InsuranceJournal West 2014.03.10

WEST
Former Calif. State Fund Exec

in Conflict
Farmers Hire Dowsers for H2O
L.A. Vulnerable to
Sea Level Rise
RoCk-solId fInAnCIAl stREngtH

sUPErior ClAiMs sErviCEs
UnRIvAlEd CUstomER sUppoRt
InnovAtIvE RIsk fInAnCIng
UndERwRItIng onE RIsk At A tImE
When success is measured by a fraction of a fraction.
WE hAndlE ClAiMs With thE sAME rEsPECt for PrECision. We assign our adjusters half the caseload typically
assigned by our competitors. This means we close claims quickly and cost-effectively. In fact, for the last five accident years, our claims
closure rates have been 2.5 times faster than the industry average.
Experience our way of doing things. Just one company, one bill and the hardest-working workers compensation insurance around.
standard premium of $200,000+. Most classes. All states.

Call (877) 234-4450 or visit auw.com for more information.
2013 Applied Underwriters, Inc. A Berkshire Hathaway Company. EquityComp patent pending.
Celebrating
Y E A R S
19742014
Whats behind Navigators?

Tailored Directors and Officers liability
products, backed by financial strength
you can trust.
Nav Pro, our world-class underwriting division for management and
professional liability, offers:
Directors and Officers liability

Employment practices liability
Fiduciary liability
Crime insurance
Need more? We have it, from specialized underwriting in marine liability,

environmental liability, energy liability, and more. Just go to www.navg.com
to learn more about our broad product range and about the benefits of having our
specialist underwriters and financial strength behind you.
Insuring a World in Motion
Whats behind Navigators? The simple answer is: more.
Underwritten by Navigators Insurance Company, Navigators Specialty Insurance Company, or affiliated Lloyds Syndicate 1221, One Penn Plaza, 32nd Fl., New York, New York 10119
WEST
Inside This Issue
On The Cover
Special Report:
Brewing Boom Opens Doors

for Niche Industry
March 10, 2014 Vol. 92 No. 5 West
W2
W10
28
46
NATIONAL COVERAGE
WEST COVERAGE
IDEA EXCHANGE
W1 Idaho House Backs New Legal

Shield for Ski Areas
20 The Upcoming Windows XP

Apocalypse
12 Spotlight: 10 Things to Know

About Home & Auto
W1 Southern California Edison Sued

Over $140,000 Pot Power Bill
24 E&O Insights: Pearsall

on the Power of the Signed App
14 Tony Markel Leads City of Hope

Fund Raising Effort
W2 Former California State Fund

Executive Fined for Conflict

of Interest
26 The Competitive Advantage:

Burand on Insurer Stability
Labor Study Shows P/C Insurers

Plan to Hire, Grow Significantly
16 Special Report: Brewing Boom

Opens Doors for Niche Industry
W6 California Farmers Hire Dowsers

to Find Water
22 Closer Look: Directors & Officers

31 2014 Hospitality Risks Directory
W10 California Almond Farmers Face

Tough Choices Amid Drought
28 How to Control Hospitality

Workers Comp Costs
46 Closing Quote: Who Shares

the Risk in the Sharing Economy?
W12 Report Projects L.A.s

Vulnerability to Future

Sea Level Rise
DEPARTMENTS
6 Opening Note
10 Figures
10 Declarations
W4 People
11 Business Moves
45 MyNewMarkets
4 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 10, 2014
www.insurancejournal.com
hes
Doing
It
Wrong.
he probably still waits days for UNDERWRITING APPROVAL.

STart quoting online.
4 questions, 3 minutes, $5 million personal umbrella.
Admitted, rated A+ XV by A.M. Best.
and same-day response to boot.
FINDING YOU BETTER WAYS TO MULTITASK.
Family-owned and operated. Proudly dog-friendly. Available nationally. Underwriting criteria varies by state. Visit us for guidelines. California Insurance License 0D08438
a.m. best rating effective march 2014. For the latest rating, visit ambest.com
NATIONAL COVERAGE
Opening Note
Put a Woman in Charge
he key to long-term survival for many businesses is having a woman in

charge. Thats according to Cornell University researchers who say that
businesses survive longer under female ownership
We find that female-owned businesses consistently out-survive male-owned
businesses in many industries and areas, said Michele Williams, assistant
professor of organizational behavior in Cornells School of Industrial and Labor
Relations.
Our study contributes to the debate about gender and business ownership
by going beyond typical questions asked by researchers and policymakers. We
explore the often-ignored third possibility that female-owned businesses
systematically out-survive male owned-business in specific industrial sectors
and regions.
This appears to ring true for many business sectors but four sectors stood
out the most.
Many of the largest industries in which survival rates of female-owned
businesses outpaced those owned by men were related to four broad sectors:
educational services and dance studios, clothing, gift giving and alcohol sales
and service.
One of our more
Eating establishments that
surprising findings
serve alcohol as well as
was that eating estabdrinking establishments
lishments that serve
survive longer under female
alcohol as well as
drinking establishownership.
ments survive longer
under female ownership, said Arturs Kalnins, associate professor of strategy
in Cornells School of Hotel Administration, who co-authored the study with
Williams. This goes against some stereotypes that restaurants and pubs are
male-dominated businesses.
In cities with populations of more than 500,000, femaleowned businesses lasted longer. Elsewhere, male-owned businesses survived longer, according to the report.
For 25 years, economy-wide aggregate studies have not
distinguished between different types of industries. These
studies often show that male-owned businesses survive longer.
New kinds of studies will show that that is only true in certain industries, Kalnins said.
The study, Business Survival 101 Put a Woman in
Charge, will be published this year in the Journal of Business
Venturing and is available at ScienceDirect.com.
Andrea Wells
Editor-in-Chief
6 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 10, 2014
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief
Andrea Wells | awells@insurancejournal.com
V.P. Content
Andrew Simpson | asimpson@insurancejournal.com
East Editor
Young Ha | yha@insurancejournal.com
Southeast Editor
Michael Adams | madams@insurancejournal.com
SouthCentral Editor/Midwest Editor
Stephanie K. Jones | sjones@insurancejournal.com
West Editor
Don Jergler | djergler@insurancejournal.com
International Editor
Charles E. Boyle | cboyle@insurancejournal.com
Senior Editor
Susanne Sclafane | ssclafane@insurancejournal.com
ClaimsJournal.com Editor
Denise Johnson | djohnson@claimsjournal.com
MyNewMarkets.com Associate Editor
Amy OConnor | aoconnor@mynewmarkets.com
Columnists
Chris Burand, Curtis Pearsal
Contributing Writers
David Eggert, Kyle Hightower, Keith Morelli, Laird Rixford, Patrick Rucker,
Todd Seiders, Andrew Taylor, Kathleen Tierney
SALES
V.P. Sales & Marketing
Julie Tinney (800) 897-9965 x148 | jtinney@insurancejournal.com
West
Dena Kaplan (800) 897-9965 x115 | dkaplan@insurancejournal.com
South Central
Mindy Trammell (800) 897-9965 x149 | mtrammell@insurancejournal.com
Midwest
Lauren Knapp (800) 897-9965 x161 | lknapp@insurancejournal.com
Southeast
Howard Simkin (800) 897-9965 x162 | hsimkin@insurancejournal.com
East
Dave Molchan (800) 897-9965 x145 | dmolchan@insurancejournal.com
New Markets Sales Manager
Kristine Honey | khoney@insurancejournal.com
Classifieds, Jobs, Agencies Wanted/For Sale
Ly Nguyen (800) 897-9965 x125 | lnguyen@insurancejournal.com
MARKETING/NEW MEDIA
Marketing Administrator
Gayle Wells | gwells@insurancejournal.com
Advertising Coordinator
Erin Burns (619) 584-1100 x120 | eburns@insurancejournal.com
New Media Producer
Bobbie Dodge | bdodge@insurancejournal.com
Videographer/Editor
Matt Tolk | mtolk@insurancejournal.com
DESIGN/WEB
V.P. of Design
Guy Boccia | gboccia@insurancejournal.com
V.P of Technology
Joshua Carlson | jcarlson@insurancejournal.com
Audience Development
Elizabeth Duffy | eduffy@wellsmedia.com
Marketing Director
Derence Walk | dwalk@insurancejournal.com
Web Developer
Jeff Cardrant | jcardrant@insurancejournal.com
Web Developer
Chris Thompson | cthompson@insurancejournal.com
IJ ACADEMY OF INSURANCE
Online Training Coordinator
Barbara Whiffen | bwhiffen@ijacademy.com
ADMINISTRATION
Chairman
Mark Wells
Chief Executive Officer
Mitch Dunford
Chief Financial Officer
Mark Wooster | mwooster@wellsmedia.com
FOR QUESTIONS REGARDING

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Call: 855-814-9547
or you may subscribe or change your address online at:
insurancejournal.com/subscribe
Insurance Journal, The National Property/Casualty Magazine (ISSN: 00204714) is
published semi-monthly by Wells Media Group, Inc., 3570 Camino del Rio North,
Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92108-1747. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Diego, CA and at
additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $7.95 per copy, $12.95 per special
issue copy, $195 per year in the U.S., $295 per year all other countries. DISCLAIMER:
While the information in this publication is derived from sources believed reliable
and is subject to reasonable care in preparation and editing, it is not intended to
be legal, accounting, tax, technical or other professional advice. Readers are advised
to consult competent professionals for application to their particular situation.
Copyright 2014 Wells Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Content may not be
photocopied, reproduced or redistributed without written permission. Insurance
Journal is a publication of Wells Media Group, Inc.
POSTMASTER: Send change of address form to Insurance Journal,
Circulation Department, PO Box 708, Northbrook, IL 60065-0708
ARTICLE REPRINTS: For reprints of articles in this issue, contact Rhonda Brown
at 1-866-879-9144 ext. 194 or rhondab@fosterprinting.com.
Visit insurancejournal.com/reprints for more information.
Your gateway to
contractors markets.
CONTRACTORS SOLUTIONS
Placing insurance for different contractors can be a daunting

project. At Burns & Wilcox, our network of domestic and
international carriers opens doors to the broadest range of
markets. Since time is of the essence, we deliver quotes and
binders fast. When it comes to nding solutions for every stage
of construction, contact the wholesale broker with the tools to
make the hard-to-place easy Burns & Wilcox.
800.521.1918 | burnsandwilcox.com
Commercial | Personal | Professional | Brokerage | Binding | Risk Management Services
NATIONAL COVERAGE
News & Markets

Labor Study Shows P/C Insurers Plan to Hire, Grow Significantly
By Andrea Wells
ore than half of all insurance companies say they plan to increase staff
in 2014, although hiring for the most-in-demand positions may prove difficult. Thats
according to the latest Semi-Annual U.S.
Insurance Labor Outlook Study conducted
by The Jacobson Group and Ward Group.
Jeff Rieder, partner for Ward Group, says
when analyzing the history of the surveys
results, the predications for increasing
employment levels is at record highs, and
decreasing employment is at record lows.
Nearly 62 percent of companies polled
intend to increase staff in 2014 the
highest rate in the surveys history. Only 4
percent of carriers that responded expect to
decrease staff in the next 12 months the
lowest rate in the surveys history.
Since April 2011, 26,400 jobs have been
added by insurance carriers, the study says.
There are not many people looking for
work in the insurance industry right
now, says Gregory P. Jacobson, co-CEO of
Jacobson. In Jacobsons view, the industry
is seeing a return to its pre-recession state,
bringing increased confidence, optimistic
staffing and robust revenue forecasts.
According to Jacobson, there is a wid-
ening gap between the general economy

Although product line has a significant
and the insurance industry, which appears
impact on the ease of filling positions,
to be outperforming national trends in
Rieder says claims-related positions and
job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
human resource positions are particularly
reported the unemployment rate for the
difficult to fill.
insurance industry at 2 percent, the lowest
Dating back to the 2008 time frame,
since March 2007. The overall U.S. employthere was a lot of reduction-in-force, particment rate stands at 6.6 percent.
ularly around the claims operations, Rieder
The survey also revealed that projections
says. We also saw many of the human
for increasing insurance company staff in
resource training departments depleted.
the next 12 months directly correlates to
What this caused is that for certain posithe industrys expectations
tions, particularly
The war for talent is
to increase total revenue.
insurance training and
Some 61.9 percent of
getting very, very hot. experienced claims
insurance carriers respondadjuster roles, there
ing to the survey plan to increase staff in
are fewer of those [job candidates] because
the next 12 months, while 87.3 percent of
they found jobs in other industries.
those carriers also expect to increase revenue during that same time.
National vs. Regional Carriers
The anticipated job growth in insurance
When it comes to revenue growth in the
companies is good news for the industry
next 12 months, national property/casualty
overall, but filling open positions is proving
carriers appear to be more confident in
challenging. The study shows many carriers
gaining market share, the study found.
are experiencing difficulty recruiting.
Eighty-five percent of all P/C compa The war for talent is getting very, very
nies surveyed expect an increase in revehot, Jacobson says. With the diminishing
nue growth; less than 3 percent expect a
unemployment rate and the severe skills
decrease in revenue. However, 73 percent
gap throughout the industry, companies are
of national/multinational companies expect
struggling to find experienced individuals
market share to drive revenue changes,
to fill their open positions.
compared to 49 percent of regional carriers.
One study trend that caught the eye of
Rieder and Jacobson is the more aggressive
plans by national carriers to boost revenue
and hiring in the next 12 months.
We saw that generally the national
carriers were much more aggressive in
both their hiring expectations as well as
their anticipated growth, Rieder says. Its
important for those regional companies to
have compensation plans that are competitive and attractive to retain staff. We are
finding that many quality staff are being
plucked away by their national counterparts.
The Semi-Annual Insurance Labor
Outlook Study has been conducted twice
a year since July 2009 to provide a look at
labor market and hiring trends. The studys
next iteration will occur in July 2014.
Who insures you doesnt matter.
Until it does.
Financial Strength and Exceptional Claim Service

