: 714-939-7420, Fax: 714-939-7437 Email: sbaxter@citainsurance.com www.citainsurance.com

Founders Insurance Company

1111 E. Touhy Ave., Des Plaines, IL 60018 Contact: Pat Vaulman Phone: 800-768-0040 ext 2562, Fax: 847-296-3362 Email: pvaulman@foundersinsurance.com www.foundersinsurance.com

Founders is a multi-state specialty carrier, serving the insurance needs of independent agents for over 100 years.

Founders specializes in writing Liquor Liability and Special Events (liquor & GL*) coverages for the hospitality industry.

Founders is rated “A-” or “Excellent” by A.M. Best, and is a member of the Utica National Insurance Group. * (excludes AL, FL)

Fulcrum Insurance Programs

11235 SE 6th St., Bellevue, WA 98004 Phone: 425-453-5157, Fax: 425-454-8233 Email: drowland@fulcrumprograms.com www.fulcrumprograms.com

Gabor Insurance Services, Inc.

Gabor Insurance Services, Inc. Phone: 786-924-7055, Fax: 786-924-7065 Email: Mgabor@gaborinsurance.com www.gaborinsurance.com

Gateway Specialty Insurance

1170 Devon Park Dr., Wayne, PA 19087 Phone: 877-977-4474, Fax: 610-254-1855 Email: info@gatewayspecialty.com www.gatewayspecialty.com

Gorst & Compass Insurance

9310 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Chatsworth, CA 91311 Phone: 818-507-0900, Fax: 818-507-1133 Email: mail@gorstcompass.com www.gorstcompass.com

Gray-Stone & Company, Inc.

275 E. Hillcrest Dr., Ste. 250, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 Phone: 805-494-4440, Fax: 805-494-8798 Email: info@gray-stone.com ; hstone@gray-stone.com www.gray-stone.com

Gremesco Of New Jersey

1711 Ginesi Dr., Freehold, NJ 07728 Phone: 732-761-9904, Fax: 732-761-9905 Email: wendy.certo@gremesconj.com www.gremesconj.com

Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency

K & K Insurance Group, Inc.

1915 NW AmberGlen Pky, Ste. 450, Beaverton, OR 97006 Phone: 503-526-9700 , Fax: 503-626-2260 Email: submissions@ies-xs.com www.ies-xs.com

1712 Magnavox Way, Ft. Wayne, IN 46804 Phone: 877-648-6404, Fax: 260-459-5502 Email: kk.general@kandkinsurance.com www.kandkinsurance.com

Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC

Leading provider of specialty insurance programs for the sport, leisure and entertainment industries.

365 W. Passaic St., Ste. 225, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662 Phone: 201-880-1891, Fax: 201-880-1895 Email: inquiry@insurancemultiplex.com www.insurancemultiplex.com

International Excess Companies

3700 Park East Dr., Ste. 250, Beachwood, OH 44122 Phone: 216-797-9700, Fax: 216-797-9970 Email: kennethkukral@intlxs.com www.intlxs.com

IPC

P.O. Box 1150, Gardnerville, NV 89410 Phone: 775-782-6655, Fax: 775-782-6654 Email: tammy@ipc-nv.com www.ipc-nv.com

Irving Weber Associates, Inc. (IWA) 761 Koehler Ave., Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 Phone: 855-661-4557, Fax: 888-622-0414 Email: info@iwains.com www.iwains.com

Izzo Insurance Services, Inc.

150 S. Bloomingdale Rd., Bloomingdale, IL 60108 Phone: 800-800-1704, Fax: 630-582-2803 Email: MJones@IzzoInsurance.com Email: DIglesias@IzzoInsurance.com www.IzzoInsurance.com

Horizon E & S Insurance Brokerage

2245 First St., Ste. 211b, Simi Valley, CA 93065 Phone: 805-494-6553, 805-494-6778 Email: submissions@horizonsurplus.com www.horizonsurplus.com

5501 LBJ Fwy, Ste. 720, Dallas, TX 75240 Phone: 214-702-9389, Fax: 214-736-8628 Email: jmack@iiat.org www.level1st.com

Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc. 2742 Kingclaven Dr., Henderson, NV 89044 Phone: 702-834-8140 Fax: 702-834-8140 Email: lionheartins@msn.com

M.J. Hall & Company, Inc.

