SPECIALTY LINES MARKETS
Claims are on the rise, as are rates and attachment points
By Larry G. France
The subject of the unholy trinity of 9/11, Enron, and Anderson will see print in most insurance articles for some time to come. Each has affected a portion of our industry in negative ways.
The 9/11 attack made property the driving force in a hard market--instead of liability. Enron's effect on EPLI, the surety market, and D&O has not even scratched the surface. Don't look for account professional liability to remain stable in pricing or acceptance, thanks to Anderson.
The hearings regarding Supreme Court Justice candidate Clarence Thomas's alleged treatment of a female coworker aroused public interest in EPLI. Changes in federal and state laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, along with consumer awareness of sexual harassment, wrongful termination and discrimination, brought to the forefront the need for coverage.
Richard Robin, executive vice-president of NAS Insurance Services of Encino, California, says: "EPLI is a volatile coverage with both a high frequency and great potential for severe claims. Carriers and underwriters who thought EPLI was the sexiest coverage of the '90s, offering opportunity for cross-marketing to virtually all classes of business and the ability to generate new premium from untapped sources, have retrenched and are rethinking their approach."
Unfortunately, insureds who most need this coverage are the ones that are reluctant to add EPLI to their company's insurance program. Even if the company isn't held liable, the outlay of defense costs for a sizable lawsuit can possibly force it to close its doors.
Robin states: "Those carriers who have decided to remain in EPLI are demanding price increases; however, EPLI remains an ancillary coverage (non-compulsory), so sharp price increases often cause insureds to go bare. Reinsurance costs have also increased, as in all other lines, so higher limits are not provided as readily, or are changed to a greater load factor.
"Nonetheless, broad form EPLI rates today remain lower than the original employment practices expenses reimbursement rates developed over 15 years ago. All EPLI markets are adjusting rates and underwriting based on their own experience. As a result, there is far more business in play than only a few months ago."
Underwriting concerns that can increase loss experience are:
* No written and signed acceptance of company sexual harassment policy
* Risks with multiple locations and no consistency in policy from one to the other
* A risk that makes frequent acquisitions that result in layoffs, demotion, and job transfers
* Low percentage of women or minorities on the company's management team
* No human resources training in place for the handling of EPLI complaints or claims
* No employee manual distributed and signed by the employees stating that they have read it and understand it
* Violations by company management of the employment manual procedures in isolated situations, therefore, discriminating against other employees
Although ample markets do exist for EPLI coverages, several classes of business are more difficult to place. Accountants, attorneys, staffing industry, and the medical field are among the most prevalent.
Jim Edwards, president of Bailey Special Risks in Hendersonville, Tennessee, reports seeing an increase in retention on risk in excess of 100 employees. "There is a general reluctance to write in the state of California. Risks with less than 100 employees seem to be targeted by more carriers." Edwards also says that claims activity is on the increase.
According to Robin: "EPLI remains a specialty product, and those who specialize in it are seeing plenty of opportunities to achieve a generous spread of potentially profitable business. Producers who are innovative and wish to provide EPLI to their clients should seek to develop relationships with markets that will be writing that business for the long term."
Building relationships with markets is not exclusive to EPLI. As most retail agents have discovered, the specialty markets are overwhelmed with submissions. Build the relationship before you need to place a piece of business with a market. It will pay off in the long run.
EPLI and more than 200 coverages and programs will on the schedule at the upcoming Insurance Marketplace Specialty Lines Seminars held in Denver on July 30, and Seattle on August 13. See registration forms on pages 114 and 142.
Listed below are the companies that have responded to our survey on EPLI and indicated that they are a market for that coverage.
Agency Marketing Services
7024 Central Ave.
P.O. Box 41786
St. Petersburg, FL 33743
Contact: Brian Koenig
Phone: (800) 542-2805
Fax: (727) 343-4123
E-mail: bkoenig@agencymarketing.com
Web site: www.agencymarketing.com
An E&S broker that operates in AL, FL, GA, MS and TN with limits of $10 million. Offers third-party coverage options. Markel American/Evanston, General Star, Admiral, Scottsdale, U.S. Liability, St. Paul Guardian and Fireman's Fund are the A rated or better carriers.
Bailey Special Risks, Inc.
P.O. Box 768
Hendersonville, TN 37077
Contact: Kelly Pewitt, Jim Edwards, Susan Superczynski
Phone: (800) 768-7475
Fax: (615) 264-3980
E-mail: kpewitt@baileyrisks.com jedwards@baileyrisks.com ssuperczynski@baileyrisks.com
Web site: www.baileyrisks.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates nationwide with limits of $50 million. Will consider all risks with third-party discrimination, tenant discrimination, and ADA liability also offered. Markel American/Evanston, Kemper, Lexington, Liberty Mutual, USLI/Mt. Vernon, Zurich, Ace and Chubb are the carriers.