Property | Liability | Executive Protection | Workers Compensation | Marine | Surety
Homeowners | Auto | Yacht | Jewelry | Antiques | Accident & Health
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies (Chubb) is the marketing name used to refer to the insurance subsidiaries of The Chubb Corporation. For a list of these subsidiaries, please visit our website
at www.chubb.com. Actual coverage is subject to the language of the policies as issued. Chubb, Box 1615, Warren, NJ 07061-1615. 2012 Chubb & Son, a division of Federal Insurance Company.
NATIONAL COVERAGE
FIGURES
80 mph
Could be the top legal speed in Idaho,

thanks to a bid to increase speed limits
on Idaho roads that passed on the Senate
floor 30-4 and has moved to the House.
Legal speeds would jump from 75 to
80 mph on the interstate and from 65
to 70 mph on state highways, if Idahos
Transportation Department signs off.
DECLARATIONS
$10,869
The amount of a special grant received by
the Moore, Okla., Fire Department from
Apollo General Insurance and Firemans
Fund Insurance Co. The grant will fund the
purchase of personal protective equipment
for firefighters specifically, new sets of
coats, pants, helmets, gloves, hoods
and boots.
Seeking Justice
Today is just the first step in a long

process to seek justice against a corrupt
politician.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins

has set his sights on California State Sen. Ron
Calderon, D-Montebello, who pleaded not
guilty in late February to federal charges that
he accepted $100,000 in bribes in return for
pushing workers compensation legislation.
Huge Accomplishment
Constructing the hurricane protection

system was a huge accomplishment and
this letter certifies that the comprehensive, integrated system of levees,
floodwalls and gates provide residents in
Southeast Louisiana protection against a
100-year storm.
725
Smart Car Technology
New technologies being embedded in

cars should only be used to make us safer,
not as a way to intrude on the privacy of
hundreds of millions of drivers without
their permission.
The approximate number of new associates that the Chevy Chase, Md.-based auto
insurance giant GEICO said it will hire for
its Fredericksburg, Va., regional office in
2014. GEICOs Fredericksburg office already
employs more than 3,300 associates. The
insurer said it is boosting its personnel to
keep up with policyholder growth.
$1 Million
The amount Georgia has recovered from
drivers and their insurance companies
through a program to collect money to pay
for damage to state property caused by auto
accidents. State transportation officials say
annual damages to state property such as
signs, guardrails, bridge supports and more
can add up to more than $10 million.
U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana

commenting on a letter from the Federal
Emergency Management Administration certifying the accreditation of the New Orleans
area levee system.
529
The number of arson cases Toledo, Ohio,
had in 2012 well above the number in the
states other big cities. Cincinnati had 386,
Cleveland 302, Youngstown 263, Dayton
129 and Akron 103. Toledo averaged around
500 arsons each year from 2009 through
2012, more than any other Ohio city.The
intentional fires are typically set in vacant
homes and vehicles.
N.Y. Sen. Charles Schumers comment on

the smart car technology. Schumer recently
called on regulators to establish guidelines
requiring carmakers to notify drivers when
they are being tracked.
An Obligation
When you own property, its your obligation to maintain a safe walking
surface.
Attorney Mike Bush of Davenport, Iowa,

who represented Brenda Alcala of Dallas,
Texas, in a lawsuit against the Courtyard by
Marriott hotel in Bettendorf, Iowa. In January
2010, Alcala slipped and fell on ice outside the
hotel, shattering her right ankle and leaving
her with a limp. A jury awarded Alcala $1.2
million after other lodgers testified to the
slippery condition of the hotels sidewalks.
One of Many Factors
We find that performance on field sobriety tests is but one of the many factors
officers should consider when deciding
whether to arrest a motorist for DUI or
similar offenses without a warrant.
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William

C. Koch Jr. finding that police may still have
grounds to arrest people for DUI even if they
pass field sobriety tests.
WEST COVERAGE
News & Markets

Idaho House Backs New Legal
Shield for Ski Areas
ouse members voted in late February

61-8 to give Idaho ski areas expanded
protections from lawsuits that arise when
their customers are hurt in terrain parks or
swept up in in-bounds avalanches.

The measure moved to the Senate.

The Idaho Ski Areas Association fears
liability arising from skiers and snowboarders using, among other things, man-made
rails, jumps and hits that have become popular in recent years.

Rep. Luke Malek of Coeur dAlene, the
Republican sponsor, said those using ski
areas and riding terrain parks need
to accept the inherent risk that accompanies their activities.

The measures foes including
Republican Rep. Lynn Luker and
Democratic Rep. Grant Burgoyne, both Boise lawyers, argued the bill
went too far in shielding ski areas from responsibility should operators negligence result in injury or death.
Copyright 2014 Associated Press.
California High Court Assigns

Liability in Liquor Cases
alifornias high court has ruled that hosts who charge admission
to parties may be held legally responsible if a drunken underage guest is hurt or injures someone else.
The state Supreme Court said in the unanimous ruling in Febuary
that a cover charge amounts to a sale of alcohol, and state law creates liability for those
who sell alcohol to
obviously intoxicated
minors.
The case stems
from a 2007 party
organized by then20-year-old Jessica
Manosa at a rental
home owned by her
parents. Nineteen-year-old Andrew Ennabe died after being hit outside the home by a car driven by another man who had been asked
to leave the gathering.
Ennabes family sought to hold Manosa liable for his death,
through her parents and their homeowners insurance.
Manosas attorney declined to comment.
Southern California Edison Sued Over Oregon Restaurant Sued Over

$140,000 Pot Power Bill
Mashed Potatoes
wo women are suing Southern California Edison, claiming their

electricity was cut off for refusing to pay a nearly $140,000 bill
racked up by a marijuana grower.
The suit filed in Los Angeles alleges breach of the service agreement.
Shu Chih Sun and her daughter-in-law, Mitha Pratiwi, say they
leased a family-owned home in Corona to a man who was arrested
last March on suspicion of growing pot
there. The suit says he tapped power
from Edison, which billed the
property owners for three years of
unauthorized service.
The women say Edison shut
off power this month to their
Rowland Heights home. Theyre
using a generator for lights.
Edison declined to comment on
the suit but says its under review.
man who says he broke

two teeth when he bit into
some mashed potatoes is suing
at Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Portland, Ore.
Roger Branstetter says there
were bits of broken porcelain in
the food in February 2012 when
he cracked two molars, and he
says a manager admitted that
bits of a broken plate had fallen into the potatoes.
Branstetter is suing the restaurant for $48,000 in Multnomah
County Circuit Court.
A managing partner of the Evergreen Restaurant Group that
owns the franchise, Jason Bender, told The Oregonian he couldnt
speak in detail about the case, but hadnt heard of any other customers with a similar complaint. He says safety is very important
to the restaurant.
March 10, 2014 INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST | W1
WEST COVERAGE
News & Markets

Former California State Fund Executive Fined for Conflict of Interest
By Don Jergler
Coyne has more than 30 years of

experience in IT. Before State Fund
he served for six years as vice presformer top executive at Californias
ident and CIO of Toyota Financial
State Compensation Insurance Fund
Services in Torrance, Calif. Prior
has admitted to charges of a conflict of
to Toyota, Coyne worked as a vice
interest in awarding contacts to a software
president and chief technology
firm while he was at State Fund, it was
officer of General Electric.
made public in February by the commis The charges state that in January
sion.
2009, State Fund and Tibco entered
Shaun Coyne, former chief informainto an agreement under which
tion officer of the states largest workers
Tibco would provide software and
compensation provider, was fined $7,000
related services to State Fund.
by the California Fair Political Practices
The agreement was structured
Commission for failing to timely report
so that over time the two parties
gifts of $50 or more, receiving gifts from a
would agree on future statements
single source that exceeded the gift limit
of work as needed by State Fund.
and participating in making governmenEach statement of work would call
tal decisions in which he had a financial
for Tibco to provide additional serinterest.
vices and for State Fund to make
Coyne held the CIO post at quasi-priadditional payments.
vate State Fund between 2009 and 2012.
Additionally, the parties also
According to the commission, during that
could agree to modify an existing
time he violated the Political Reform Act
statement of work by agreeing to a
by failing to disclose gifts he received from
change order.
Tibco Software Inc., a publicly traded com According to the commission,
pany based in Palo Alto, Calif.
Coyne attended a conference
He also received gifts over the limit
in Las Vegas held in 2011 called
from Tibco.
TUCON that was put on by Tibco.
According to the commission, Coyne
Tibco paid for Coynes airfare,
also approved change orders and statehotel room and admittance
This arose out of an in internal
to TUCON. The airfare cost $468.70,
investigation State Fund conducted. and the hotel room cost $338,
according to the charges.
The charges state Coyne didnt report
ments of work related to a contract
the airfare and hotel room as gifts on his
between Tibco and State Fund.
2011 Statement of Economic Interest, a
This arose out of an in internal invesrequirement for many government employtigation State Fund conducted, said State
ees.
Fund spokeswoman Jennifer Vargen.
Later in the summer of 2011 he approved
Vargen said State Fund has been coopernew statements of work and change orders
ating with the commission throughout the
to existing statements of work related to
investigation.
the master agreement from Tibco.
The still-unexplained andsudden res The contract modifications were for
ignation in November of State Fund CEO
extensions of work and were for amounts
Tom Rowe and Chief Financial Officer Dan
ranging from $540,816 to more than $2.1
Sevillais completely unrelated to the
million.
investigation of Coyne, Vargen said.
On Aug. 31, 2012, Coyne left State
A spokeswoman for Tibco did not
Fund and filed an amendment to his 2011
respond to requests for comment.
W2 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 10, 2014
Statement of Economic Interest and paid

back Tibco for the cost of the airfare,
hotel and conference, according to the
commission.
Following the exit of Rowe and Sevilla,
who have still not publicly explained their
reasons for leaving, State Funds board
placed general counsel Carol Newman as
the acting CEO while a search is being
conducted for a new top executive.
Board Chair Lawrence E. Mulryan said
during an open board session that a decision could be made on a new CEO by late
May, according to people attending the
meeting.
The board has retained executive search
consulting firm Spencer Stuart to help find
a replacement for Rowe.
Your Personal
Warrior.
Dave has an arsenal of personal lines markets who are
ready to write your business. Thats Daves mission.
Hes fighting to make sure you have what you need.
High Value Homeowners
Personal Umbrellas
One Who Serves
Vacant Dwellings
Dave Skogstrom
VP, Personal Lines
DIC - Wraparounds
La Crescenta Office x241
Personal Excess Auto
daves@monarchexcess.com
Lower Value Dwellings
Residential COCs
Seasonal / Secondary Dwellings / Vacation Rentals
EQ Deductible Buyback
Daves here to protect, serve and quote your risks.
Hes your loyal soldier.
Youll Get the Royal Treatment
Watch our videos at MonarchExcess.com

La Crescenta 818-249-0100 Simi Valley 805-577-6800 San Diego 619-521-2170 Rancho Mirage 760-779-5555
Novato 415-883-1411 Fresno 559-226-0200 Arizona 877-406-8026 Hawaii 818-425-9847 License 0697233
WEST COVERAGE
People
Jim Lineweaver
The Leavitt Group has hired Jim Lineweaver, a client advisor, in its Tacoma, Wash., office.
Lineweaver has 25 years of insurance experience.He
specializes in large manufacturing risks, forest products,
transportation, wholesale distribution, architects and engineering.
Prior to joining the agency, Lineweaver was a partner
with a large regional brokerage firm.He also managed the
northwest for a specialty insurance company.
The Leavitt Group provides clients with risk management services, and a range of employee benefit solutions.
The Surplus Line Association of California has
elected Ian Fitt, CEO and chairman of Western Re/
Managers Insurance Services Inc., chair of the SLA
Executive Committee, the organizations board of directors.
Also elected were Denis Brady, president of Burns &
Wilcox Brokerage, who becomes vice chairman, and Chris
Houska, California managing director of R-T Specialty
LLC, who becomes secretary/treasurer.
Fitt takes over from Pam Quilici, executive vice
president of Crouse & Associates Insurance Services of
Northern California Inc., who completed her 2013 term as
chair and was elected to a seat on the board.
Completing the 13-member board are: Dean
Andrighetto, ACE Westchester Specialty Group; Janet
Beaver, Scottish American; Tom Ciardello, Worldwide
Facilities Inc.; Rupert Hall, M.J. Hall & Company Inc.;
Chris Kiley, AMWINS; Phil Mazur, Swett & Crawford;
Davis Moore, Worldwide Facilities Inc.; Les Ross,
Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services LLC; Gerald
Sullivan, The Sullivan Group.
Additionally, SLA members reelected Harry Low, a former insurance commissioner and retired presiding justice
of the California Court of Appeal, as mediator.
All individuals elected will serve until balloting is completed following the next SLA Annual Meeting in January
2015.
San Francisco-based SLA operates as a self-governed
private organization. Appointed by the insurance commissioner in 1994, the association serves as the statutory surplus line advisory organization to the California
Department of Insurance.
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers
Association of Los Angeles recently installed new officers and directors for 2014.
The new IIABA-LA lineup for officers are: Ryan
Wunderlich, Hub International Insurance president;
Martin Flannery, Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers
vice president; AJ Scott, Timothy Cline Insurance

Agency secretary/treasurer; Bradley Rutt, Elkins Jones
Insurance immediate past president.
IABA-LA directors are: Gail Stonehouse, Lloyd S.
Berkett Insurance; Jon Axel, Hub International Insurance;
Zach Kuperman, Whorton Insurance; Joshua Valdivia,
White & Company Insurance; Robb Greenspan, The
Greenspan Co.
IIABA-LA represents agents and brokers throughout the
Los Angeles area.
Klamath Falls, Ore.-based Work First Casualty Co.
named Brian Schumacher vice president of information
services.
Schumacher previously served as director of information
services. He has 13 years of experience in information systems management.
Work First is licensed in 46 states, and provides workers compensation insurance to temporary staffing companies.
James Eldredge has joined The Buckner Co. in Utah
Eldredge has more than a decade of insurance experience, mostly within the commercial insurance sector. He
focuses on contractors, real estate development, professional liability, environmental and pollution, nonprofits,
manufacturing and distribution.
Salt Lake City, Utah-based The Buckner Co. provides
services to several industries including construction, trucking and transportation, restaurants and technology.
Marjorie Berte, vice president for state affairs for the
American Insurance Associations Western region,
announced plans to retire on March 31.
Berte joined AIA in 2011 and has been responsible for
overseeing AIAs government affairs efforts in Alaska,
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Prior to AIA, Berte was undersecretary for the Business,
Transportation & Housing Agency in the administration of
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.Her public service
also includes deputy secretary for the State & Consumer
Services Agency, and director of the Department of
Consumer Affairs.
Joe DiGiovanni, AIAs senior vice president for state
affairs, will oversee the Western region in coordination
with Steve Suchil, AIAs assistant vice president for state
affairs, until Bertes successor is named.
AIA represents roughly 300 insurers that write more
than $100 billion in premiums annually.
Nine hits, three errors.