P.O. Box 192, Stockton, CA 95201 Phone: 209-948-8108, Fax: 209-465-3843 Email: mindy@mjhallandcompany.com www.mjhallandcompany.com

Market Finders Insurance Corp

P.O. Box 6549, Louisville, KY 40206 Phone: 800-626-5660, Fax: 502-426-7970 Email: info@mfic.com www.mfic.com

J.M. Wilson

8036 Moorsbridge Rd., Portage, MI 49024 Phone: 800-282-8113, Fax: 269-327-2620 Email: cbaldwin@jmwilson.com www.jmwilson.com

Jacobs & Associates

12782 Prospect Rd., Strongsville, OH 44149 Phone: 440-625-2690, Fax: 440-625-2731 Email: jim@jacobsnow.com www.jacobsnow.com

HCC Specialty (MA)

401 Edgewater Pl., Ste. 400, Wakefield, MA 01880 Phone: 800-927-6306, 781-994-6001 Email: mmatheson@hcc.com www.hccspecialty.com

LevelFirst

MAXIMUM

222 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 2340, Chicago, IL 60606 Phone: 312-559-9348, Fax: 312-559-0930 Email: joem@maxib.com www.maxib.com

McClelland and Hine, Inc.

P.O. Box 700930, San Antonio, TX 78270 Phone: 800-333-2017, Fax: 210-366-2407 Email: shannon@mhi-mga.com www.mhi-mga.com

MexiPass International Insurance Services, LLC

James River Insurance Company 6641 W. Broad St., Ste. 300, Richmond, VA 23230 Phone: 804-289-2700, Fax: 804-549-5087 Email: info@jamesriverins.com www.jamesriverins.com

Jimcor Agencies

60 Craig Rd., Montvale, NJ 07645 Phone: 201-573-8200, Fax: 201-573-8820 Email: dchiapperino@jimcor.com www.jimcor.com

N46 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 9, 2015

P.O. Box 60727, Pasadena, CA 91116 Phone: 800-639-4727, Fax: 800-639-4727 Email: jorge@mexipass.com www.mexipass.com

Midlands

3817 NW Expy, Ste. 1000, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 Phone: 800-800-4007, Fax: 800-800-4007 Email: marketing@midman.com www.midlandsmgt.com

www.insurancejournal.com

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory - Alphabetical Directory of Markets

2013 HospitalityRIC Risks Directory Insurance General Agency, Inc.

Monitor Liability Managers

Partners Specialty Group, LLC

2850 W. Golf Rd., Ste. 800, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 Phone: 800-446-2100 ext. 557, Fax: 847-806-6282 Email: contactus@monitorliability.com www.monitorliability.com

100 Tournament Dr., Ste. 214, Horsham PA 19044 Phone: 484-322-0400, Fax: 484-322-0401 Email: mcaviston@psgins.com www.www.psgins.com

2492 Walnut Ave., Ste. 250, Tustin, CA 92780 Phone: 800-310-1303, Fax: 800-842-3076 Email: ricins@ric-ins.com www.ric-ins.com

Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc.

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc. P.O. Box 803143, Dallas, TX 75380 Phone: 972-239-1458, Fax: 972-233-3487 Email: corky.ellis@patriotnational.com www.patriotnational.com

RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc.

1835 Banks Rd., Margate, FL 33063 Phone: 800-261-5177, Fax: 516-302-8951 Email: pwoodard@morstan.com www.morstan.com

Motel Insurance Brokers, Inc.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies One Bala Plaza, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 Phone: 800-873-4552, Fax: 610-617-7940 Email: phlysales@phlyins.com www.phly.com

Risk Placement Services, Inc.

801 International Pkwy, 5th Fl, Lake Mary, FL 32746 Phone: 866-387-8883, Fax: 800-466-5074 Email: info@motelinsurancebrokers.com www.motelinsurancebrokers.com

N-Surance Outlets, Inc.

