Special Section sponsored by TMPAA

Hudson Insurance Group

Program categories written include: environmental coverage, marine liability, surety, fiduciary liability, and professional liability covering numerous specialties

Hudson Insurance Group, (“A”, XV), a division of Odyssey Re Holdings Corp., welcomes the opportunity to work closely as a partner with America’s insurance wholesalers and program administrators.

“At Hudson we focus directly on meeting the needs of program administrators,” says Chris Gallagher, executive vice president and chief underwriting officer at Hudson Programs. Having underwritten insurance policies for more than a century now, Hudson Programs has been a key and enthusiastic player in the program business since 1996. “A major goal at Hudson Programs,” according to Gallagher, “is the creation of disciplined underwriting relationships that can endure through changing market cycles.

“We’re often asked about our minimum program size,” notes Gallagher. “It depends, we say. Often the administrative burden associated with implementing, say, a $10 million program covering all lines, makes it difficult to take on such a program. On the other hand we have some programs as small as $2 million. These typically involve a specialty product—perhaps excess and surplus or maybe something on an admitted basis using a master policy with certificates. These are small but we love to work on them. Basically, the more specialized the product is, the more interested we become.”

Gallagher, now in his seventh year of directing Hudson’s program business, explains that smaller policy premiums can often be very attractive. That’s especially true if Hudson and its program administrator (PA) partner can implement—or already have in place—the processes and systems to manage the flow of transactions. “Foremost, of course, is the desire to generate an underwriting profit,” he says. “But we understand our partners’ needs to earn a fair share of profitability, too, so we are prepared to help create a tailor-made program. If I see wholesalers with solid books of business, we can help them graduate to a PA level if they give Hudson the opportunity to take on a more robust role by working exclusively with them.”

Hudson Programs continually expands its claims department in order to maintain a strategic advantage in working with specialty liability classes. For example, when Hudson began writing architects and engineers (A&E) E&O, they hired the former head of claims for one of the largest writers of A&E in the U.S. Hudson will also retain a specialty third-party administrator (TPA) when necessary to provide the PA and the insureds with the best in class claims handling.

One of the unique things that Hudson has begun to offer is an excess liability product for program administrators who write primary insurance. Many PAs are at a disadvantage when their producer asks them for an umbrella quote. The PA doesn’t have the “pen” to write anything but primary. PAs are then faced with educating an excess carrier about who they are. As a result, the next time they need an excess quote, it may mean starting all over. If a program administrator is interested, Hudson will assign one of its “excess” underwriters to educate himself on the PA’s forms and pricing. Then the Hudson underwriter can provide consistently priced quotes and quick turnaround.

While Hudson’s staff of specialists has grown in number, so also has the company’s new business. “As an example of that, we entered the surety and fiduciary liability for union pension funds business in 2007,” said Gallagher. “Hudson Programs is also continuing to expand our railroad protective business.”

Included among Hudson’s connections with professional liability programs, in addition to railroad protective insurance, are: architects and engineers, technology E&O, environmental consultants, and others.

Gallagher summarizes Hudson’s relationship with program business this way, “Because we specialize in our underwriting, we can pinpoint the resources needed to best support our program administrators.”

It’s apparent that Hudson not only meets needs—it goes an extra mile to help build a strategy and a thorough understanding to satisfy its program partners’ objectives.

Additional Hudson Programs details can be obtained at www.hudsoninsgroup.com or from Chris Gallagher at (212) 978-2800. *