We know families. For more than 40 years, the business of family owned and operated
Century-National Insurance Company has been the security of families.
As a prominent insurer in the West, we take protection seriously. Thats why our preferred
homeowner products offer a 200% extended replacement cost endorsement in California
and guaranteed replacement in Arizona and Nevada. Were serious about serving customers
in their time of need.
Looking for an agent-friendly carrier with an A.M. Best A rating, a suite of competitive
products and a passion for service? See what our family can do for you.
The words out...the best security for your
customer is no longer a family secret.
Call us or visit our website for more information.
800.733.0880, ext. 2576
HOMEOWNERS
EARTHQUAKE
| www.cnico.com
MOBILE HOME
COMMERCIAL AUTO
PERSONAL AUTO
UMBRELLA
WEST COVERAGE
News & Markets

California Farmers Hire Dowsers to Find Water
By Jason Dearen
ith California in the grips of drought,

farmers throughout the state are
using a mysterious and some say foolhardy

tool for locating underground water: dowsers, or water witches.
Practitioners of dowsing use rudimentary
tools usually copper sticks or wooden

divining rods that resemble large wishbones and what they describe as a natural energy to find water or minerals hidden
deep underground.
While both state and federal water scientists disapprove of dowsing, California
witchers are busy as farmers seek to drill
more groundwater wells due to the states
record drought that persists despite recent
rain.
The nations fourth-largest wine maker,
Bronco Wine Co., says it uses dowsers on
its 40,000 acres of California vineyards, and
dozens of smaller farmers and homeowners
looking for wells on their property also
pay for dowsers. Nationwide, the American
Society of Dowsers Inc. boasts dozens of
local chapters, which meet annually at a
conference.
Its kind of bizarre.

Scientists dont believe in
it, but I do and most of the
farmers in the Valley do.
Its kind of bizarre. Scientists dont
believe in it, but I do and most of the farmers in the Valley do, said Marc Mondavi,
a vineyard owner whose family has been
growing grapes and making wine since the
mid-20th century in the Napa Valley.
Mondavi doesnt just believe in dowsing,
he practices it.
On a recent afternoon, standing in this
familys Charles Krug vineyard holding
two copper divining rods, Mondavi walked
slowly forward through the dormant vines.
After about 40 feet, the rods quickly
crossed and Mondavi a popular dowser in
the world famous wine region stopped.
This is the edge of our underground
stream, he said during the demonstration.
Mondavi said he was introduced to witching by the father of an old girlfriend, and
realized he had a proclivity for the practice.
After the valleys most popular dowser
continued on page W8
W6ABRAM16725.indd 1
| INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 10, 2014
2/26/14 10:02 AM
with FIrst
Yesyes, you can
AmerIcAn.
Homeowners are worried about many things, but finding Homeowners Insurance shouldnt be one
of them. Offer them the security of a trusted leader in the industry. First American provides extensive
coverage at competitive rates, along with quality customer service. Questions or concerns? Well handle it,
so youand your clients can relax...and take a load off.
Be confident in working with the industrys Homeowners experts.

Think First. Think First American.
888.922.5343
888.922.5343 t www.firstam.com
First American Property and Casualty Insurance Agency, Inc. makes no express or implied warranty respecting the
information presented and assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. First American, the eagle logo,
First American Title, and firstam.com are either registered trademarks or trademarks of First American Financial Corporation.
2013 First American Financial Corporation and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
NYSE: FAF
WEST COVERAGE
News & Markets

continued from page W6
died in recent years, Mondavi has become
the go-to water witch in Napa Valley. He
charges about $500 per site visit, and more,
if a well he discovers ends up pumping
more than 50 gallons per minute.
With more farmers relying on groundwater to irrigate crops, Mondavis phone has
been ringing often as growers worry about
extended years of dryness.
Theres no scientific basis

to dowsing. If you want to
go to a palm reader or a
mentalist, then youre the
same person whos going to
go out and hire a dowser.
He had six witching jobs lined up over
a recent weekend, three homes whose
springs were running dry and three vineyards. Its so popular that hes even created
a line of wines called The Divining Rod
that will be sold nationwide this year.
While popular, scientists say dowsers are
often just lucky, looking for water in places
where its already known to likely exist.
Theres no scientific
basis to dowsing. If you
want to go to a palm reader
or a mentalist, then youre
the same person whos
going to go out and hire a
dowser, said Tom Ballard,
a hydrogeologist with Taber
Consultants, a geological
engineering firm based in
West Sacramento.
The success is really
an illusion. In most places
youre going to be able to
drill and find some water,
he said.
Still, the consistent interest in water
witches nationwide even spurred The U.S.
Geological Survey to officially weigh in on
the fairly harmless practice.
Dowsing has not held up well under scientific scrutiny, the USGS said, adding that
dowsers are often successful in areas where
groundwater is abundant.
The natural explanation of successful
water dowsing is that in many areas water
would be hard to miss. The dowser com-
P OL IC Y CR A F T ED W I T H A SSU R A NCE
WSS is ma ering the cra
of insurance. Visit us at wssib.com to learn more.
california (800) 733-5844

texas (888) 977-3255
See related story on Page 10:

California Almond Farmers Face
Tough Choices Amid Drought
CA Lic. #0622580 TX Lic. #15210
WESSEC14892.indd 1
monly implies that the spot indicated by

the rod is the only one where water could
be found, but this is not necessarily true,
the survey said in its report.
Christopher Bonds, senior engineering
geologist for the state Department of Water
Resources, said his agency does not advocate using witchers.
DWR is an advocate for having qualified
and licensed water professionals locate
groundwater resources using established
scientific methods, Bonds said in an email.
Dont tell that to John Franzia, co-owner
of Bronco Wine Co., the nations fourth-largest wine producer based on sales. It makes
wine under hundreds of labels, including
the famous Two Buck Chuck.
Bronco also owns more vineyard land in
California than anyone else, and when it
needs a new well theres a good chance a
dowser will be employed.
Franzia said the company uses many
technologies to find water on its 40,000acres, but turns to dowsers often and with
great success.
Ive used witchers for probably the last
15-to-20 years, Franzia said. Seems like the
witchers do the better job than the guys
with all the electrical equipment. I believe
in them.
1/14/14 4:40 PM
WEST COVERAGE
News & Markets

Study: Grandpa and Grandma Much Safer Behind the Wheel
ByJoan Lowy
crash data for this age group by

licensed drivers or miles driven
the fatal crash involvement rates for
afety researchers expressed concern a
drivers 70 and older declined, and
decade ago that traffic accidents would
did so at a faster pace than the rates
increase as the nations aging population
for drivers ages 35 to 54, she said in
swelled the number of older drivers on the
a report on the studys results.
road. Now, they say theyve been proved
At the same time, older drivers
wrong.
are putting more miles on the odom Todays drivers aged 70 and older are
eter than they used to, although
less likely to be involved in crashes than
theyre still driving fewer miles a
previous generations, and less likely to be
year than middle-aged drivers. This
killed or seriously injured if they do crash,
is especially true for drivers 75 and
according to a study released recently by
by driving less at night, during rush hour,
older, who lifted their average annual milethe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
in bad weather or over long distances.
age by more than 50 percent from 1995 to
Thats because vehicles are getting safer
By 2050, the number of people in the U.S.
2008.
and seniors are generally getting healthier,
age 70 and older is expected to reach 64
The fact that older drivers increased
the institute said.
million, or about 16 percent of the populatheir average mileage
The marked shift began
tion. In 2012, there were 29 million people
may indicate that they are
taking hold in the mid-1990s This should help
in the U.S. age 70 and over, or 9 percent of
remaining physically and
and indicates that growing ease fears that
the population.
mentally comfortable with
ranks of aging drivers as
aging baby boomers driving tasks, the institute
baby boomers head into
their retirement years arent are a safety threat. said. When older drivers
Source: TheInsurance Institute for Highway
reduce the number of trips
making U.S. roads deadlier.
Safety
they take, its often because they sense their
Traffic fatalities overall in the U.S. have
driving skills are eroding. They compensate
declined to levels not seen since the late
1940s, and accident rates have come down
for other drivers as well. But since 1997,
older drivers have enjoyed bigger declines
as measured by both fatal crash rates per
driver and per vehicle miles driven than
middle-age drivers, defined in the study as
ages 35 to 54.
From 1997 to 2012, fatal crash rates per
licensed driver fell 42 percent for older
drivers and 30 percent for middle-age ones,
the study found. Looking at vehicle miles
Goldenbear.com
traveled, fatal crash rates fell 39 percent for
older drivers and 26 percent for middle-age
ones from 1995 to 2008.
The greatest rate of decline was among
drivers age 80 and over, nearly twice that of
middle-age drivers and drivers ages 70 to 74.
This should help ease fears that aging
baby boomers are a safety threat, said
Anne McCartt, the institutes senior vice
president for research and co-author of the
Rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company
study.
709 N. Center Street Stockton, CA 95212 (209) 948-8191
No matter how we looked at the fatal
California Domiciled
Insurance Company
Established in 1978
GOLDBEA15610.indd 1
2/24/14 10:05 AM
WEST COVERAGE
News & Markets

California Almond Farmers Face Tough Choices Amid Drought
By Scott Smith
states rivers and reservoirs. In February

before they have passed their prime. Theres
President Barack Obama visited the Central
simply not enough water to satisfy all 5,000
Valley, announcing millions of dollars in
acres of almonds, he said. Hopefully, I dont
ith Californias agricultural heartland
relief aid that in part will help the states
have to pull out another 20 percent, Baker
entrenched in drought, almond farmranchers and farmers better conserve and
said, adding that sooner or later neighborers are letting orchards dry up and in some
manage water.
ing farmers will come to the same conclucases making the tough call to have their
Baker, who favors farming over polision. Theyre hoping for the best. I dont
trees torn out of the ground, leaving behind
tics, explained the math leading to his
think its going to come.
empty fields.
decision. Between now and the summer
There are no figures yet available to
In the Californias Central Valley, Barry
almond harvest, he would need to irrigate
show an exact number of orchards being
Baker is one of many who hired a crew that
his orchards with
removed, but the
brought in large rumbling equipment to
economic stakes and Hopefully, I dont have to pull scarce, expensive
perform the grim task in a cloud of dust.
water and pay
risks facing growers out another 20 percent.
A tractor operator drove heavy steel
to have the trees
are clear. Almonds
shanks into the ground to loosen the roots
pruned and sprayed. Bringing in bee hives
and other nuts are among the most
and knock the trees over. Another operator,
to pollinate the blossoms costs nearly $500
high-value crops in the Central Valley, the
driving a brush loader equipped with a
an acre.
biggest producer of such crops in the counfork-like implement on the front, scooped
That all would amount to a $2.5 million
try. In 2012, Californias almond crop had an
up the trees and root balls and pushed
gamble, without knowing if the next couple
annual value of $5 billion. This year farmers
them into a pile, where an excavator driver
of months will bring significant rain to the
say the dry conditions are forcing them to
grabbed them up in clusters with a clawing
valley floor and snow to the mountains.
make difficult decisions.
grapple. The trees were fed into a grinder
Youd have wrapped a lot of money up in
Gov. Jerry Brown earlier in the year
that spit wood chips into piles to be hauled
those trees to see what happens, he said.
declared a drought emergency after the
away by the truckload and burned as fuel in
Removing old trees is common pracstates driest year in recorded history.
a power plant.
tice. Almond trees remain productive for
The thirst for water has sparked political
Baker, 54, of Baker Farming Company, has
about 25 years, growers said. The states
battles in Washington, D.C., over use of the
decided to remove 20 percent of his trees
almond farmers removed over 10,000 acres
of trees in 2012, according to a report by
the California Department of Food and
Agriculture. Most were past their prime. No
figures are available on how many orchards
Bars, Restaurants, and Tavern
farmers are removing today, said departCatering, Including Food Trucks
ment spokesman Steve Lyle.
But Alan Thompson of G&F Agri Service
Hotels & Motels
LLC, who leads the crew ripping out
Night Clubs & Gentlemans Clubs
Bakers orchards, said the drought spiked
his business by 75 percent. This time of year
Special Events
is typically slow, but Thompson, 31, said his
Clubs & Halls
heavy equipment operators start at dawn
CGL Limits up to $3,000,000
each day and works until sundown, removPrimary Liquor Liability up to $1,000,000
ing orchards in short order.
We dont even mess around with cutting
www.mjhallandcompany.com
them up with chain saws, he said. That
States Served Are AK, AZ CA, HI, NV & TX LIC #0488901
grinder is the way to do it right there.
(209) 870-2953, 709 N. Center Street Stockton, CA 95202
Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of
Send submissions to:
Alaska@mjhallandcompany.com
the Fresno County Farm Bureau, said he
Arizona@mjhallandcompany.com
expects that almond growers will be removCalifornia@mjhallandcompany.com
Hawaii@mjhallandcompany.com
ing trees through the spring and summer
Nevada@mjhallandcompany.com
because of the drought. I have no doubt
Texas@mjhallandcompany.com
M.J. Hall Covers Hospitality
MJHALLCO16785.indd 1
2/26/14 5:32 PM
A crew from G&F Agri Service LLC uses heavy equipment to remove an almond orchard and to turn the trees into wood chips at Baker Farming
Company in Firebaugh, Calif., on Feb. 3. The states drought has forced farmers to remove some almond orchards earlier than they normally would
because they dont expect to have enough irrigation water. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)
permanent crops will be taken out because

of this, he added.
Tim Lynch of Agra Marketing Group said
power plants in the state nearly have more
wood chips from almond trees than they
can handle. Lynchs firm acts as the middle
man between growers getting rid of their
trees and the power plants that need bio
fuel to burn. The dry weather this winter has allowed growers to work in their
orchards that are typically soggy, and the
drought pushed them to take out trees earlier than normal, he said.
The high value of almonds has caught
the eye of investors in recent years, who
paid top-dollar for land to plant almond
orchards and cash in on the bonanza. Their
value remains strong, making the decision
for farmers to remove orchards difficult.
William Bourdeau, executive vice presiwww.insurancejournal.com
dent of Harris Farms in Coalinga, said he

and his colleagues within the next 30 days
will have to confront the hard decision
about scaling back their almond orchards.
Theyve already decided not to plant 9,000
acres of vegetables including 3,000 acres
of lettuce that would have produced 72 million heads and generated 700,000 hours of
work.
Next, they may rip out 1,000 acres of
almonds, a permanent crop, Bourdeau said.
I hesitate to use a number that big.
Unfortunately, its going to that big or
bigger, he said, still holding out hope the
season will turn wet. Were trying to limp
along as long as we can.
Leaving the orchards un-watered and
expecting theyll somehow survive the
drought is no option, Bourdeau said,
because insects infest the dying trees and
multiply, spreading to other orchards.