Professional Liability Insurance Svcs, Inc. - Underwriting Facilities

1792 Woodstock Rd., Bldg. 200, Roswell, GA 30075 Phone: 770-971-9975, Fax: 770-971-7608 Email: jmurrey@nsoins.com www.nsoins.com

Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co. 7233 E. Butherus Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Phone: 480-951-0905, Fax: 480-951-9730 Email: sbentley@nautilus-ins.com www.nautilusinsgroup.com

NeitClem Wholesale Insurance Brokerage, Inc. 7442 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90041 Phone: 323-258-2600, Fax: 323-258-2676 Email: jcenteno@neitclem.com www.neitclem.com

New Empire Group

214 W. Park Ave., Long Beach, NY 11561 Phone: 516-431-8300, Fax: 516-431-5351 Email: jimo@newempiregroup.com www.newempiregroup.com

New England Excess Exchange, Ltd. P.O. Box 650, Barre, VT 05641 Phone: 800-548-4301, Fax: 800-347-4935 Email: achase@neee.com www.neee.com

NIF Group

30 Park Ave., Manhasset, NY 11030 Phone: 516-365-7440, Fax: 516-365-7392 Email: marketing@nifgroup.com www.nifgroup.com

Number One Insurance Agency, Inc. 91 Cedar St., Milford, MA 01757 Phone: 508-634-2902, Fax: 508-634-2930 Email: atobin@massagent.com www.massagent.com

Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing 6363 Katella Ave., Cypress, CA 90630 Phone: 800-222-5582, Fax: 714-228-7838 Email: marketing@pacificexcess.com www.pacificexcess.com

Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing is a Wholesaler/General Agent with access to many Standard, Surplus Lines and Workers’ Compensation Markets in 19 states.

www.insurancejournal.com

60 Catamore Blvd., East Providence, RI 02914 Phone: 401-435-5400 Email: info@risco-inc.com www.risco-inc.com 50+ Locations, Headquarters - Itasca, IL 60143-3141 Phone: 866-595-8413 Email: Contact_Us@RPSins.com www.rpsins.com

5802 Thunderbird, Bldg 10, Ste. 100 Lago Vista, TX 78645 Phone: 800-761-7547, Fax: 512-327-5834 Email: underwriting@plisinc.com www.plisinc.com

Professional Program Insurance Brokerage 371 Bel Marin Keys Blvd., Novato, CA 94949 Phone: 415-475-4300, Fax: 415-475-4303 Email: info@ppibcorp.com www.ppibcorp.com

ProHost USA

4500 Park Glen Rd., Ste. 410, Minneapolis, MN 55416 Phone: 952-922-2404, Fax: 952-922-5423 Email: info@prohostusa.com www.prohostusa.com

RMS Hospitality Group

100 Ring Rd. West, Ste. 202, Garden City, NY 11530 Phone: 516-742-8585 ext. 204, Fax: 516-742-5678 Email: info@rmshg.com www.rms-hg.com

RMS HG presents an exclusive insurance program for your Hospitality Industry clientele with “A” rated carriers. A platform like no other in the Hospitality Industry, RMS HG provides a solution to the insurance agent/broker community for hospitality risks with a program that offers comprehensive and flexible coverage forms at competitive premiums.

Promont Advisors, LLC

Roush Insurance Services, Inc.

Promont Specialty

RSI International, Inc. (Missouri)

Quaker Special Risk

Sangamon Associates/Hotel Excess

1 E. Wacker Dr., Ste. 1920, Chicago, IL 60601 Phone: 312-262-3331, Fax: 312-262-3301 Email: mniemann@promontadvisors.com www.promontadvisors.com 1 E. Wacker Dr., Ste. 1920, Chicago, IL 60601 Phone: 312-262-3331, Fax: 312-262-3301 Email: mniemann@promontspecialty.com www.promontspecialty.com See Website for Locations in NJ, NY, FL, MA Headquarters - Eatontown, NJ 07724 Phone: 800-447-4180, Fax: 732-223-9072 Email: fwalsh@qsr-insurance.com www.quakerspecialrisk.com

Quirk & Company

P.O. Box 792030, San Antonio, TX 78279 Phone: 800-299-9421, Fax: 210-340-4075 Email: rquirk@quirkco.com www.quirkco.com