Bohrer, Croxdale & McAdoo, Inc.
IL, KS, MO, OK
601 South Ave.
P.O. Box 2760
Springfield, MO 65801
Contact: Vicki Cota
Phone: (800) 779-2550
Fax: (888) 869-2550 (toll-free)
E-mail: vcota@bcmins.com
AR
930 Wingate, Ste. 2C
P.O. Box 1190
Conway, AR 72033
Contact: Clay Farris
Phone: (800) 592-5101
Fax: (800) 726-7707 (toll-free)
E-mail: cfarris@conwaycorp.net
An E&S broker that operates in AR, IL, KS, MO and OK with limits of $100,000 - $5 million. Will consider any size of risk. Also offers third-party discrimination and defense outside the limit available on some risks. Various A rated admitted and nonadmitted carriers are used to place coverage.
Russell Bond & Co., Inc.
295 Main St., Ste. 866
Buffalo, NY 14203
Contact: Tonya Hollederer (Ext. 133), Tony Ambrose (Ext. 143)
Phone: (800) 333-7226
Fax: (716) 856-0403
E-mail: thollederer@russellbond.com tambrose@russellbond.com info@russellbond.com
Web site: www.russellbond.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates in NY and surrounding states with limits of $100,000 - $10 million. All risks are considered. Coverage is written monoline or in conjunction with D&O, school board legal and public officials. The more than 20 carriers are A rated or better.
R.J. Bostick & Associates, Inc.
38029 Third St.
Willoughby, OH 44094
Contact: Jana L. Miozzi, Robert J. Bostick, Jr.
Phone: (800) 969-2463
An E&S broker that operates in all states with various limits. Will offer D&O/package w/ professional. Chubb, Lexington, National Union and Markel are the carriers.
Burns & Wilcox, Ltd.
30833 Northwestern Hwy., Ste. 220
Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Contact: Call 800 number for local branch
Phone: (800) 521-1918
An MGA/wholesaler operating in all states except AK, HI, ME, NJ and NY with limits that vary by carrier. Target markets vary by carrier. All carriers are A rated.
Carnegie Insurance Services Corporation
17700 Broadway
Cleveland, OH 44146
Contact: Christopher W. Humpage (Ext. 3233)
Phone: (440) 439-5555
Fax: (440) 439-5551
E-mail: chumpage@carnegieinsurance.net
An MGA that operates nationwide with limits of $5 million on its stand-alone EPL product, and $1 million on its medical provider product. The stand-alone product, which offers EPL and third-party liability coverage for private medical practices, targets accounts with fewer than 200 employees. The medical providers product targets accounts with fewer than 200 employees. Excluded classes on stand-alone EPL are colleges and universities, construction companies and contractors, restaurants, law firms, hospitals, municipal and government agencies and firms in the entertainment industry. Will also offer third-party liability that is available as an endorsement to eligible classes on stand-alone EPL and can package EPL with corporate D&O on one policy with separate limits for both the EPL portion and D&O portion. Sexual misconduct toward a patient is covered with limits up to $100,000 on the medical providers product. All carriers are rated A or better.
Continental/Marmorstein & Malone
305 Rte. 17
P.O. Box 586
Paramus, NJ 07652
Contact: Bill Malone
Phone: (800) 932-0249
Fax: (201) 261-8922
E-mail: bmalone@ca-group.com
Web site: www.ca-group.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates in NJ and NY only, with limits of up to $5 million per claim/$5 million aggregate. Will consider all types of risks. U.S. Liability, Chubb Executive Risk, Essex, First State Guilford Specialty, and Tudor are the carriers.
Crump Insurance Services, Inc.
485 Rt. 1, South, Plaza E., #290
Iselin, NJ 08830
Contact: Bill Dixon
Phone: (732) 634-8770
Fax: (732) 634-8760
Web site: www.crumpins.com
An MGA/E&S broker operating in all states with limits of up to $1 million. Excluded classes are law firms, schools, municipalities/government entities, churches/religious, technology firms, political organizations, and temporary help/PEOs. Zurich North America (Steadfast Insurance Co.) is the carrier.
ELM Insurance Brokers
9100 S. Sepulveda, #121
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Contact: Fred Fisher, Marti Porter, Fil Cawili
Phone: (800) 354-2439
Fax: (310) 665-1106
Web site: www.e-o.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates in AZ, CA, CO, ID, NM, OR, UT, WV and WY, with limits of $1 million. Target markets are open, subject to underwriting review. Will offer E&O and E&O. Lloyd's and U.S. Liability are the A rated or better carriers.