Drawing well water is a bad option, he
said. Their wells sink 2,400 feet below
ground in his region of the Central Valley,
providing water thats unhealthy and compromises the crops for years, if the trees
survive at all, he said.
They have considered blending well and
surface water to minimize the harm. Or
they can remove some almonds to direct
their limited water to fewer orchards.
Theres a lot of what-ifs, Bourdeau said.
Theres no good decision. Its whats the
least worse option.
See related story on Page 6:
California Farmers Hire Dowsers
to Find Water
WEST COVERAGE
News & Markets

CWCI and WCIRB: SB 863 Lowered Surgical Center Payments in California
verage facility fee payments to ambulatory surgery centers fell 26 percent per
episode and 28 percent per procedure since
fee schedule changes mandated by Senate
Bill 863 were adopted last year.
Thats according to a study by the
Workers Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau of California and the California
Workers Compensation Institute. The
results of this study are consistent with the
WCIRBs initial projection of a 25 percent
reduction in ASC costs that was part of the
Jan. 1, 2013 pure premium rate filing, according to the authors of the study.
The joint study measured average
amounts billed and paid for workers comp
outpatient surgery services in the year
preceding the adoption of the revised fee
schedule and in the first six months after
the revised fee schedule took effect.
Payment results were measured both on
a per procedure basis using CWCI data, and
a per episode basis using WCIRB data. The

authors also looked for changes in a number
of factors that can affect the total amounts
paid to surgical centers.
Among the findings of the report:
The average amount paid per ASC procedure following the implementation of the
revised ASC fee schedule fell 28 percent;
The average amount paid for ASC services per episode fell 26 percent;
Although billings increased and negotiated discounts eroded, the net paid
amounts for ASC services were not materially affected;
Both ASCs and hospital outpatient
departments showed declines in the proportion of outpatient facility fees paying
for additional services associated with
the primary paid procedure;
The proportion of ASC payments attributable to services not subject to the fee
schedule change increased, but remained
relatively small;
The data indicate no change in the mix
of services or the percentage of episodes
occurring in outpatient hospital settings
and ASCs.
The study authors said their findings
are preliminary, so WCIRB and CWCI will
continue to monitor ASC experience and
plan to update the report later this year to
reflect all 2013 data.
Report Projects L.A.s Vulnerability to Future Sea Level Rise
os Angelenos may expect

to experience sea level rise
of as much as two feet by 2050
due toclimate change, according to current projections.
A team from USC partnered
with Los Angeles to gauge the
impact of the rising tides on
local communities and infrastructure. The results, according to a recent report, are a
mixed bag.
However, at-risk assets can be protected
by proactive planning and early identification of adaptation measures, according to
the reports authors.
Some low-lying areas within the citys
jurisdiction, such as Venice Beach and
some areas of Wilmington and San Pedro,
are already vulnerable to flooding, said
Phyllis Grifman, lead author of the report
and associate director of the USC Sea Grant
Program. Identifying where flooding is
already observed during periods of storms

and high tides, and analyzing other areas
where flooding is projected are key elements in beginning effective planning for
the future.
Other findings from the report include:
The citys wastewater management,
storm water management and potable
water systems are highly vulnerable to
sea level rise;
The Port of Los Angeles and the citys
energy infrastructure would be mostly
unaffected by the rise in sea level due to a

replacement schedule that will allow the
city to prepare for future needs to change
infrastructure;
Projected flooding and erosion damage to
roads along the coast could impede emergency services;
Many cultural assets located along the
coast, including museums, historic buildings and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium,
could face damage;
Residents of low-lying communities,
such as San Pedro and Wilmington, as
well as those with older buildings and
high numbers of renters, such as Venice,
would be most affected by flooding;
In particular, the Abbot Kinney corridor
and the fragile Ballona wetlands are at
risk, however the regions wide sandy
beaches, if maintained, can provide a valuable bulwark against higher waters.

NATIONAL COVERAGE
Business Moves
AssuredPartners, Bateman Agency
Lake Mary, Fla.-based AssuredPartners
Inc., through its subsidiary Donald F.
LaPenna Associates Inc. in Clark, N.J., has
acquired Bateman Agency Inc. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
Bateman Agency is an independent
insurance firm located in Somerville, N.J.
The firm specializes in coverage for businesses, including inland and ocean marine
insurance, builders risk, professional liability and bonds; and insurance for individuals,
including homeowners, renters, and flood.
As part of the acquisition, Bateman
Agency will continue to operate out of its
Somerville location under the leadership
of Donald LaPenna, president of Donald F.
LaPenna Associates.
Doug Bateman, who has been serving
as president of Bateman Agency, will join
LaPenna as a producer, and continue to
work with his clients.
Cross Insurance, Driscoll Agency
Bangor, Maine-based Cross Insurance,
a subsidiary of Cross Financial Corp., has
acquired Driscoll Agency, an independent
insurance agency based in Norwell, Mass.
Terms were not disclosed.
Driscoll Agency specializes in risk management services and surety bonding. The
agency represents more than 100 contractors throughout New England, providing
risk management programs and surety
bonding lines of credit.
Since its founding in 1954, Cross
Insurance has grown through the acquisition of more than 100 insurance agencies
throughout New England.
Arthur J. Gallagher, KK&T
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired
Kent, Kent & Tingle, a retail insurance broker based in Shreveport, La. Terms of the
deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1989, Kent, Kent & Tingle
(KK&T) provides employee benefits,
property/casualty and risk management
insurance services, and specializes in the oil
and gas, construction, manufacturing, distribution and medical industries. The group
offers group health, welfare and wellness
plans, employee benefits consulting services,

commercial property/
casualty insurance coverage and risk management
consulting services for
their clients throughout
the southern United
States.
Fred Kent and his colleagues will continue to
operate in their current
location under the direction of John Neumaier,
head of Gallaghers South
Central employee benefit
consulting and brokerage operations, and
Mitchel Brashier, head of
Gallaghers Southeastern
property/casualty brokerage operations.
Arthur J. Gallagher &
Co., an international insurance brokerage
and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Ill.
Patriot National, Stonewood
Patriot National Insurance Group Inc.,
a workers compensation insurer based in
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has a new partnership
with Stonewood National Insurance Co.
for a health care industry program in the
Midwest.
Under the partnership arrangement,
Patriot will write workers compensation
through its managing general agency,
Patriot Underwriters Inc., and Patriot will
serve as a program administrator with
defined underwriting and claims settlement authority, according to a company
announcement.
The program is focused in select
Midwestern states on segments within the
health care industry.
Stonewood is an affiliate of the Franklin
Holdings, a Bermuda -based holding company with companies that specialize in
underwriting select lines of casualty insurance and reinsurance.
This is Patriots second partnership with
an A-rated insurance carrier and comes
shortly after a $28-million capital infusion

into Patriots wholly-owned subsidiary,
Guarantee Insurance Co., the company said.
Patriot National Insurance Group has
two operating subsidiaries Guarantee
Insurance Co. and Patriot Underwriters Inc.
Stonewood Insurance Cos., headquartered
in Raleigh, N.C., is the specialty admitted insurance platform of James River
Group Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Franklin
Holdings Ltd. of Hamilton Bermuda.
XL, Global Ag
XL Reinsurance America Inc., a subsidiary of XL Group plc, has acquired Global
Ag Insurance Services, a crop insurance provider based in the western United States.
The two companies initially partnered
in 2011 to deliver crop insurance solutions
to western specialty crop producers and
growers through the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) multi-peril crop
insurance program. The two companies
then built a specialized platform to offer
an alternative to growers and agents in the
western United States.
XL Group plcs reinsurance companies
offer products that include aerospace, property/casualty, marine and specialty.
March 10, 2014 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL | 11
SPOTLIGHT
10 Things to Know About

Home & Auto
New Jersey is the most expensive state
for auto insurance where the average
expenditure is $1,183.95. Idaho is the least
expensive with an average expenditure
for coverage at $535.15. Insurance
Information Institute (III)
Homeowners claims related to wind or

hail are the most frequent; the costliest are
related to fire, lightning or debris removal.
About one in 20 insured homes have a claim
each year. (III/ISO)
The average auto liability claim for property damage was $3,073 in 2012, while the average auto
liability claim for bodily injury was $14,653. That same
year, the average collision claim was $2,950, and the
average comprehensive claim was $1,585. (ISO)
Based on third quarter 2013 reports, GEICO

Corp. surpassed Allstate Corp. to become
the nations second-largest private auto insurer.
According to data compiled by SNL, GEICO
logged $4.89 billion in direct premiums written
during the third quarter of 2013, while Allstate
recorded $4.65 billion in premiums. State Farm
remained firmly in the number one position with
$8.7 billion. (SNL Financial)
About one in 50 insured homes have a property

damage claim related to wind or hail each year.
About one in 65 insured homes have a property
damage claim caused by water damage or freezing
each year. About one in 200 insured homes have a
property damage claim due to theft each year. About
one in 230 insured homes have a property damage
claim related to fire, lightning or debris removal every
year. (III/ISO)
About one in 800 homeowners policies have a liability claim related to the cost of lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that the policyholder or
family members cause to others. (III/ISO)
While 25 percent of consumers rent their primary residence, 46 percent of renters remain
uninsured. When it comes to renters insurance,
State Farm captures the largest share of the market (26 percent), followed by Allstate (12 percent)
and USAA (10 percent). (J.D. Power)
In 2012, less than 1 percent of people with

liability insurance had a bodily injury liability claim, while 3.5 percent of those with liability
insurance had a property damage liability claim.
Just 5.6 percent of collision insurance policyholders
had a claim in 2012, while 2.6 percent of people
with comprehensive coverage had a claim. (ISO)
In 2013, the homeowners industry will generate its first statutory underwriting profit since
2007. Fitch Ratings examined GAAP homeowners
results from 2011-2013 for four homeowners insurers: The Allstate Corp.; Chubb Group of Insurance
Cos.; The Hartford Financial Services Group
Inc.; and The Travelers Cos. Inc. These companies
reported an aggregate homeowners combined ratio
of 79.6 percent for full-year 2013. (Fitch Ratings)
Dog bites accounted for more than one-third

of all homeowners insurance liability claim
dollars paid out in 2012, costing more than $489
million, according to the industrys Insurance
Information Institute and insurer State Farm.
When its grim, you need Great.

A disaster like this is a painful way to learn the carrier you recommended
has less than stellar claims service.
To process claims quickly and smoothly takes the expertise of specialists
who know and understand how to turn grim to great. Great Americans
strength of specialization gives us that rare ability. Were able to see
executive liability risks, write coverages, and handle claims in a way that
gives your clients greater satisfaction.
Dont settle for less than Great American. Make grim like it never happened.
www.GreatAmericanELD.com
Coverage is underwritten by Great American Insurance Company, a licensed insurer in 50 states and the District of Columbia. 2013 Great American Insurance Company. All rights reserved.
301 E Fourth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
NATIONAL COVERAGE
News & Markets

Tony Markel Leads City of Hope Fund Raising Effort
ony Markel was recently honored for

his work on a national campaign to
raise $1 billion for cancer research.
Markel, known as the name and the man
behind building Markel Corp. into one of
the largest property/casualty insurance
companies in the U.S., recently served as
national chair for the City of Hopes Power
of Hope campaign.
Markel considers himself semi-retired
and he is still on the board of the publicly
traded, Glen Allen, Va.-based company. The
72-year-old now lives in Naples, Fla., and
Tony Markel, of Markel Corp., talks about raising funds for cancer research.
spends summers in Richmond, Va. He has
My line was to try to raise funds in
two daughters and two grandchildren.
chair with a target of raising $1 billion by
order to leave a legacy for all our kids and
Despite having a life that was full, Markel
the organizations 100th anniversary in 2013.
grandkids that isnt overhung by the specter
said he decided to become involved with
That campaign culminated in January,
of cancer the way my generation has had
City of Hope in 2006 after the National
and they raised a little bit more than $1 bilto deal with it, he said. Doing that will be
Insurance Industry Council honored him
lion, according to its organizers.
quite a task, and itll take many more $1 bilwith its annual Spirit of Life Award given
When we asked Tony to lead the Power
lion campaigns, he said.
for insurance industry professionals for
of Hope campaign we knew, with certainty,
Its going to take a herculean effort to
their charitable efforts. NIIC comprises repthat with his leadership we would meet
really solve the problem, but I think strides
resentatives from life and property/casualty
our $1 billion dollar goal, said Kathleen L.
are being made, Markel said. I just think
companies, law firms, brokers, accounting
Kane, City of Hopes chief philanthropy and
progress is coming a little grudgingly, but it
firms, reinsurers, executive placement firms
external relations officer. Tony is larger
will be done.
and actuaries in the insurance industry.
than life, as was our ambitious goal which
COH works with the insurance industry
Months after Markel received the award
we exceeded by $33 million. Besides being
through the National Insurance Industry
his wife Sue was diagnosed with ovarian
enormously compelling, he is an enthusiasCouncil, but Markel thinks its importcancer. While she
tic spokesperson, a
ant for all sectors of the economy to be
was being treated
generous donor and
involved. COH has similar events for several
in Virginia, the
a creative thought
other industries.
Markels also got
leader.
I think its important for every segment
help and advice
Markel credited
of the economy, Markel said. Any individufrom cancer
City of Hopes develal, company, organization, or group of orgaexperts at Duarte,
opment department,
nizations, have a social obligation to give
Calif.-based City of
and the fact that
back, and clearly cancer is a major issue
Hope. Sue Markel
cancer has touched
that has really become a rallying point.
fought the disease
so many people, for
He added, I think the insurance industry
for 13 months
achieving that goal.
Tony Markel, of Markel Corp., was honored as nationhas done a tremendous job in raising money
before dying in
Its a very easy
al chair of City of Hopes Power of Hope campaign.
for the City of Hope.
2008, but the expestory to sell, he
Capping Markels run was a gala to celrience with City
said. Everybody
ebrate the centennial and honor retiring
of Hope inspired Markel to establish the
past the age of 3, I think has been touched
City of Hope CEO Michael A. Friedman.
Markel/Friedman Fund for Research into
by cancer one way or another.
Freidman now becomes emeritus cancer
Ovarian/Peritoneal Tumors at City of Hope,
Markel, who referred to himself as just
center director.
he said.
the face of the campaign, said his personal
The reigns of the organization are being
Roughly a year after his wifes death the
goal was to contribute to lessening the
taken up by Robert Stone. Stone has been
City of Hope approached Markel to head
broad impact for future generations that
with City of Hope for 18 years.
up the Power of Hope campaign as national
cancer has had on his.
QBE
Specialized
Replace potential liabilities with a sense of
security with QBEa company whose experience
and expertise allow us to say yes to highly unique
insurance needs.
Management & Professional Liability
Accident & Health
Aviation
Trade Credit
Across all areas, our experienced Specialty Lines team

provides superior claims handling and has the ability to
underwrite multiple coverages and tailor comprehensive
solutions to your risks. So be specializedand well be
here to make things possible.
For information visit QBEspecialized.com