RCA Insurance Group

1333 Broad St., Clifton, NJ 07013 Phone: 800-526-0147 ext. 2019 Email: mmaher@rca-insurance.com www.rca-insurance.com

Regency Insurance Brokerage Services P.O. Box 190, Hallandale Beach, FL 33008-0190 Phone: 800-982-1895, Fax: 954-454-5862 Email: Submissions@RegencyBrokerage.com www.RegencyInsuranceBrokerage.com

P.O. Box 1060, Noblesville, IN 46061 Phone: 800-752-8402, Fax: 317-776-6891 Email: info@roushins.com www.roushins.com 273 Clarkson Rd., Ste. 102, Ellisville, MO 63011 Phone: 636-391-4841, Fax: 636-391-2115 Email: newquotes@rsimo.com www.rsimo.com 65 S. Main St., Ste. AC-200, Pennington, NJ 08534 Phone: 609-818-9534, Fax: 609-818-9535 Email: bcleave@sangamonassociates.com www.hotelexcess.com

SASSI - Salon & Spa Specialty Insurance 21 Maple Ave., Bay Shore, NY 11706 Phone: 888-823-9380, Fax: 631-666-7646 Email: info@brownyard.com www.sassiagency.com

Southern Cross Underwriters - All Offices

See Website for Locations - HQ - Jackson, MS 39211 Phone: 601-957-3344, Fax: 601-957-3344 Email: iinfo@scui.com www.scui.com

Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA 4500 Mansell Rd., Alpharetta, GA 30022 Phone: 800-568-1700, Fax: 678-498-4610 Email: marketing@siuins.com www.siuins.com

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N47

2015 Hospitality Risks Directory - Alphabetical Directory of Markets

2013 Hospitality Risks Directory Towerstone, Inc.

Specialty Insurance

1610 Route 88 Ste. 102, Brick, NJ 08724 Phone: 732-701-8900, Fax: 732-458-3728 Email: mwatters@specialtyagency.com www.specialtyagency.com

SUITELIFE by Venture Insurance Programs 1301 Wrights Lane East, West Chester, PA 19380 Phone: 800-282-6247 ext. 244, Fax: 610-692-5977 Email: Marketing@suitelifeins.com www.Suitelifeins.com

14185 Dallas Pkwy, Ste. 1000, Dallas, TX 75254 Phone: 972-725-2100, Fax: 972-725-2101 Email: info@towerstonecorp.com www.towerstonecorp.com

Travelers

Contact your local Commercial Accounts Representative for more information. www.travelers.com

Tuscano Agency

950 Highland Ave., Greensburg, PA 15601 Phone: 724-836-1510 Email: info@tuscano.com www.tuscano.com

U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc.

Swett & Crawford

See Website for Locations, HQ - Atlanta, GA 30327 Phone: 404-240-5200, Fax: 404-240-5393 Email: info@swett.com www.swett.com

Swett & Crawford serves independent agents & brokers through specialized P&C, Oil & Gas/Energy, Professional Services, Transportation, Reinsurance & Underwriting Practice Groups.

These groups provide access to commercial insurance products & programs, including P&C coverages, products liability, reinsurance, professional liability, commercial & public auto liability as well as a host of customized binding authorities & exclusive programs tailored to specific industries, businesses & professionals.

TAPCO Underwriters, Inc.

3060 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27216 Phone: 800-334-5579, Fax: 336-584-8880 Email: jhenderson@gotapco.com www.gotapco.com

Tejas American General Agency

1620 La Jaita Dr., Ste. 300, Cedar Park, TX 78613 Phone: 512-346-0030, Fax: 512-342-2803 Email: submissions@taga1.com www.taga1.com

10210 N. Central Expy, Ste. 500, Dallas, TX 75231 Phone: 800-232-5830, Fax: 214-265-4976 Email: julieb@usrisk.com www.usrisk.com

UCA General Insurance Services, Inc. 6363 Katella Ave., Cypress, CA 90630 Phone: 800-222-5582, Fax: 714-228-7855 Email: marketing@ucageneral.com www.ucageneral.com

UCA General Insurance is a Managing General Agent writing Program Business in 9 states. Our primary focus is on Property & Casualty Business, specializing in Restaurants, Hotels & Motels, Condos & HOAs, Shopping Centers and more.

Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc.

