Networking the globe

Worldwide Broker Network
plans to expand global organization

By Phil Zinkewicz

If you were the owner of a large national manufacturing firm and wanted to expand to overseas markets, how would you organize your insurance coverages? Well, you could go to one of the three mega brokers that have offices in most foreign lands and that have expertise in dealing with international issues. However, with all the Fortune 100, 200 and 500 companies that these mega brokers deal with, you might possibly feel like a very small fish in a very large ocean. You could go to the broker who services your domestic insurance needs, but your broker might not have the international expertise or contacts necessary to build the right global insurance program for you.

On the other hand, if your broker is a member of a worldwide network of brokers who work together and share each other’s expertise to provide insurance coverages and services for multinational clients, then your problems may be solved.

Riggs, Counselman, Michaels & Downes, Inc., located in Baltimore, Maryland, is a broker that is a member of such a worldwide network. So is the Chicago, Illinois-based Hub International. So are 14 other U.S.-based brokers. The network they belong to is the aptly named Worldwide Broker Network (WBN), based in London, England.

According to Executive Director George Worsley, WBN is the world’s largest organization of privately held insurance brokers operating on an integrated basis. Partner firms are represented in Europe, North America, South and Central America, Africa, the Far East and Australia. (See box on this page). WBN was founded in 1989, initially as the International Broker Network.

“Members of WBN from various levels in their own organizations have come to know each other personally and have struck up long-lasting relationships and this works to the advantage of customers …” —George Worsley Executive Director Worldwide Broker Network

“In the 1980s,” says Worsley, “there was a good deal of consolidation taking place in the insurance brokerage arena. The number of large brokers began to dwindle. A group of brokers got together to form the International Broker Network to compete with the mega brokers that were left on upper middle commercial market business. Then came the Single European Market in 1992, and many firms began looking to cross borders and do business outside their own countries.

“In 1996 the name of the network was changed to Worldwide Broker Network and the expansion began. When I joined—back in the late 1990s—WBN had 18 broker members and wrote about $30 million in premiums. Today, WBN has 44 members and writes about $14.5 billion in premiums. WBN is comprised of more than 8,000 employees and has representation in more than 75 countries. On the basis of revenues, the network partners as a group would comprise about the sixth largest insurance broker in the world.”

Worsley points out that WBN is not the only broker’s network out there. However, he says, WBN is different because of the way it is structured and operates. “WBN partner firms represent some of the leading insurance brokerage firms in their country. The network facilitates the placement and servicing of global controlled insurance programs for multinational companies covering property, liability, employee benefits, and marine cargo exposures of their clients. The partners also direct the indigenous insurance and benefits programs for non-controlled insurance programs so that the local client receives complete service from a single source. The strength of our approach is the ability of our network to provide a customized service delivery system to each of our clients. Through our partnership, we are committed to delivering the highest level of service to not only our largest clients, but also to small and mid-sized firms in the countries we serve,” says Worsley.

The WBN uses business process management software from New York City-based Riskclick to link members together and coordinate multinational accounts. The software manages renewal tasks, claims settlements, policy summaries, and foreign location surveys via secure Web services. Florian Karle, SVP & CFO of Suedvers-Gruppe, WBN’s broker in Germany, says, “This means that the correspondent brokers always have the information they need to service the account locally, while the producing broker can easily keep track of all issues on any given account.”

Karle adds, “Riskclick allows us to give access to the corporate risk manager and any other relevant personnel at the insured’s locations around the world.”

Broker members of the network meet periodically at different locations around the world, Worsley says. “In accordance with the principle that it is easier to do business with someone you know than with someone you don’t know, owners and staff of WBN members meet each other regularly through a range of committees. WBN members from various levels in their own organizations have come to know each other personally and have struck up long-lasting relationships. This works to the advantage of customers who feel comfortable with the way their needs are catered to by people who are very familiar with each other.”

The committees to which Worsley refers are: The Owners Council, The Executive Committee, and The Commercial and Employee Benefits Committee.

The Owners Council consists of the principals of the member firms and forms the overall management and administrative organ of WBN. Members vote and decisions are made on the strategic direction of the network, membership, and matters involving all of the members. The Owners Council is held twice a year. The current chairman of WBN is Jacques Verlingue of Verlingue Courtier en Assurances, France.

The Executive Committee monitors the growth and development of the network and oversees the activities of the Executive Office. The committee has regular conference calls and meets every two to three months, depending on the items to be discussed. This committee undertakes the background work and prepares material for consideration by the Owners Council. Executive Committee members are appointed by the Owners Council and the committee includes the chairman and vice-chairman of WBN and six other WBN members. The executive director also attends the meetings.

The Commercial and Employee Benefits Committees have similar roles. Members are the international experts of the member companies, and they meet twice a year to review and create ways by which WBN continues to provide international services relating to the management of clients’ risks and exposures. Activities range from adjusting client service guidelines in accordance with market practice and developments to creating new products and identifying new markets for solutions to clients’ needs and requirements.

Executive Director Worsley’s role is to support and promote the network. Among other things, this means to ensure adequate membership in key countries, and maintain smooth and user-friendly systems and procedures so that members can coordinate their clients’ programs in an integrated manner. In addition, Worsley is responsible for coordinating and hosting WBN meetings; facilitating the activities of other committees that may be formed from time to time; and promoting the network to markets, clients, prospects, media and the general public, among other things.

“WBN provides us with the opportunity to operate in foreign markets by working with foreign brokers,” says Bob Cawley, executive vice president and managing director of Riggs, Counselman, Michaels & Downes. “We get to know these brokers personally through the WBN meetings, so we operate under a strong sense of trust. For our clients with overseas operations or for those who are planning expansion into foreign markets, WBN is exactly what we need.”

Sam Valeo, senior vice president and global practices leader for HUB International, agrees. “WBN is a great alternative to large brokerage houses. Without having the bricks and mortar on foreign soil, WBN allows us to have a presence there. HUB International has always been strong in North America, but not overseas. Now, we are. We get together twice a year and we cover different topics of mutual interest. We create new forms for easy transmission. There are other networks out there, but WBN is different because it’s not just a bunch of dots on a map.”

Worsley says that, right now, WBN is strong in North America and Europe, but that the network plans to branch out into the Far East and Latin America. Most recently, WBN struck a deal with The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) whereby The Council is teaming up with WBN to form an expanded global network to move and coordinate information and facilitate client services around the world.

Ken A. Crerar, Council president, says: “Joining forces with WBN represents the next logical step after more than a decade of initiatives aimed at giving Council members and their clients the resources they need to be active and successful participants in global commerce.”

Council Chairman Frederick J. de Grosz adds: “In 2004, nearly all commercial interests face global risks.” Continues de Grosz, who is president of ABD Insurance and Financial Services, Inc., Redwood City, California: “Council members clearly dominate the commercial property and casualty market, but to be successful global players, we all need the kind of reach and resources that are envisioned by this partnership with WBN.”

Under a two-year joint operating agreement that began January 1, 2005, The Council and WBN will expand the global network to help serve clients’ interests in markets around the world, according to Worsley. The partnership will facilitate an even wider expansion of the network in Asia, Central and South America, Africa and other key insurance markets in the world. *