@QBENorthAmerica
QBE and the links logo are registered service marks of QBE Insurance Group Limited.
2014 QBE Holdings, Inc.
SPECIAL REPORT
Specialty Markets
By Andrea Wells
he craft beer industry has been chipping away at the U.S. domestic beer
market throughout the past decade. And the pace of growth in this specialty niche is not expected to stop anytime soon.
By 2020, Americas craft brewers will have more than 20 percent market
share, according to the Brewers Association, a national group that represents
2,000 U.S. breweries nationwide. In 2012, U.S. craft brewers accounted for 6.5
percent by volume and 10.2 percent by dollars in market share. The craft brewing industry grew 15 percent by volume and 17 percent by dollars in 2012 compared with growth in 2011 of 13 percent by volume and 15 percent by dollars.
At the end of January, the Brewers Association counted 2,776 breweries in
the United States thats up from less than 1,600 in 2010. The association
expects the craft brewery count to run well over 3,000 by the end of 2014. In
1980, only 89 craft brewers existed in the United States.
Theres been consistent growth in breweries year-over-year since the early
1990s, says Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. Some 400-500 new
breweries start-up each year and theres nothing to show us that that pace is
going to slow down at all, he says. On top

of brewers opening up shop, theres plenty
more in planning stages right now as well,
he adds.
This is good news for insurance experts
looking to grow their business in this specialty market.
Market Specialists
One insurance expert who began specializing in the microbrewery market in 1986
when a craft brewer opened up shop in his
agencys hometown is Peter Whalen, president and owner of Northampton, Mass.based Whalen Insurance Agency.
When Whalen wrote his first brewery
no one specialized in the market and many
insurers were unfamiliar with the risks.
Thats changed. The insurance market for
craft brewers is quite different than those
earlier days, Whalen says. Today a number
of regional and national carriers are in the
class. Whalen now writes more than 100
microbreweries, which accounts for about 15
percent to 20 percent of the agencys total
revenue.
The microbrewery industrys recent
growth is attracting a number of newcomers to the insurance market.
You hear about new breweries opening
every day, Whalen says. We have three or
four opening in my area right now and Im
rural. Whalen expects to see even more
growth in the craft brewing sector.
As with many new small business industries, he expects to see some brewing companies that wont make it. Some will not be
able to hang in there because of the competition, but theres going to be more coming
into the market. They will merge or sell to

others. There will be some shakeout of the
smaller players. But for every one leaving
there will be one coming in.
Other states outside the Northeast
where the microbrewery boom is exploding
include California, Colorado and Michigan,
says Paul Martinez who manages Brewery
Pak Insurance Program, a managing general
agency that offers an exclusive admitted
program with Great American insurance to
cover the needs of breweries nationwide.
Brewery Pak launched three years ago
and currently writes about 150 breweries in
42 states, British Columbia and Ontario.
Martinez, an avid craft beer enthusiast,
says his agency saw a need in the expanding
market for specialized coverages tailored to
the microbrewery industry.
Weve been managing programs with
Great American since 1998 thats when
the Winery Pak program started. From that,
our principal saw the opportunity with all
the breweries opening, and he approached
Great American to start a brewery program
as well.
Martinez says there are a number of
similarities, and lots of differences, when
insuring both wineries and breweries.
Wineries have different exposures like
personal dwellings on the premises, they
do a lot of cased good storage off premises,
whereas the breweries keep everything in
one location, they have their production
and storage on one location. As they grow
breweries might contract third party storage facilities to house their beer off site,
but many smaller facilities store onsite, he
continued on page 18
SPECIAL REPORT
Specialty Markets
continued from page 17

explained.
So far, Brewery Paks performance is
solid, Martinez says. The claims experience
has been good. We havent had any major
claims; a couple of leakage and contamination claims which are specialized coverages
that we offer in our package, and also some
spoilage claims due to equipment breakdown overall the loss ratio is very good.
Rates for coverage are very competitive,
Martinez says.
Brewery Paks customized coverages for
breweries include property, general liability,
beer stock, beer contamination, leakage,
tanks and barrels, specialized beer loss
valuation, equipment breakdown coverage,
production equipment, product withdrawal
expense, stock in transit, liquor liability,
and others.
For breweries with tasting rooms, restaurants, special events and even lodging other
lines of coverage can be purchased.
Martinez says Brewery Pak will accept
microbreweries of all sizes as well, even
new ventures.
I think it would be foolish for us to turn
away the new ventures due to the growing
number of them, he says. Plus we pride
ourselves with growing with the breweries.
We love to be there from the first step. We

have a couple of clients who have already
grown exponentially since we wrote them
three years ago.
Specialized Coverages
John Hoefer has been writing breweries
for about six years now, but he created the
Brewery Insurance program, a division
of independent agency Milestone Risk
Management & Insurance Services based in
Irvine, Calif., two years ago.
I started the program because I saw that
there was a real need for some education
on proper insurance for breweries, Hoefer
says. For many brewery owners, buying
commercial insurance for their new business was a first, he says. Often they may not
understand the coverages and that led to
gaps in their insurance program.
There are some specialized coverages
that really need to be on the policy in order
to properly protect the brewery, Hoefer
says. Every time I came across a brewery
that I didnt insure, they were always missing.
Craft breweries need specialized coverages similar to wineries, he says.
They need coverage for contamination of
their stock. They need coverage for

leakage. They have big tanks full
of beer, and theyre full for weeks
on end. If a valve breaks or a forklift runs into it, the equipment is
covered, but the beer inside is not
covered unless they have specialized leakage coverage, Hoefer says.
Breweries need everything that
a winery has except the winery
policies werent adapted to fit the
breweries, he says.
The type of coverages needed
depends on the breweries classification, an important area where
specialists can help, Hoefer says.
There are a couple different
classifications, and its based on
the license classification from the
state, he says. There are production breweries. Those dont serve
any food and generally have an
onsite brewery and whats called a tasting
room or a tap room.
They can only sell their beer out of their
tasting room. Otherwise, they distribute
their beer to bars and restaurants, he says.
Then theres a brew pub. A brew pub is
actually a brewing license for a restaurant.
The production breweries are essentially
manufacturers that have a license to sell
their own beer. A brew pub is a restaurant
that has a license to brew beer, he says.
Brew pubs have a lot of the same coverages
required as restaurants, but then they also
need to have specialized coverages for the
brewery as well.
One major difference between wineries
and craft brewers is the land exposure, says
Matthew Carlson, vice president of Risk
Strategies Co.
Its more of an agriculture exposure,
Carlson says. A brewery can set up in any
urban area, industrial area, or even some
people are doing it in their auxiliary barn
depending on what location theyre at. I
have a client in a rural part of Texas and
essentially their barn is the brewery and
thats where theyll brew their beer.
Whats similar to winery owners, in
Carlsons view, is the passion that craft
brewers hold for their product.
I love working with breweries, Carlson

admits. I definitely spend a good chunk
of my time trying to grow that business
segment of my book. I just met with a
client last week for lunch. We placed their
business, but theyre a little far up north,
and I hadnt quite made it up there yet, and
she happened to be in Los Angeles. We had
lunch, and she brought me beer from the
brewery. Thats the side bonus to working
with brewery clients, he says.
Market Expansion
One area of the country hot for the brewing boom is California, which currently
boasts about 600 microbrewers in the state
and counting.
Paul Fuller, senior vice president of
underwriting for Alteris Insurance Services
Inc., a managing general agency based
in San Francisco, helped establish a new
program launched in January 2014 called
Brewery Plus.
Brewery Plus, which is endorsed by the
California Craft Brewers Association, is
underwritten through an A.M. Best AXV
rated carrier and is being offered exclusively through four California-based independent agencies and brokers specializing in
the microbrewery space.
The program takes out the holes and
smooths out the coverage cracks for smaller
to medium-sized brewers, Fuller says.
Among other coverages, Brewery Plus
offers contamination, leakage and profit
coverage in case theres damage to the beer
and its destroyed. The selling price is consistent with Alteris winery program, which
has been on the market since 2006, Fuller
says. Coverages such as boiler and machinery and liquor liability can be embedded
onto the general liability form. In the past,
such options had only been available to larger brewers in California, he says.
The target market for Brewery Plus will
be microbreweries generating $5 million or
less in receipts.
This small- to medium-sized market for
microbrewers is ideal for insurance programs, he says. Our Winery Plus program
gives us the scale and comfort to provide
this product to what we consider a homogwww.insurancejournal.com
manufacturing expertise that we are able to

enous class of business. The making of craft
apply what we already have in-house to the
beer and the making of wine are very simineeds they have.
lar to manufacture.
Cassady has only seen a few agencies in
With the maturation of the craft brewing
the Midwest targeting the small to mediindustry, Fuller expects to see more compeum-sized microbrewery market. The smalltition in the program market for smaller to
er ones arent getting the attention they
medium size brewers.
need in the industry, he says.
The craft brewing space is bifurcated
Cassady sees lots of opportunity in the
into large and all others. The large are those
Midwest for microbrewery business going
generating over 25,000 barrels a year
forward. At some point we may get to a
they have options, he says. But the rest of
saturation point, but at this point, were
the industry is still open for new insurance
not seeing that happening, especially in the
solutions.
Chicagoland area; theres new breweries
Fuller expects Brewery Plus to underopening all the time.
write at least 200 policies this year in
Plus, its a fun industry to be a part of, he
California alone. Once we have established
says. Im a big beer drinker myself, and I
our procedures we will look at Oregon,
dont brew beer, so this is a way for me to
Washington, Colorado and the New
be involved in the industry, and add a little
England states.
bit of what I do, with the guys that I like
Fuller expects to see a similar trend in
hanging around with.
microbrewing as what hapCarlson sees a bright future
pened in Napa Valley.
I love working
for craft brewers as well. He
We see similarities with
with breweries. enjoys working with emerging
the custom crush with the
industries and was one of the
burgeoning growth in craft
first producers in California to target food
brew in California, he says. Well see a lot
trucks.
of start-ups and a lot of individuals staking
He relates the craft brewers market to
their claim and making a go of the manufacCalifornias technology market.
turing of specialized craft beers.
I know it sounds weird, but you get
Another newcomer to the craft beer
these people that are very passionate about
insurance world is The Horton Groups
their product whether thats a techTom Cassady, a sales executive based in
nology product or thats beer theres a
Chicago. While insuring microbreweries is
potential for one of those tech companies or
a newer market for The Horton Group, the
one of those breweries to become the next
agency has been writing risks in the food
Google, he says.
and beverage manufacturing space for years.
Like the tech market, brewery owners
I came to Horton about a year ago and
are young. They are female and male. They
saw a need in the industry, so Ive been
come from all walks of life. Either they just
working on building it for about a year
graduated with a brewery degree, or they
now, Cassady says. Weve got about five
took their passion for beer and turned it
breweries in the books now, most of them
into a new career.
are on the smaller end, but have met with
I have one person where it just so hapupwards of 30 breweries in the last year, of
pened that a brew house came up for sale
varying shapes and sizes.
and they were selling the brewery man Cassady says the microbrewery insurance
ufacturing part of the business, but not
market is underdeveloped and has a need
the restaurant part. My client decided to
for more specialized attention. Its somebuy the brewery part and start a business.
thing were putting a lot of time into.
Now, 10 years later theyre doing great and
Theyre manufacturers, especially once
expanding. Before the beer-making venyou get to the size of the really mature
ture, the co-founders were in the construcbreweries thats where they really are a
tion safety management field.
manufacturer, he says. We feel with our
IDEA EXCHANGE
Technology
The Upcoming Windows XP Apocalypse
he end of the world is coming. The

world of Windows XP that is.
A significant event is happening in the
technology industry that will affect insurance agents. On April 8, 2014, Microsoft will
no longer support Windows XP.
Yes, that Windows XP, the operating
system that was
launched more than
12 years ago the
same operating system that still commands more than 40
percent of all business
computers will
come to an end.
By Laird Rixford
Why is Microsoft
cutting support for Windows XP?
It is so old that it predates 9/11. Though it
is clearly still popular, the operating system
is consuming a large amount of Microsofts
resources that they would rather use on
their newer operating systems Windows 7
and 8.
If you feel
surprised by
this news, you
should know
Microsoft actually announced
in 2007 they
were planning
to end support
of Windows XP.
They also pushed
back the date
after originally
planning to end it in 2010.
What does the end of support for
Windows XP mean? It means that Microsoft
will no longer provide technical support to
vendors, integrators and end users.
In other words if you use Windows XP,
you will no longer receive security updates
or product fixes. Essentially, the operating
system will be taken off life support.
The Death of Windows XP in Agencies
Why is this end of Windows XPs life
important to insurance agents?