23251 Mulholland Dr., Woodland Hills, CA 91364 Phone: 800-669-9800, Fax: 818-591-9856 Email: dklayman@crusaderinsurance.com www.crusaderinsurance.com 3665 Bee Ridge Rd., Ste. 214, Sarasota, FL 34233 Phone: 941-308-1918, Fax: 877-817-8099 Email: Lana.Potts-Buri@UnisourcePA.com www.UnisourcePA.com

Old Forge Ctr, 20595 Lorain Rd. Fairview Park, OH 44126 Phone: 440-333-6300, Fax: 440-333-3214 Email: syoung@mcgowaninsurance.com www.mcgowaninsurance.com

1000 Town Center Wy, Ste. 300, Canonsburg, PA 15317 Phone: 800-886-3897, Fax: 724-265-5751 Email: kskender@usgins.com www.usgins.com

W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc.

300 W. Main St., Belleville, IL 62220 Phone: 618-233-0644, Fax: 618-233-0672 Email: sales@waschickedanz.com www.waschickedanz.com

Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers, Inc. 595 E. Colorado Blvd., Ste. 810, Pasadena, CA 91101 Phone: 626-584-0110, Fax: 626-584-0110 Email: kstevens@wssib.com www.wssib.com

Western Special Risks, Inc.

10451 W. Palmeras, Ste. 118, Sun City, AZ 85373 Phone: 888-317-5575, Fax: 623-977-4622 Email: rwilliams@westernspecialrisks.com www.westernspecialrisks.com

Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc.

Unisource Program Administrators

The McGowan Companies

USG Insurance Services, Inc.

USASIA Insurance Services

P.O. Box 6609, Abilene, TX 79608 Phone: 800-592-4408, Fax: 325-695-0371 Email: fpeck@westernsurplus.com www.westernsruplus.com

Wholesale Connection Insurance Services

21800 Burbank Blvd., Ste. 202, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 Phone: 818-716-9800, Fax: 818-716-9800 www.wcis-ins.com

Willis Programs, ResortGuard Ins. Program

One New Hampshire Ave., Ste. 200, Portsmouth, NH 03801 Phone: 603-334-3029, Fax: 603-334-3090 Email: Jeffrey.benjamin@willis.com www.resortguard.com

Wright Insurance Services, LLC

24551 Del Prado, Ste. 4126, Dana Point, CA 92629 Phone: 949-489-1833, Fax: 949-489-5702 Email: robert@robertwrightinsurance.com www.robertwrightinsurance.com

Zurich Programs

13810 FNB Pkwy, Omaha, NE 68154 Phone: 866-873-0782 Email: info@zprogramsmatch.com www.zprogramsmatch.com

319 Union Ave., Pomona, CA 91768 Phone: 909-618-0288, Fax: 909-618-0289 Email: shirley@usasia-ins.com www.usasia-ins.com

N48 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 9, 2015

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“You Work Client Hours Not Office Hours”

CE that changes things The Outstanding CSR of the Year, Teresa C. Sheppard, CIC, CISR, AAI, ACSR, CPIW, AIS, says it this way: “You’re not just an account manager, you’re not just an agent or a producer, you are a client relationship manager. You’re the face of insurance for your clients.” As the face of the agency you should have the best training and education available. You can earn the CISR designation by passing any 5 of 9 courses you choose or pass all 9 to hold the status of CISR Elite.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

MyNewMarkets Roofing - Workers’ Comp Market Detail: Omega Insurance Solutions (www.omega4agents. com) can write workers’ comp for roofing clients through a PEO – or employee leasing. Minimum payroll is $50,000 to qualify (not minimum premium). Send ACORD 130 with any supporting info (like loss runs). New ventures also welcome.

Available limits: As needed Carrier: Various, admitted States: Fla., Ga., and Texas Contact: Keith Steverson at 866-997-0711 or e-mail: keith@ omega4agents.com

Cargo Insurance Market Detail: Magaya Insurance Services (www.magayainsurance.com) works with logistics software to make it easy to process insurance requests. Declarations are generated and saved in the agent’s system. Financial reporting tools in the Magaya Insurance portal enables agents to present all needed documentation in case of a claim. No need to search multiple locations for paperwork, ensuring faster and more accurate claims resolution.