The Embassy Insurance Group
4110 N. Scottsdale Rd., Ste. 340
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Contact: Bob Kindness
Phone: (800) 214-5808
Fax: (480) 947-6035
E-mail: bkindness@embassyinsurance.com
A program administrator/E&S broker/wholesale broker that operates nationwide with limits that vary by class (generally $2 million - $5 million). Target markets are privately held companies, public companies, nonprofits, health care, social services, lawyers and insurance agents. Will not write small law firms, P-C agents under $7 million in premium volume. Will offer D&O, fiduciary liability, miscellaneous professional liability, crime, kidnap/ransom and extortion. The Chubb Group is the A rated carrier.
Gateway Underwriters Agency
755 S. New Ballas Rd., Ste. 130
St. Louis, MO 63141
Contact: Barb Smeltz
Phone: (800) 325-7652
Fax: (314) 567-4200
E-mail: barb.smeltz@gua-stl.com
A general agent that operates in IA, IL, KS, MO and NE with limits of $10 million. Prefers retail, wholesale. Will not write auto dealers. Third-party coverage is also offered. USLI and Tudor are the A rated or better carriers.
Gulf Insurance Group
125 Broad Street, 8th floor
New York, NY 10004
Contact: John McElroy, Meryl Grovdan
Phone: (212) 291-3000
Fax: (212) 291-3017
E-mail: jmcelroy@gulfins.com
Web site: www.gulfinsurance.com
An insurer that operates in all states with limits of $10 million. Will consider all risks. Will also offer D&O. Gulf is an A rated company.
H.W. Gorst Co., Inc.
805 Fairmont Ave.
Glendale, CA 91203
Contact: Al Karp
Phone: (800) 437-6616
Fax: (818) 507-1133
E-mail: akarp@compass.com
An MGA that operates in CA only with limits of $500,000/$500,000 - $5 million/$5 million. Target market is EPLI. Professional Risk is the A rated carrier.
Hull & Company, Inc.
2150 S. Andrews Ave.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
Contact: Cynthia A. Zimmerman
Phone: (800) 678-4855
E-mail: info@hullco.com
Web site: www.hullco.com
An MGA/E&S broker operating nationwide with limits of up to $10 million primary (excess coverage available). Will consider all types and sizes of risks. Coverage also available for law firms, doctors, public entities and distressed firms. Also offered are D&O, PL and media liability. Various A rated or better carriers are used to place coverage.
Insurance Innovators Group
130 S. Easton Rd.
P.O. Box 969
Glenside, PA 19038
Contact: Fran Reh, Barbara Randall, Etty Herzig
Phone: (800) 523-6422
Fax: (215) 886-2482
Web site: www.iiigroup.com
An MGA that operates in CT, DE, MA, MO, NJ and PA, with limits of $5 million. Various A rated or better carriers are used to place coverage.
Karsanidi Group, Inc.
635 Danbury Road
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Contact: Alex Karsanidi
Phone: (800) 277-5407
Fax: (203) 438-6124
E-mail: mail@karsanidi.com
An E&S broker that operates nationwide with limits of up to $5 million. Will consider all classes except lawyers. Also offers D&O. St. Paul (under 150 employees only), Gulf (over 1,000 employees only) and Great American are the carriers.
H.R. Keller & Co., Inc.
1520 Sheridan Dr.
Buffalo, NY 14217
Contact: Fred Stievater
Phone: (800) 424-2202
A wholesaler that operates in NY only with limits that vary by company. Will consider all classes. Various A rated or better carriers are used.
M.J. Kelly Co., Inc.
4415 E. Sunshine
Springfield, MO 65809
Contact: Lori Drake, Roger Wilkinson
Phone: (800) 725-7211
Fax: (417) 883-7103
E-mail: ldrake@mjkelly.com
Web site: www.mjkelly.com
An E&S broker operating in AR, FL, IA, IL, MO, MS, OK and UT, with limits of $5 million/$5 million. Target markets is privately held companies with fewer than 200 employees. Will also offer D&O. USLI, Tudor and Great American are the A rated or better carriers.
Market Finders Insurance Corp.