First, with a lack of updates and fixes,
your agencys computers will no longer be
secure. This puts your clients data at risk
as cyber attackers can target Windows XP
vulnerabilities without worry of security
updates or patches.
If you have been following the recent
stories of the data breaches at Target and
other companies, you know data security is
extremely important to consumers. Many
errors and omissions (E&O) liability policies and compliance departments require
agents to run up-to-date supported software
for this very reason.
Second, as the technology in modern
operating systems advances, the programs
that use this technology do, as well. For
example, many agency automation systems
use the latest technologies that are available
through modern operating systems like
newer browsers, updated API libraries
and more to provide agents the best
experience
and features
to accomplish
their daily tasks.
These automation systems
might require
you to upgrade
from Windows
XP so they can
start using the
newer abilities
available in the
latest operating
systems.
On April 8, your computer should still
work fine, but it will be at risk of becoming
infected with viruses, spyware or other
malware that may result in crashes or, even
worse, the theft of your clients personal
information.
The size of the risk has not been calculated. However, when it comes to protecting
your clients data from hackers and yourself
from potential E&O claims, it does not
matter how big the risk is. Your system will
be vulnerable. You need to protect it.

What Can You Do?
Upgrade! You can install an updated
operating system or upgrade the computer
completely.
You might choose to switch to web-based
programs for rating and management systems as you can access data from anywhere
there is an Internet connection and a web
browser. By migrating to all web-based systems, you can even move past the desktop
altogether and use tablets and smartphones,
thus avoiding the next operating system
apocalypse.
You can upgrade to the Windows 7 or
Windows 8 operating systems. Windows 7
has the familiar interface and is more budget-friendly than Windows 8; however, it
is the older of the two operating systems.
Windows 8 may require some getting used
to as the interface has significantly changed
from the Windows look youre used to.
Dont wait until April, and potentially

expose your clients to hackers. The end of
Windows XP is inevitable. Upgrade now!
Tech Talk
Look for the new technology column
Tech Talk beginning in the March 24, 2014,
issue, sponsored by ITC.
Rixford is president at Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), a marketing, rating and management
software and services provider to the insurance
industry. You can reach him on Twitter at @lrixford
or email: lrixford@getitc.com.
Register Today!
Make your plans now to attend one of the
IICF Women in Insurance Regional Forums

Chicago | June 3, Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza
Los Angeles | June 12, Westin Bonaventure
New York City | June 17, New York Hilton
EXPLORE
NETWORK
ENRICH
GROW
Dallas | June 19, Hyatt Regency Dallas
2014 IICF Regional Forums: Building on the Momentum

Following the overwhelming success of the 2013 Women in Insurance Global Conference, IICF is hosting
four regional one-day forums in 2014.
The 2014 regional conferences provide easier access to interested individuals around the country and
will focus on leadership, the changing workforce of the future, and the male perspective on gender
diversity. Speakers of the highest caliber will once again be featured at all four conferences, and there
will be enriched opportunities for building strong regional networks and individual connections.
For more information on the

https://www.facebook.com/doubleicf
http://www.twitter.com/doubleicf
http://www.youtube.com/TheDoubleicf
IICF Women in Insurance Conference Series go to
www.womensconference.iicf.org
CLOSER LOOK
Directors & Officers Liability

Carriers Committed to D&O Segment
By Amy OConnor
everal turbulent years of increased

claims, more regulation and additional
oversight of directors and officers have not
deterred carriers from the directors and
officers (D&O) liability segment. As more
carriers beef up their policies to address
new needs, other newer entrants see plenty
of opportunity for growth.
Beazley & Hiscox, Travelers and
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
(BHSI) are the most recent newsmakers.
Underwriters for the companies agree that
the private, non-profit and public D&O
segments have evolved significantly in the
last 10 years. This has resulted in a need for
changes to D&O policies led by requests
from insureds themselves and insurers
have to respond if they want to stay on top
in this oversaturated market.
The market and coverage is changing
very rapidly, says John Trefry, D&O product
manager for Travelers Bond and Financial
Products. We try to be prudent in responding to those requests and understanding the
ramifications of making even minor changes
to policy languages. Keeping up with coverage requests, understanding what the
significance of the changes are and if they

make sense can be a challenge.
Rachel Turk, D&O underwriter,
Specialty Lines for Beazley, says the changing landscape of claims and increasing
international risks are a challenge and a
catalyst for changes to D&O policies.
There are an increasing number of multinational companies that dont just work
in the U.S. and need policies in multiple
jurisdictions. The severity and frequency of
claims is not as high in the U.S. but [when
companies have operations] in other jurisdictions there are tax investigations that
can cause upsets, she says.
What has not changed in this market is
the importance and necessity of D&O coverage whether it is for public, private or
non-profit directors and officers. It has been
a tumultuous time for financial institutions,
especially, and having adequate D&O coverage has been more important than ever
since the financial crisis of 2008.
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty
Many carriers cut back on coverage or
limits for directors and officers of financial
institutions, or exited this class altogether
in the last several years. But one particular-
ly newsworthy new entrant Berkshire

Hathaway Specialty Insurance has committed to the class for the long term.
From an underwriting perspective,
financial institutions are highly correlated
to the economy. When there is an asset or
credit bubble that bursts, financial institutions are largely impacted by these events
and their balance sheets, performance and
claims activity are concentrated on these
events, says Dan Fortin, senior vice president of Executive and Professional Lines.
Many insurers shy away because of the volatility but insurers like Berkshire Hathaway
take a longer term approach. You have to
if you are going to participate in this space
because of the volatility.
BHSI launched its directors and officers
coverage for financial institutions and larger
commercial entities at the end of January.
The new Executive First policy includes
expanded protection for individual members of a board and management team in
the event the company is insolvent or otherwise able to indemnify them in connection
with a claim.
The form also addresses exposures like
securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions and government investigations.
Capacity is available up to $100 million on a
non-admitted basis, with admitted coverage
coming later this year.
Fortin says part of the long term
approach involves being selective in pricing
and with whom they insure, as well as
partnering with those brokers who have the
same perspective.
In a seven to 10 year period, there will
be a time when underwriting results will
not be pretty. But that can be offset by
some very good years, says Fortin.
Todd Greeley, vice president of Executive
Professional Lines, Claims, says the frequency of claims for financial institutions has
dropped off significantly since the height
of the crisis between 2007-2009, which he
says fits in with the historical pattern the
underwriters at BHSI have seen in their
more than 20 years in the space.
The bottom line for us is we really like

this space it is very cyclical and we have
the ability to ride out the storms, he says.
That risk selection is critical. If you can do
that well, that helps you ride out the bad
years and the years we dont have the systemic events can be very good years.
Greeley says working with the large risks
also allows BHSI more flexibility.
Its a space where the ability to be
creative in how you approach the risks is
greater. You have very sophisticated customers who really appreciate the ability to be
creative, he says.
Travelers
For Travelers, the time was right to
update its D&O coverage for public, private
and non-profit organizations. Trefry says
since the carrier first released its original
Broad Form policy in 2009, the D&O market has evolved and changed rapidly with
requests from insureds that the carrier previously responded to with endorsements.
We wanted to have a cutting edge product and we could have accomplished that
through endorsements to the older form,
but we felt now was the time to come out
with a new form, says Trefry.
The new Broad Form+ includes: nonrescindable coverage for nonindemnifiable
claims against directors and officers, including pre-claim inquiries by regulatory or
governmental authorities; no exclusions for
independent directors and an additional
limit of liability for nonindemnified loss of
independent directors without a requirement that claims, pre-claim inquiries or
custodial detentions be unrelated; and
difference in condition (DIC) coverage or
protection when indemnification is not
available or paid by any other source; among
other features.
The carrier also conducted research in
the fourth quarter of 2013 on nonprofit buying habits and found that 69 percent of nonprofits dont have D&O coverage and with
more than two million nonprofits in the
U.S., that means there is a real opportunity.
The top four reasons the carrier found for
nonprofits not to purchase coverage were:
lack of perceived risk; lack of budget; lack
of necessity; or they felt the coverage was

London markets, says Turk.
not affordable. The Travelers survey also
Brokers can no long discount London as
found that 40 percent of nonprofits that
there are now two markets that offer $50
dont purchase insurance dont know their
million in capacity and we can come up
personal assets are at risk.
with more creative solutions because we are
The lack of perceived risk is most consharing the risk, she says. With the concerning, says Trefry. Clearly there is a
sortium we are more relevant and we are
knowledge gap and that is valuable informahoping to see more risks.
tion. We are trying to encourage our trading
Hiscox is in the process of getting its U.S.
partners to educate their
D&O business up and
The D&O market is
nonprofit clients.
running, with the prochanging very rapidly. gram being led by former
Beazley
Beazley executive, Chris
The Lloyds-backed insurer released a
Warrior. Turk says Beazleys previous relanew suite of directors and officers forms at
tionship with Warrior was another reason
the end of December and just last month
for the partnership with Hiscox. The conpartnered with Hiscox to offer brokers and
sortium agreement is just for new business
clients a D&O consortium providing higher
with Beazley leading the business until
limits to U.S.-domiciled companies. Beazley
Hiscoxs program has been established.
currently works with most D&O risks
Then it will be up to brokers and clients
except financial institutions.
which insurer they want the lead coverage
Turk says the goal of the consortium is to
to be with. Clients are also not forced to
give the two London-based markets a seat
use the consortium if they would prefer to
at the table when it comes to providing
just work with one of the insurers.
directors and officers coverage to U.S.-based
The program is very flexible and we are
companies. Up until now, Beazley has comtrying to offer choice to brokers and let
peted with U.S. insurers and it has strugthem decide how it will operate for their
gled with getting business to think of the
clients, says Turk.
OAK001.indd 1
3/1/14 9:19 PM
SPOTLIGHT
Errors & Omissions

E&O Insights: Put the Power of the Signed Application to Work
ith few exceptions, an application is a

necessary document to secure a proposal or to bind coverage, and can actually
possess tremendous power. When an errors
and omissions (E&O)
matter develops, all
of the various documents, file notes, etc.,
are discoverable and
typically admissible.
Without a doubt, an
application can play
a huge role in the
By Curtis M. Pearsall
outcome of litigation.
The question will the application and
documentation help or hinder your agencys
chances of prevailing in the E&O litigation?
The Proper (with a capital P) handling of
applications is a great place to start if your
agency is serious about reducing its E&O
exposure.
The 3 Cs
Does your application meet the 3 Cs criteria? That is, 1) complete, 2) correct and 3)
current.
The first thing to consider is the completeness of the application. While most
producers probably dont enjoy completing
applications, it is a critical task in the sales
process.
Are applications from your agency
completed fully or are some questions left
blank? The answers to these blank items
could significantly impact the accounts
desirability or pricing. What happens if
youre unsure of some correct answers
as applications are completed? Do you
presume to know the answers or do you
contact the prospect to check? In the haste
to get applications submitted, a producer or
account executive may answer the questions
believing he or she is answering honestly
and correctly. Carriers rely heavily on the
application and believe the information presented to be truthful.
What happens if, after a loss, the carrier
discovers the information was incorrect?
The following actual claim reveals what
typically will happen:
The agency had a new client who needed
coverage for a home. The agent was not able
to have the client sign an application in

his presence. The application submitted to
the carrier stated the home was occupied.
After a major fire loss occurred, the carrier
found out the home was vacant. The carrier
rescinded the policy, stating it would not
have written the property had it known the
home was vacant. The carrier returned the
premium, essentially stating the policy was
not in effect. A key issue developed when it
was discovered that although the client had
eventually signed the application, the agency had only sent him the actual signature
page, and thus the client was not aware of
the questions/answers pertaining to occupancy. The application was 10 pages long
and the client had proof he was only sent
a three-page fax by the agent. The agency
was found negligent in its handling of the
matter.
There have been other E&O claims
where the carrier decided to pay the claim,
but then pursue a claim directly against
the agent due to misrepresentation of the
nature of the risk. With the right set of
facts, carriers are winning these claims.
The Best Approach
Completing the application face-to-face with the
prospect is the best approach,
asking him or her the questions exactly as they appear
and accurately noting the
responses on the application.
Dont simply require the client to sign the application
after you complete it. Require
him or her to review the
application in its entirety to
ensure you have accurately
stated the exposure. Then
have the client sign it.
This is one of the most
important procedures for an
agency to insist upon. In virtually every state, the customer is held responsible for the
contents of the application
once he or she has signed it. If the prospect

misled you in the completion of the application, having his or her signature on the
document could play a significant role if a
problem develops.
Do Not Sign It
Do not sign the clients signature to
the application. While the agency may
believe the customer has authorized it to
do so, after a loss the customer may disavow giving an agent this authorization.
Handwriting experts have found their way
into E&O claims, so extreme caution should
be exercised in this area. This E&O claim,
involving an unoccupied high-end home,
shows what can happen:
The client was paying high premiums
and wanted the carrier to lower them. The
agent completed an application, which
stated the home was occupied, and signed
it for the client. A very large water-damage loss occurred. When the carrier found
ACRD16493.indd 1
out the home was vacant, it took steps to

your carriers are extremely important and
rescind the policy, stating it would not have
must be handled accordingly. Your agencys
written a vacant home. The client pursued
goal should be to ensure the information in
E&O litigation against
the application is comDo your home and auto
the agent and the carriplete, correct and curer. The client testified apps meet 3 Cs criteria?
rent, with the entire
the agent knew the
application reviewed
That is, 1) complete, 2)
home was unoccupied. correct and 3) current.
and signed by the cusThe agent disagreed.
tomer. While getting
The agency was found negligent.
the insureds signature may be an additional
step that takes time, the power of this
A Current Discussion
signed application cannot be emphasized
Another issue that occurs now and again
enough. By mandating and enforcing these
involves agencies completing this years
requirements, the power of the application
application using the information from last
works for you, not against you.
years application. Avoid this. It is extremely dangerous and fraught with potential
Pearsall is president of Pearsall Associates Inc.,
problems. Because of the possibility that
a risk management consulting firm specializing
the risk has changed, it is always best to
helping agents protect themselves. He is also a speensure complete accuracy that the applicial consultant to the Utica National Agents E&O
cation is completed through current discusprogram. Phone: 315-768- 1534. Email: curtis@
sion with the customer.
pearsallassociates.com. Blog: www.agentseotips.
Bottom line: applications you submit to
com.
2/24/14 10:01 AM
IDEA EXCHANGE
The Competitive Advantage

Insurance Company Stability
any years ago, a well-known insurance company went from being

highly rated to insolvent almost in a fortnight. Most people in the industry older
than 50 years old remember that time. The
failure was a shock
that created lasting
skepticism about
insurance company
ratings. The industry
has not had a similar
event in a decade or
more, which tracks
with historic surplus
By Chris Burand
and the historic soft
market that has lasted almost a full decade
(insolvencies are rarer in soft markets). To
a large degree, the industry has lost institutional knowledge of what a large insolvency
means, especially when everyone thought
the company was solid.
When institutional knowledge is lost,
people begin taking for granted the good
times and they do not consider that bad
things can occur. Many younger people cannot relate to advice regarding what to do if
a carrier becomes unstable. A large carrier
becoming unstable is a possibility they have
never considered and cannot fathom.
This loss of institutional knowledge is
concerning because while there is record
surplus and surface stability, many red flags
are flying. I am not crying wolf. I am simply
attempting to create awareness of a severe
event that has painful consequences, that
has occurred with some regularity in the
past.
Just because it has not happened in the
past 10 years does not mean it will not happen again. In fact, some similarities exist
now with how the economy was supposedly crash-free, just before the credit crises.
Among the warning flags are:
1. Rising rates. Contrary to the belief
that rising rates, i.e., a hard market,
floats all boats, more boats crash in hard
markets.
2. The number of downgrades.
4. New types of markets.