Available limits: As needed Carrier: Western Heritage, Montpelier US, Markel States: Fla. Only Contact: Customer service at 786-363-0500

Construction - 3 Year Workers’ Compensation Product Market Detail: CPRO Associates (www.cproassociates.com) is a wholesale writer of three year workers’ compensation products in the U.S. No LOC, no deductible, loss sensitive plan that is not a Retro. CPRO has written over $10 million in premium in the last 12 months with current product and carrier.

Available limits: Minimum $1 million, maximum $1 million Carrier: Various, admitted States: All states Contact: Michael Hardin at 972-598-0401 or e-mail: mhardin@ cproassociates.com

Staffing Firms Market Detail: Target Insurance Services (www.target-capital.com) offers E&O, professional liability through A+ or better carriers.

Available limits: As needed Carrier: Unable to disclose States: All states Contact: Customer service at 860-899-1862

Auto Repair/Service Market Detail: RoamNet Insurance Marketing Programs (www. roamnetins.com) offers workers’ comp, GL, BOP, fire legal liability, EPLI, tools & equipment, garagekeepers legal liability for auto repair/service shops.

Available limits: As needed Carrier: Unable to disclose, admitted and non-admitted available States: Ariz., Calif., Colo., Fla., Ga., Maine, Mass., Mich., Nev., N.H., N.M., N.J., N.Y., Ore., Pa., Utah, Va., and Wash.

Contact: Customer service at 877-272-0333

Earthquake Market Detail: Fulcrum Insurance (www.fulcrumprograms.com) offers earthquake and flood coverage (capacity limited by location) for: hotels & resorts; middle market; condo hotels; resorts; real estate, including commercial office; light industrial; mixed-use; retail centers; and warehouses; habitational, including market rate apartments; student housing; condominium associations; affordable housing; senior housing; and homeowners associations; and casinos, including destination resort casinos; riverboat casinos; hotels with gaming; stand-alone casinos; and tribal casino and tribal operations (through our exclusive partnership with Tribal First) Available limits: As needed Carrier: Unable to disclose States: All states Contact: Customer service at 425-453-5157 50 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

Property Management Firms Market Detail: InSmart Risk Purchasing Group (www.insmartnational.com) offers umbrella insurance programs to cover commercial and residential properties of all sizes. InSmart National offers quotes delivered in two hours, responsive claims management, 15 Years of RPG experience, and A rated admitted carriers Available limits: As needed Carrier: Unable to disclose, admitted and non-admitted available States: Conn., Fla., Ill., N.J., N.Y., and Pa. Contact: Customer service at 914-607-5020

Cargo & Transit Market Detail: Wyvern International Insurance Brokers (www. wyverninsurance.com) specialize in international and domestic cargo, transit, transportation, supply chain and storage risks. With direct access to Lloyd’s, we respond with quotes right away.

Available limits: As needed Carrier: Lloyd’s States: All states Contact: Steve Connor at 847-852-3160 www.insurancejournal.com

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IDEA EXCHANGE

Marketing 4 Reasons Direct Mail Should Be Part of Your Plan to Acquire New Customers

A

s an independent insurance agent you’re an expert in many things. You understand the right questions to ask in order to provide the right level of coverage.

You know how to overcome price sensitivity by explaining the lowest price isn’t always the best deal.

And you’re always up-to-date on the latest changes to insurBy Michelle B. Peel ance laws. But being an insurance expert doesn’t leave much time to be a marketing expert.

How do you know which marketing tactics will help acquire new customers? With so much noise when it comes to marketing, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction.

When the goal is finding new customers, the truth is independent insurance agents need to make sure direct mail is part of a

52 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

multi-channel approach.

Here are four reasons direct mail is such a necessary and powerful tool for acquiring new property/casualty insurance customers: 1. Many Consumers Still Prefer to Receive Direct Mail Despite an ever-expanding number of online marketing channels, paper is still preferred in many instances. Many studies bear this out.

For example, the 2012 Channel Preference Study for Both the Mobile and Non-Mobile Consumer from Epsilon shows that 62 percent of Americans enjoy checking their physical mailbox, with 73 percent of U.S. consumers saying they prefer direct mail for brand communications because they can read the information at their

convenience. A whopping four-fifths (79 percent) of potential customers will act on direct mail immediately according to Direct Marketing Association (DMA) research.