P.O. Box 6549
Louisville, KY 40206
Contact: Karen Cornett, Charlene Curry, Susan Hudgins
Phone: (800) 626-5660
Fax: (502) 426-7970
E-mail: kcornett@mfic.com
ccurry@mfic.com
shudgins@mfic.com
Web site: www.mfic.com
An E&S broker that operates in IN, KY, OH, NC, SC, TN and WV, with limits of $1 million. Will offer defense outside limits, personal injury, duty to defend, optional first-dollar defense, and insurer insolvency protection. Markel American, Evanston, USLI, and Mt. Vernon Fire are the A rated or better carriers.
Michael J. Kelly Insurance Agency
3463 State St., Ste. 224
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Contact: Michael J. Kelly
Phone: (800) 329-5355
Web site: www.alarmchannel.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates nationwide with limits of $5 million+. Lexington is the carrier.
Midwestern General Agency, Inc.
255 NW Blue Pky.
Lee's Summit, MO 64063
Contact: Carol Mauslein, Bianca Betts
Phone: (800) 788-4347
Web site: www.mgakcmo.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates in IA, IL, KS, MO and NE, with limits of $5 million. Will offer D&O. Evanston, Tudor and Essex are the carriers.
Monitor Liability Managers, Inc.
2850 West Golf Road, Ste. 800
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Contact: David Aller, VP-producer dept. (Ext. 502), Randal Mrozowics, VP-EPL (Ext. 531)
Phone: (800) 446-2100
Fax: (847) 806-6282
E-mail: info@monitorliability.com
Web site: www.monitorliability.com
An underwriting management company that operates in all states with limits of up to $5 million. Target market is companies employing up to 2,000 employees, companies that already publish or are willing to publish an employee handbook or written employee policies and procedures. Coverage is not currently available for auto dealerships; boat dealers; credit reporting and collection services; educational services; employment agencies/professional employer organizations; government entities; hospitals, HMOs, PPOs, or nursing homes; labor organizations, real estate companies/real estate management, temporary employment agencies. Also offers D&O, lawyers PL, management liability or nonprofit D&O. Carolina Casualty and Admiral are the A rated or better carriers.
NAS Insurance Services, Inc.
16633 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 500
Encino, CA 91436
Contact: Richard Robin, EVP; Chris Reese, VP; Anita Ching, underwriter
Fax: (818) 382-2040
E-mail: rrobin@nasinsurance.com
Web site: www.nasinsurance.com
An underwriting manager (Lloyd's binding authority) that operates in all states except AL, with limits of $100,000 - $2 million. Will consider all classes except for entertainment, high-tech, employee leasing, or temporary employment firms. Will also offer D&O, fiduciary liability and tenant discrimination liability. Lloyd's is an A rated carrier.
National Insurance Professionals Corp.
1040 N.E. Hostmark St., #200
Poulsbo, WA 98370
Contact: Barbara Seitz
Phone: (800) 275-6472
Fax: (360) 697-3611
E-mail: barbaras@nipc.com insurance@nipc.com
Web site: www.nipc.com
A program administrator that operates in all states with varied limits. Target markets are nonprofit and governmental entities, and municipalities/schools. Will also offer third-party discrimination, sexual harassment, whistle blower claims, and other employment-related claims. The A rated admitted and nonadmitted carriers vary by state and type of risk.
North Island Facilities, Ltd./NIF Pro
30 Park Ave.
Manhasset, NY 11030
Contact: David Vicari, Deborah Rivera
Phone: (800) 664-3776
Fax: (516) 365-9566
E-mail: marketing@nifgroup.com
Web site: www.nifgroup.com
An E&S broker that operates in all states except AK and HI, with limits of $75 million. Will consider any EPLI risk (specialty is companies with fewer than 1,000 employees). Will cover private companies and can combine with D&O coverage. All carriers are rated A or better.
NorthCoast Excess & Surplus, Inc.
2244 East Enterprise Pky.
Twinsburg, OH 44087
Contact: Jeff Burke
Phone: (330) 405-9890
Fax: (330) 405-9893
E-mail: jburke@ncoastxs.com
An E&S broker that operates in all states with limits of up to $1 million. Various A rated admitted and nonadmitted carriers are used.
Princeton Risk Manages, Inc.
435 Wall St.
Princeton, NJ 08540
Contact: Diane DiDonato (Ext. 15), Christine Nickles (Ext. 12), Gabrielle Griffith (Ext. 14)
Phone: (800) 776-0099
Fax: (609) 924-8155
E-mail: ddidonato@princetonrisk.com cnickles@princetonrisk.com ggriffith@princetonrisk.com
Web site: www.princetonrisk.com
An E&S broker that operates in CT, NJ, NY and PA, with limits from $250,000 - $25 million. Will offer D&O, GL and fiduciary liability. Genesis, CNA, Markel/Evanston, and General Star are the A rated or better carriers.