The industry may now have more unrated carriers doing Main Street business,
often on an admitted basis.
3. Reserve deficiencies exist.
The industry absolutely now has more
According to A.M. Bests 2014 Review/
business in non-typical insurance
Preview, the P/C industry has a $45 billion
organizations than ever. Excluding
reserve deficit excluding mortgage and
captives, a great portion of clients buyfinancial guaranty segments. Some analysts
ing insurance from these entities do
have concluded no reserve deficiency exists,
not understand the extra risk they are
but in studying reserve deficiencies for the
accepting.
past 15 years, A.M. Bests estimates are usu A large proportion of producers and
ally in the middle between Pollyannas and
agency owners do not understand the
the curmudgeons.
extra risk these entities pose to them
These deficits are not spread evenly.
or their insureds.
It is likely that specific companies have
An example of extra risk involves their
more than their disproportionate share.
capital structures, which are not norAccording to a story
mal (relative to the
Luck is where opportunity way most insureds
in Insurance Journal on
Oct. 15, 2013, Tower
think about insurmeets preparedness.
Insurance announced a
ance). These entities
$365 million loss reserve charge after previare sometimes being credited by reguously indicating the charge would only be
lators and rating companies with the
$60 million to $110 million.
ability to do capital calls/assessments.
The companys future is now being deterThat is fine except that Im willing to
mined.
bet a material portion of these carriers
Downgrades have exceeded upgrades for
the third consecutive year according to
A.M. Best in February 2014.
FIF = Financial Impairment Frequency
Green line = NPW growth
Red line = Impairment rates

Service Centers
Another change worth consideration is
company service centers. What if an agency
has a lot of business in a company service
center and that company fails? Sure, these
companies are highly rated, but so was the
one that failed.
What is your contingency plan? How
does the service center contract address
this possibility?
I am not suggesting any company with
a service center is in jeopardy. I am recommending that agencies not take their stability for granted and forge a contingency
plan now. If for no other reason, we may
someday again have a major carrier promote
a new CEO that decides to quit the property/casualty business suddenly as one did
in the early 90s or decides to implement a
new distribution model.
Similarly, what if an agency is using a
non-carrier service center and that company
locks its doors and pulls their computer
plugs?
What happens to your agency? Your data?
Your customer service? How does the contract address this possibility?
Most agencies were heavily paper-based
when that large carrier failed. Downloads
did not exist. Paper was likely a blessing.
Consider what would happen in todays
world?
Beyond the fact the industry has lost
institutional knowledge of how a large,
supposedly safe carrier suddenly goes under
impacts an entire industry, the industry has
changed significantly in the past 10 years. I
am concerned the changes combined with
the loss of institutional knowledge have created significant exposures for agencies.
The exposures are severity issues, not
frequency issues. Because they are severity

issues, people have a more difficult time
finding the urgency required to address
them.
I encourage all readers to build their
contingency plans. Hopefully you will never
use them.
If you do, you will realize the true beauty

of the quote that: Luck is where opportunity meets preparedness.
Burand is the founder and owner of Burand &
Associates LLC in Pueblo, Colo. Phone: 719-485-3868.
E-mail: chris@burand-associates.com.
For over 36 years, the

National Insurance Industry
Council has raised $22 million
for City of Hopes mission
to provide innovative
treatments for people facing
life-threatening diseases.
Insurance industry executives gathered for the 2013 City of Hope tour.
STEVE DECARLO
CEO, AmWINS
2014 Spirit of Life Honoree
Steve DeCarlo, CEO of

AmWINS and City of Hopes
2014 Spirit of Life honoree,
encourages you to continue
your legacy of support by
participating in industry
activities, large and small.
Your participation does

make a difference!
GET INVOLVED 2014 Event Calendar

Wednesday, March 12
City of Hope Dinner
Reception and Tour
Hosted by NIIC Langham
Huntington Hotel & Spa
Pasadena, CA
City of Hope campus
Duarte, CA
Thursday, March 27
Hoops for Hope
Philadelphia, PA
Friday, March 28
Hoops for Hope
Des Moines, IA
Monday, April 7
Hoops for Hope
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA
COH16721.indd 1
Sunday, April 27 to
Wednesday, April 30
RIMS National Annual
Conference
Tristar Booth
Denver, CO
Monday, July 14
City of Hope Golf Outing
Sponsored by NIIC West
Coast Committee
Annandale Golf Club
Pasadena, CA
Wednesday, August 20
Strike Out Cancer
300 Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
To learn more, visit cityofhope.org/niic
or call 800-272-2310, ext. 26370
Saturday, September 13
Spirit of Life Gala
Honoring Steve DeCarlo,
CEO AmWINS
Atlanta, GA
Wednesday, October 15
Strike Out Cancer
Splitsville
Tampa, FL
Saturday, October 18
Los Angeles Wine Auction
Jonathan Club
Los Angeles, CA
DEV 22172.JJC
insureds do not know they have the

real potential of a capital call.
Even people who remember the highly
rated carrier crashing so quickly, even those
most acutely hurt that had E&O suits filed
against them because that carrier failed,
may not fully appreciate how industry
changes could drastically impact them quite
differently. The industry has changed so
much since then.
3/1/14 9:13 AM
IDEA EXCHANGE
Hospitality
Hospitality Workers Compensation Insurance Costs and Solutions
he worst kind of pain is self-inflicted

pain.
A large majority of the workers compensation injuries in the hotel and hospitality
business are from the housekeeping department, and more specifically housekeepers/
room attendant injuries that could have
been prevented.
Workers comp
insurance rates have
skyrocketed in the
past 18 months. The
higher rates are due
to increased medical
By Todd Seiders
costs, the unknown
factors of Obamacare, and employees making more claims due to the recession and
their fear of being laid off or losing hours.
Many companies have reduced their
management staff in the past several years,
which has led to mismanagement of, or
no management whatsoever, of employee
on-the-job injuries and safety programs.
Unmanaged employee injuries add more
cost to workers comp insurance claims, and
higher costs translate into higher insurance
rates at renewal time.
Because self-inflicted pain is the worst
kind of pain, the loss control team at Petra
Risk Solutions has accumulated and evaluated extensive workers comp injury data
from the hotel industry. Below are some
helpful suggestions on how to better manage hospitality workers comp injuries with
the focus being on pre-employment and
loss-avoidance opportunities.
Pre-Employment and Hiring Practices
First, careful consideration should be
paid to an employees physical capabilities
as they relate to the job description for the
employment position. Its recommended
that the hospitality entity provide pre-employment physicals for hotel positions that
require physical exertion. Examples of these
positions could be housekeepers, laundry
room attendants and maintenance staff.
The following example explains why.

Recently we saw a 48-year-old female
who had two complete knee replacement
surgeries on the same knee, get hired as a
housekeeper. Within the first three months
of employment, she injured her bad knee,
and the cost of her workers comp claim
will be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
If this employee had received a pre-employment physical prior to her hiring, the doctor may not have
recommended her for that
very strenuous position.
clean 15 rooms or less per day. Those housekeepers that clean 15 rooms or less per day
have fewer injuries than housekeepers who
clean 16 or more rooms a day. Housekeepers
who have to rush to complete their rooms
get injured more often.
Statistical data has shown that the 15
room cleaning maximum is in fact the
magic number that will reduce workers
Loss Avoidance-Proactive
Safety
Management and accountability statistical data from
Petra Risk Solutions shows
that approximately 80 percent
of all employee injuries occur
within the first two years of
employment, with many of
those injuries occurring in the
first year of employment.
Many hotels are shortstaffed, so they tend to put
a new employee to work as
soon as possible, with little
or no training. Injury data
demonstrates it is extremely
important to spend the time
training new hires on their job
and how to work safely before
they jump into their job role.
Hotel and hospitality management should spend time
with the new employees and
train them how to work safely
and to use proper techniques
to avoid injuries.
Limiting the number of
rooms that housekeepers clean
is another huge revelation
when it comes to loss avoidance. Hospitality risks can
reduce housekeeping injuries
by requiring housekeepers to
comp injury claims.

The business segment of the hotel also
affects the room attendant workload. For
instance, it takes less time to clean a room
with a single business guest as opposed to a
family of five on vacation.
Training staff to work using proper ergonomic techniques while working also will
reduce injuries. Some of the most expensive
injuries that require surgery and rehabilitation are cumulative and repetitive motion
injuries. Repetitive motion injuries occur
over time while using the wrong work techniques.
For example:
1. Use proper lifting techniques,
straight back, bent knees, lift
with the legs.
2. Do not bend over to clean a
floor or bath tub. Use a pole
with a cleaning device to stand
up while cleaning. Or, get on the
knees and clean from an upright
position, rather than bending
over.
3. Do not stand on bath tub side
walls or toilets while cleaning. Do
not stand on chairs or other furniture. Use step stools or ladders.
4. Do not overfill or overload linen
carts, dirty linen bins, or housekeeping carts. Make multiple trips
with smaller loads to avoid injury.
5. Use gloves to protect hands and
safety glasses or goggles to protect
eyes.
There are several new tools
and products that can help hospitality entities reduce injuries to
staff.
One example: mattress lifters
that prevent housekeepers from
straining to lift heavy mattresses multiple times a day. Also
available are devices that help
housekeepers efficiently put bed
pillows into pillow cases. The latest hotel industry trend is to have
elegant bedding, which includes
multiple pillows.
Another recommended tool:
cleaning devices on poles, or
powered scrubbing devices. There are seva concern. Doing this everyday can cause
eral cleaning products on the market that
shoulder or neck strains. Hotels should
use poles, so employees can stand upright,
review the type of vacuum they use, as well
without bending or straining their backs
as how much the unit weighs. This will
as they clean floors, bath tubs and shower
help to reduce worker strain when maneuenclosures. These products can be picked
vering the vacuum multiple times a day.
up at any home improvement store, or at
Cleaning hotel rooms is difficult, physical
national retailers
work, and is taken
Prevention of injuries and
such as Target or
for granted occasionWal-Mart.
ally. Using newly cretraining staff in safe work
We have tested
practices will save money on ated and innovative
a battery-powered
hotel housekeeping
scrubber device that workers comp injury claims
products can prevent
and overall insurance costs. injury.
reduces cleaning
time and effort, and

Reevaluating
also allows housekeepers to stand upright
how a housekeeper or room attendant perwhile cleaning multiple floors and bathforms his or her day-to-day routine is also
tubs.
important. Prevention of injuries and train Room attendants use hand pump spray
ing hotel staff in safe work practices will
bottles to dispense chemicals every day.
save money on workers comp injury claims
This can lead to carpal tunnel injuries from
and reduce overall insurance costs in the
repetitive motion. Another type of sprayer
long-run.
allow the user to pump air pressure into
the bottle, so the housekeeper only has
Seiders is director of risk management for Petra
to press on the trigger once, allowing the
Risk Solutions, which provides risk management
chemical to spray quickly and without addiand insurance services for the hospitality industry
tional strain on the fingers and arm.
nationally. Website: www.petrarisksolutions.com.
Room attendants that whip large indusPhone: 800-466-8951. Email: todds@
trial-type vacuum cleaners around are also
petrarisksolutions.com.
Agency Ideas
SALES & MARKETING IDEAS FOR P&C PROFESSIONALS
EXPLORE 400+ OF MY BEST SALES TOOLS

Grow your agency with Agency Ideas new Season Ticket.
This amazing ticket gives you instant access to over 400 sales
and marketing tools, all authored by Alan Shulman, CPCU.
Explore our Instant Download Store and select from hundreds
of personal and commercial lines tools. Use your Season
Ticket to shop for and download whatever you want on your
phone, tablet, or PC for a full year.
Access over $5,000 worth of P&C tools for as little as $599.
Visit www.agencyideas.com/ticket for complete details.
www.agencyideas.com/ticket 1-800-724-1435
ALAN16585.indd 1
11/19/13 11:26 AM
Part of a Balanced Breakfast
Toast
Coffee
Start Your Morning Smart with IJs Daily Headlines eNewsletter
www.insurancejournal.com/subscribe
IJ Daily
Headlines
2014
2013 Hospitality Risks Directory
Hospitality Risks
Directory
earching for the right market for a hard-to-place

hospitality risk? Look no further than Insurance
Journals Hospitality Risks Directory a
comprehensive listing of excess and surplus lines
intermediaries and carriers offering hospitality risks
coverage nationwide.
The information listed in this directory has been
compiled to serve as a resource guide for independent
agents and brokers looking for superior markets for
everything from nightclubs to special events, hotels to
motels, spas, resorts and restaurants too.
All markets profiled in this directory have been updated with the most current information available provided
directly by the intermediaries and carriers writing
the coverage. IJ has made every attempt to ensure the
accuracy of all information listed in this directory.
To submit a listing for future Hospitality Risks
directories, e-mail Kristine Honey at: khoney@
insurancejournal.com. We hope you find IJs 2014
Hospitality Risks Directory to be a useful tool when
searching for quality markets.
To comment on this directory, or any other IJ
resource, please e-mail: editorial@insurancejournal.com.
Banquet Halls

Market
A.I.I. Insurance Brokerage of Mass., Inc.
Abram Interstate Insurance Services, Inc.
Advanced E&S Group - Midwest Region

Agency Intermediaries, Inc.
Agostini Wholesale Insurance Services

AMC Insurance Services

AmWINS Group, Inc.
Anderson & Murison, Inc.
Arlington/Roe & Co of Indiana
Ashley General Agency
Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC
Bass Underwriters

Bliss & Glennon, Inc.
Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox
Capitol Insurance Companies
Charles A Walker Corp, an AmWins Company
Ck Specialty Insurance Associates - All Offices

Cochrane & Company
Compass Insurance Group of Agencies
States
Available
MA RI
CA
IA IL IN KS KY MI MN MO
NE OH WI
CT
AZ CA CO NE NM NV OR
TN TX UT WA
AR AZ CA LA MO MS NM
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
Many States
AL CA FL GA LA MS NV
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
NY
AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
Banquet Halls

Market
Connecticut Underwriters, Inc.