And while Millennials may always seem to be on their phone or social media, they also report an affinity for direct mail. ExactTarget’s 2012 Channel Preference Study found more than half (57 percent) of young people have made a purchase as a result of a direct mail offer.

Direct mail campaigns are delivering better overall response than digital channels. Research from the DMA shows direct mail outperforms electronic channels in acquiring new customers. Direct mail has a 25 percent response rate compared with email, which only yields a 23 percent response rate.

www.insurancejournal.com

marketing tool. You want to reach pros Mailers in the insurance industry are in your direct mail piece that leads prospects on their terms, and you’ve probably taking advantage of the effective and pects to their personalized URL, your comworked hard to build an online presence. rewarding benefits direct mail delivers. pany website or a promotional video.

After receiving a mailer, 44 percent of According to market research firm Mintel • Affix an instant access quote card with people visit the company’s website, 34 perComperemedia, P/C insurance providers your phone number or a PURL as a call to cent search for them online and 26 percent mailed more than 3.6 billion mailpieces in action. When you personalize the card, the save it for future reference, according to 2014. prospect feels they are getting a special the DMA. New technologies like person When it comes to insurance, direct mail offer or incentive. Cards get noticed and alized URLs, Quick Response Codes and is all about customer acquisition. In 2014, a can be kept for future reference.

Augmented Reality are staggering 96 percent of • Take advantage of the USPS’ EDDM prodDirect mail campaigns merging offline and online uct as a simple way to get started using insurance mail focused content. According to on acquisition compared are delivering better direct mail.

Comperemedia, in 2014 with just 4 percent for Direct mail continues to help insurance overall response than 60 percent of insurance retention. To gain these agents and companies grow their business, digital channels. acquisition direct mail new customers, be sure so consider these trends and best practices campaigns included a your marketing messages to create more successful P/C insurance website address or URL as a call to action highlight potential savings, quality of seracquisition campaigns. and 21 percent included a QR Code. vice, claim service and customer satisfac IWCO Direct has extensive experience tion.

Peel, marketing services specialist at IWCO Direct, partnering with our insurance clients and has more than 20 years of direct marketing industry recommends these best practices to make 2. Automated Marketing Programs experience. IWCO Direct is one of the largest direct your P/C insurance acquisition direct mail Make Sending Direct Mail Easy mail printers in North America and works with efforts stand-out: In order to be effective, direct mail many leading brands in the insurance industry.

• Engage in cross-channel marketing by must be relevant, personal and timely.

Email: Michelle.Peel@iwco.com. Phone: 610-562-1065. including Augmented Reality or a QR code Thankfully, most major insurance providers Website: www.iwco.com. now make online marketing storefronts available to support their independent agents’ marketing goals. It’s often as easy as selecting the template you want, creatReaders, browse, contact, or do product searches on any of our full page advertisers at: www.insurancejournal.com/adshowcase/ ing an offer that is relevant to your target Abacus Insurance Brokers, Inc Insurance Technologies Corp. audience, personalizing it with your inforwww.abacus.net W9 www.getitc.com 31 Abram Interstate Louisiana Commerce & Trade Association mation and photo and choosing from a list www.abraminterstate.com W4 www.lctacomp.com SC9 of prospects. The rest will be taken care Access Home Insurance M.J. Hall & Company of and within no time your offer will be in www.accesshomeinsurance.com SC1; SE1 www.mjhallandcompany.com W12 ACE Insurance McClelland & Hine your prospects’ mailboxes.

Advertisers Index

3. The Postal Service Wants to Help The USPS is regularly developing new products and services to help businesses use direct mail. One of the most relevant for independent insurance agents is “Every Door Direct Mail” (EDDM). The program works like it sounds. An agent simply selects specific neighborhoods or ZIP codes, creates a mailpiece, and the offer gets delivered to every mailbox in the target area.

No mailing lists, permits or experience required.