Professional Risk Co.
601 Union St., Ste. 4616
Seattle, WA 98101
Contact: Patrick Campbell
Phone: (206) 621-8808
Fax: (206) 682-9176
E-mail: pat_campbell@professionalriskco.com
An MGA that operates nationwide with limits of up to $5 million/$5 million. Target market is small to mid-sized accounts with between 10 and 1,000 employees. Will include comprehensive risk management services with each bound account. Fireman's Fund is the carrier.
R.E. Chaix & Associates
1501 Westcliff Dr., Ste. 290
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Contact: Colleen Hippard Eaton
Phone: (800) 369-4337, Ext. 221
Fax: (800) 644-4454
E-mail: collenh@rechaixinsurance.com
Web site: www.rechaixinsurance.com
An E&S broker that operates in CA only. Contact the office for target markets. Various carriers are used to place coverage.
Rockwood Programs, Inc.
228 Philadelphia Pike
Wilmington, DE 19809
Contact: Darryl McCallin, VP
Phone: (800) 558-8808
Fax: (302) 764-5477
Web site: www.rockwoodinsurance.com
An MGA that operates in all 50 states with limits of $250,000 - $5 million. Target market is temporary help agencies. Will offer EPLI, D&O, fiduciary liability, agents E&O and life. Gulf, Lloyd's, Kemper, American Liability and Berkley Group are the A rated or better carriers.
Roush Insurance Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 1060
Noblesville, IN 46061
Contact: Gail C. Pierce, Scott Sackers, Tony Armor
Phone: (800) 752-8402
Fax: (317) 776-6891
E-mail: gail.pierce@roushins.com scott.sackers@roushins.com tony.armor@roushins.com
Web site: www.roushins.com
An MGA that operates in IL and IN with limits of $1 million, with excess available to desired limit. Will consider all classes. Also offered are E&O, D&O, employee dishonesty bonds, business auto, property & liability, equipment breakdown, and excess & umbrella. Gulf, Markel, Scottsdale, and Tudor are the A rated carriers.
Victor O. Schinnerer & Co., Inc.
2 Wisconsin Circle
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Contact: Kay Senator
Phone: (301) 961-9800
Fax: (301) 951-5444
E-mail: vos.info@schinnerer
An underwriting manager that will be launching coverage in all states on a rolling basis--except for AR, LA, MN, VA, VT and WY, where EPLI but no D&O or fiduciary are offered. Limits are $5 million. Target market is contractors, with D&O, entity and fiduciary offered (with exceptions). CNA is the A rated carrier.
Robert A. Schneider Agency
5620 Smetana Dr.
Minnetonka, MN 55343
Contact: Steve Libor
Phone: (800) 832-6038
Fax: (952) 938-0701
E-mail: rs@rasinc.com
Web site: www.rasinc.com
An MGA/E&S broker operating in IA, MN, ND, SD and WI, with limits of $5 million. Will consider all classes; also offers D&O. USLI and Evanston are the A rated carriers.
S.H. Smith & Co.
41 N. Main St.
West Hartford, CT 06107
Contact: Mark Mullarkey
Phone: (800) 356-0168
Fax: (860) 561-3606
E-mail: markm@shsmith.com
Web site: www.shsmith.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates in all states with limits of $10 million. Will consider all available classes. Also offers third-party liability. Chubb Executive Risk, AIG, American, Carolina Casualty, USLI, Genesis and E-Risk are the carriers.
Swett & Crawford Group
21650 Oxnard St., Ste. 1400
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Contact: See Web site
Phone: (800) 262-6099
Web site: www.swett.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates in all states with limits of up to $50 million, based on client. Target market is firms with more than 75 employees. Will also offer D&O, PL and GL. Various A rated or better carriers are used to place coverage.
U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc.
10210 N. Central Expy., Ste. 500
Dallas, TX 75231
Contact: Jay Alston, Keli Smith
Phone: (800) 232-5830
Fax: (214) 265-4932
Web site: www.usrisk.com
An MGA operating in all states with limits of up to $5 million (can obtain higher upon request). Will consider all classes except PEOs/staffing companies. Also offers third-party, independent contractor. Carriers are underwriters at Lloyd's of London.
Yates & Associates Insurance Services
2100 E. 4th St., 2nd floor
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Contact: Bill Duncan
Fax: (714) 550-5051
E-mail: bduncan@yates-assoc.com
Web site: www.yates-assoc.com
An MGA/E&S broker that operates in all states with limits of $5 million. Will consider all classes and will also offer third-party extension. Various A rated carriers are used. *