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Target Markets Program Administrators Association Carriers Hudson Insurance Group At first glance, Hudson Insurance Group may appear to be relatively new to the specialty program business. But that depends on how one defines the word new. “We have client relationships that go back 30 years,” says Chris Gallagher, executive vice president and chief underwriting officer for Hudson Programs. “And our largest underwriting platform has operated continuously for 105 years. So I guess we don’t feel that new.” Hudson Insurance Group is one of four divisions of Odyssey Re Holdings, and it underwrites through two units— Hudson Healthcare in Napa, California, and Hudson Programs in New York City. “We are enthusiastic about our involvement in program business. Our goal is to create disciplined underwriting relationships that will endure through changing market cycles,” says Gallagher. “We think we offer an excellent opportunity to partner with program administrators with proven expertise. Our security is excellent. We have a versatile array of insurance companies— two admitted and one surplus lines. We can write admitted business in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. We have surplus lines capabilities in all states with the exception of New York. All these companies carry an A.M. Best rating of A XV. Our focus is on underwriting profitability, which we believe is best achieved by very detailed knowledge of the exposures within a narrowly defined market segment. We currently have 25 relationships that fit this definition,” he says. Gallagher points out that Hudson expects to be extremely selective, meaning that the company doesn’t want to be all things to all people. “When we choose a program administrator we’re looking for a good match with a firm that has a seasoned track record and demonstrates competence in the key areas of underwriting, administration and distribution. We intend to grant varying degrees of authority based upon mutually agreed-upon guidelines. While it’s true that our partners bind the majority of policies without prior review by us, we will also add dedicated resources, as required, to ensure sound up-front guidelines and quality control of the underwriting process. Therefore, each underwriting relationship is really individually constructed.” Hudson Programs is focused on meeting the needs of program administrators. Says Gallagher: “We realize we are in the specialty underwriting business, and we try to stick to our knitting by developing the right partners, rather than adding layers of staff in New York. If we were an ‘open market’, that would be different. But because we specialize in our underwriting, we can pinpoint the resources we need to best support our program administrators. These resources include good technical support from the actuarial, underwriting, financial and claims management points of view. We have built a good team in these areas. This also allows us to collaborate with the exceptional retail or wholesale source who has a good idea, good business, good distribution, but hasn’t historically acted as a program administrator.” For more information on Hudson Insurance Group, please contact Chris Gallagher: (212) 978-2800. * |
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