4. Direct Mail Can Drive More Traffic to Your Online Channels Direct mail shouldn’t be an agent’s only www.insurancejournal.com

www.acegroup.com/us 23 Agency Ideas www.agencyideas.com 34 Applied Underwriters www.auw.com 2, 3, 56 Brecht & Associates www.brechtassoc.com SC6 Burns & Wilcox Ltd. www.burnsandwilcox.com 7; W7 California Earthquake Authority www.earthquakeauthority.com/mvp 7 Catlin US www.catlinus.com 17 Century National www.cnico.com W5 Chubb Corporate www.chubb.com W1; SC1; SE1; E1; M1 First American Specialty Insurance Company www.firstam.com W11 Fujitsu www.fcpa.fujitsu.com 13 Great American Insurance Group www.GreatAmericanELD.com 29

www.mhi-tx.com SC5; SE4 Monarch E&S Insurance Services www.monarchexcess.com W3 Natl Alliance for Insur Educ & Research www.scic.com 49 Navigators Management Company, Inc. www.navg.com 15 PersonalUmbrella.Com www.personalumbrella.com 5 Regency Insurance Brokerage Services www.regencyinsurancebrokerage.com

SE3; E3 St. Johns Insurance Company www.stjohnsinsurance.com SE5 Texas Mutual www.texasmutual.com SC3 The Hartford www.privatecompanyinsurance.com 9 The Sullivan Group www.gjs.com 19 Vertafore, Inc. www.vertafore.com 55

March 9, 2015 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL | 53

IDEA EXCHANGE

Closing Quote

Tapping Into the Talent Pipeline

B

y 2020, the entire insurance industry will have 400,000 positions to fill.

About 120 academic programs exist worldwide offering courses, concentrations and majors in risk management and insurance.

About 80 are located in the US. All of these programs need to grow to meet the future need for new talent. What can agencies and brokers do to support these programs and partner with them to recruit for their businesses?

Insurance and risk management curriculums are niche programs that are not generally well known in academia.

By Wendall Most niche programs rely upon industry contributed Braniff funds to pay faculty salaries, student scholarships and costs to attend conferences, industry meetings and other events, so funding is critical to their growth and sustainability. Faculty in this field must engage students in events with industry professionals in order to promote their programs, recruit students, and meet industry professionals from whom they can raise funding for their programs, develop internships and learn about career opportunities.

Numerous insurance and risk management associations on national, state and local levels support and assist programs with this work. Agencies, brokerages, carriers and individuals provide annual funding and multi-year pledges to support program operations.

Industry individuals and groups can also form industry-owned foundations to support local programs.

In the 1980s the Texas Insurance Education Foundation

54 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 9, 2015

raised funds from various independent insurance agent associations. It then collaborated with the Wortham Foundation to develop an insurance program and create a $1 million chair at the University of Texas.

When the Texas legislature subsequently passed a statute requiring UT to admit the top 10 percent of students graduating from every high school in the state, affecting the insurance program’s ability to recruit students, the program was practically extinguished. As a result, UT has never met the industry’s goal to become a major producer of new talent for the industry. The TIEF recently was revived by a group of independent agents and insurance company affiliates who now intend to control its funding in order to sustain the foundation in perpetuity, while distributing contributions in support of programs that are most successful in producing industry practitioners.

The Insurance Council of Texas Education Foundation is an industry-controlled foundation that provides scholarships and program funding for students to attend its annual symposium. Its board targets programs that demonstrate the ability to train students for careers in insurance, specifically for carriers. It also distributes an electronic resume book of scholarship recipients to its 500 member companies.

Recently, the University of Houston-Downtown, the University of Houston and Texas Southern University collaborated on a proposal to the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society of Houston to create an annual budgeted amount to cover the cost for students to attend their meetings. The CPCU board created the What can agencies Myron Steves Scholarship and brokers do to fund. Instead of providing support risk managethree annual individual student scholarships, ment and insurance Houston CPCU Society academic programs? now provides 65 insurance students from three universities access to its most valuable asset — its members — and gave CPCU members direct access to the developing talent pool.

While many of the above examples of industry/student interaction are Texas-specific, the ideas behind them are universal in scope. The more agent and broker associations, their members and other industry professionals support and are involved with university programs, the more contact they have with students and are able to tap into the developing talent pipeline.

Braniff, J.D., is the director of the Insurance and Risk Management Center at the University of Houston-Downtown.

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