How well-placed gobal contacts helped conquer a complex case
When the challenge is finding better coverage for a very complicated risk, it pays to expand your horizons.
In this case, a broker brought a coal-to-electricity power generation plant to Vice President of Burns & Wilcox Brokerage, Dan Rossen, hopeful that he could help move it from the excess and surplus market to a highly rated standard-market carrier. Knowing the account was important to the broker, Rossen tapped into his own personal relationships and those of his Burns & Wilcox colleagues in a quest that led him beyond domestic coverage providers and into the global insurance marketplace.
There he networked with several carriers. He finally located an underwriter not only willing to seriously consider the risk, but one who had firsthand knowledge of the facility, having performed an engineering audit on the property while at another insurer.
“The risks were technical and required a deep understanding of the specific plant and its operations, something most underwriters did not have,” explains Rossen. “By finding this knowledgeable underwriter, I was able to get the plant the proper scrutiny and coverage it warranted.
Ultimately, it was a win-win outcome, he says. “Despite very tough, sophisticated exposures, this plant’s insurance went from an ‘A’-rated non-admitted carrier to one of the largest and strongest admitted markets in the world, keeping terms and conditions essentially the same. Our in-house relationships and knowledge enabled us to get these placements done right.”