CPRO Associates
CRC Insurance Services
Crusader Insurance Company
Entertainment Brokers International (OneBeacon)
Evolution Insurance Brokers
Founders Insurance Company
Gorst Co.
Gray-Stone & Company, Inc.
Gremesco Of New Jersey
Insurance Multiplex Agency, LLC
Izzo Insurance Services, Inc.
J.M. Wilson
James River Insurance Company
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst
Lionheart Insurance Services, Inc.
M.J. Hall & Company, Inc.
McClelland and Hine, Inc.
Meadowbrook Insurance Group
Monitor Liability Managers
Morstan General Agency of Florida II, Inc.
N-Surance Outlets, Inc.
New England Excess Exchange, Ltd.

NIF Group
Number One Insurance Agency, Inc.
Ohio E & S Agency, Inc.
Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing

Patriot National Underwriters, Inc.
Prime Insurance Company
Professional Liability Ins. Svcs, Inc.
- Underwriting Facilities
Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
States
Available
CT DE MA ME MD NH NJ
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
CA
All States
All States except NY
All except DC MA MS NM
CA
Most States
NJ NY
All States
All States
Most States
All States
DE FL MA MD NJ NY OH
PA RI WV
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
TX
All States
All States
All States
AL FL GA LA NC SC TN
CT MA ME NH NJ NY PA
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN KS
MO MT NE NM NV OK OR
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
RIC Insurance General Agency, Inc.

RISCO Insurance Brokerage, Inc.
Risk Placement Services, Inc.
Roush Insurance Services, Inc.
RSI International, Inc. (Missouri)
Southern Insurance Underwriters, Inc. CMGA
Specialty Insurance

SUITELIFE by Venture Programs
Swett & Crawford
TAPCO Underwriters, Inc.
Tejas American General Agency
The McGowan Companies
Towerstone, Inc.
Tuscano Agency
U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc.
Unifax Insurance Systems, Inc.
Unisource Program Administrators
USG Insurance Services, Inc.
W.A. Schickedanz Agency, Inc.
Western Surplus Lines Agency, Inc.
Wholesale Connection Insurance Services
CA
CT MA ME NH NY RI VT
All States
IL IN OH
RCA Insurance Group
All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
Most- see website for specifics
AR IA IL IN KS KY MO OK TN
AL FL GA SC TN
CACT DE FL GA IL MA
MD MI MN MO NJ NY OH
PA RI TN TX
All States
All States
Most States
TX
All States
Most States
Most States
All States
CA
All except Monopolistic
All States
IL MO
LA NM OK TX
CA
March 10, 2014 INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION | N31

Bars/Night Clubs
Bars/Night Clubs
Bars / Night Clubs coverage category sponsored by:
Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers- check out our ad

on page 8 (West) and page 7 (South Central)

Market
ACE Westchester Specialty--Property


All Risks, Ltd.

AmWINS Group, Inc.
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox
Camford National Insurance Brokers, LLC.
Chopra Insurance Brokerage, Inc.

Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
Horizon E & S Insurance Brokerage
Indemnity Excess & Surplus Agency
IPC
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst
MAXIMUM
Midlands
Nautilus Insurance Co. & Great Divide Ins. Co.

States
Available
MA RI
CA
All States
NE OH WI
CT
TN TX UT WA
Most States
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
All States
NY
CA NJ NV
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
CA
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY
AZ CA NV WA
AZ ID OR WA
All States
AZCAID NV OR WA
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
TX
All States
Most States
All States
All States
RI VT
N32 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL REGION March 10, 2014

Market
NIF Group

Partners Specialty Group, LLC
Promont Advisors, LLC
Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
RCA Insurance Group (and Taverns)

Risk Alternatives & Management (RAM)
Specialty Insurance (and Taverns)

Swett & Crawford
Towerstone, Inc.
Tuscano Agency
Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers
Wright Insurance Services, LLC
States
Available
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
All States
TX
Most States
All States
All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
AL FL GA SC TN
CACT DE FL GA IL MA
PA RI TN TX
All States
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
CA
All States
IL MO
CA TX
LA NM OK TX
CA
All States
Bed & Breakfasts

Market



AmWINS Group, Inc.
Appleby & Sterling
Bass Underwriters

States
Available
MA RI
NE OH WI
CT
TN TX UT WA
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
AZ CA NV
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
Many States
NY SC TX
CA

Bed & Breakfasts

Market
Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox

Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Distinguished Programs
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
IPC
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst

NIF Group

Philadelphia Insurance Companies
Promont Specialty (GL & Liquor only)
Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
Swett & Crawford
Bed & Breakfasts

States
Available
TX
All States
All States
NY
CA NJ NV
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
CA
All States
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY
All States
AZCAID NV OR WA
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
TX
All States
All States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
All States
All States (no GL in LA)
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
IL IN OH
AL FL GA SC TN
All States
All States
Most States
TX
All States

Market
Towerstone, Inc.
Trivedi-Capacity Associates, LLC
Tuscano Agency
States
Available
Most States
Most States
Most States
All States
CA
All States
IL MO
LA NM OK TX
CA
Breweries/Micro

Market


AmWINS Group, Inc.
Appleby & Sterling
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox

Cochrane & Company
CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
IPC
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst
States
Available
MA RI
CA
All States
CT
TN TX UT WA
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
AZ CA NV
IL IN KY MI OH TN
Many States
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
NY
CA NJ NV
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
AR OK TN TX
All States
CA
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY
All States
AZCAID NV OR WA
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
All States

Casinos
Breweries/Micro

Market

NIF Group

Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
RCA Insurance Group
Specialty Insurance

Swett & Crawford
Towerstone, Inc.
Tuscano Agency
Casinos

Market

American Specialty Ins. & Risk Services, Inc.
AmWINS Group, Inc.
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox

Cochrane & Company
CPRO Associates
States
Available
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
All States
TX
Most States
All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
CACT DE FL GA IL MA
PA RI TN TX
All States
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
CA
All States
IL MO
CA
All States
States
Available
MA RI
All States
CT
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
All States
Many States
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
CA NJ NV
WA
ID MT OR WA
AR OK TN TX

Market
Executive Perils
Fulcrum Insurance Programs
J.M. Wilson
K & K Insurance Group, Inc.
LevelFirst
MAXIMUM
National Specialty Underwriters, Inc.

NIF Group

Quaker Special Risk
Swett & Crawford
Tuscano Agency
States
Available
All States
All States
All States
All States
All States
Most States
All States
All States
Most States
All States
All States
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
All States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
Most States
CA
All States
IL IN OH
All States
All States
Most States
All States
All States
IL MO
CA
All States
Caterers

Market



AmWINS Group, Inc.
States
Available
MA RI
CA
NE OH WI
CT
TN TX UT WA
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
Many States

Caterers
Caterers

Market
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox

Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst

NIF Group

ProHost USA
Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
RCA Insurance Group
Specialty Insurance (and Delis)

States
Available
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
NY
CA NJ NV
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
All States
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY
All States
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
TX
All States
All States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
All States
All States except AK
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
AL FL GA SC TN
CACT DE FL GA IL MA
PA RI TN TX

Market
Swett & Crawford
Towerstone, Inc.
Tuscano Agency
States
Available
All States
Most States
TX
All States
Most States
Most States
All States
All States
IL MO
CA TX
LA NM OK TX
CA
All States
Dinner Theaters

Market

AmWINS Group, Inc.
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox

Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst
States
Available
MA RI
CA
CT
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
IL IN KY MI OH TN
Many States
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
NY
CA NJ NV
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
CA
All States
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY
All States
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
All States
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX

Dinner Theaters

Market

NIF Group

Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
Swett & Crawford
Tuscano Agency
Gentlemans Clubs
States
Available
TX
All States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
AL FL GA SC TN
All States
TX
Most States
All States
CA
All States
IL MO
CA
All States
Gentlemens Clubs

Market

All Risks, Ltd.

AmWINS Group, Inc.
Bass Underwriters

Burns & Wilcox
States
Available
MA RI
CA
CT
TN TX UT WA
Most States
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
IL IN KY MI OH TN
NY SC TX
CA
All States
All States
NY
CA NJ NV

Market

Cochrane & Company

Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst
MAXIMUM
Midlands

NIF Group
States
Available
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
All States
CA
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY
AZ CA NV WA
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
TX
All States
Most States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH

Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
RCA Insurance Group
Specialty Insurance

Swett & Crawford
Towerstone, Inc.
Tuscano Agency

All States
TX
Most States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
IL IN OH

AZ CA CO IA ID IL IN
KS MO MT NE NM NV
OK OR TX UT WA
CACT DE FL GA IL MA
PA RI TN TX
All States
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
CA
All States
IL MO
CA
All States

Hotels/Motels
Hotels/Motels
Hotels / Motels coverage category sponsored by:

McClelland and Hine, Inc. - check out our ad on page 3
(South Central)

Market

Advanced E&S Group - Southeast Region


American Union Risk Associates, LLC
AmWINS Group, Inc.
Appleby & Sterling
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox
CITA Insurance Services

Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
States
Available
MA RI
All States
NE OH WI
FL
CT
TN TX UT WA
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
All States
AZ CA NV
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
Many States
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
All States
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
CA
All States
All States
All States
Gorst Co.
Hotels & Resorts Insurance Program CITA Ins.
IPC
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

KZ Insurance Brokerage, LLC
LevelFirst
MAXIMUM
Midlands
CA
Most States
NJ NY
AZ CA NV WA
All States
All States
AZCAID NV OR WA
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AZ CA CO LA NV TN
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
TX
All States
Most States
All States
All States
All States

Market
Motel Insurance Brokers, Inc.
New Empire Group

NIF Group
NSM Insurance Group


Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
Sangamon Associates/Hotel Excess
Swett & Crawford
Towerstone, Inc.
Travelers
Tuscano Agency
UCA General Insurance Services, Inc.

Zurich Programs
Resorts

Market

AmWINS Group, Inc.
Bass Underwriters

States
Available
Most States
All States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
Most States
MA
IN MI OH
All States
TX
Most States
All States
All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
All States
AL FL GA SC TN
All States
All States
Most States
TX
All States
Most States
All States
Most States
Most States
All States
AZ CA ID IL NM NV
OR UT WA
CA
All States
IL MO
LA NM OK TX
CA
All States
All States except FL
States
Available
MA RI
All States
CT
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
IL IN KY MI OH TN
Many States
NY SC TX

Resorts

Market
Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox

Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
Hotels & Resorts Insurance Program CITA Ins.
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst
MAXIMUM
MexiPass International Insurance Services, LLC

NIF Group

Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
Travelers
Resorts
States
Available
CA
TX
All States
All States
NY
All States
WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
All States
All States
All States
CA
Most States
All States
All States
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
All States
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
All States
All States
All States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
AL FL GA SC TN
All States
TX
All States
All States

Market
Swett & Crawford
States
Available
All States
Tuscano Agency
Willis Programs, ResortGuard Ins. Program
Zurich Programs
Most States
All States
All States
IL MO
CA
All States
All States
Restaurants
Restaurants coverage category sponsored by:
Brecht & Associates - check out our ad on pg 6 (South Central)

Burns & Wilcox - our ad is on page N5 (National)
M.J. Hall & Company - check us out on page 10 (West)

Market


All Risks, Ltd.

AmWINS Group, Inc.
Appleby & Sterling
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox
Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
States
Available
MA RI
CA
All States
NE OH WI
FL
CT
TN TX UT WA
Most States
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
AZ CA NV
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
Many States
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
NY
AZ CA CO ID NV OR UT WA
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
CA
All States
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY

Restaurants

Market
HCC Specialty (MA)
IPC (includes Food Delivery)
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

KZ Insurance Brokerage, LLC
LevelFirst
MAXIMUM
Midlands

NIF Group


ProHost USA
Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
RCA Insurance Group
Southern Cross Underwriters
Specialty Insurance (and Delis)

Swett & Crawford
Target Market Specialists
Towerstone, Inc.
Travelers
Tuscano Agency

Restaurants
States
Available
All States
AZ CA NV WA
AZ ID OR WA
All States
AZCAID NV OR WA
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AZ CA CO LA NV TN
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
TX
All States
Most States
All States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
All States
All States except AK

All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
All States
AL FL GA SC TN
CACT DE FL GA IL MA
PA RI TN TX
All States
All States
Most States
All States
TX
All States
Most States
All States
Most States
All States
AZ CA ID IL NM NV
OR UT WA

Market
States
Available
CA
All States

IL MO
CA TX
LA NM OK TX
CA
All States
Spas

Market


AmWINS Group, Inc.
Appleby & Sterling
Bass Underwriters

Burns & Wilcox
Cochrane & Company

CPRO Associates
Executive Perils
Gorst Co.
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst

NIF Group
States
Available
MA RI
CA
CT
TN TX UT WA
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
AZ CA NV
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
Many States
NY SC TX
CA
All States
All States
ID MT OR WA
CA
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
All States
All States
CA
Most States
NJ NY
All States
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH

Spas

Market

Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
SASSI - Salon & Spa Specialty Insurance
Swett & Crawford
Towerstone, Inc.
Tuscano Agency
Zurich Programs
Special Events
States
Available
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
MostStates
AL FL GA SC TN
All States
All States
Most States
TX
Most States
Most States
All States
All States
IL MO
LA NM OK TX
CA
All States
Special Events
Special Events coverage category sponsored by:
Abram Interstate - check out our ad on page 6 (West Region)

SPECIAL EVENTS Market



American Specialty Ins. & Risk Services, Inc.
AmWINS Group, Inc.
Bass Underwriters

Brecht & Associates
Burns & Wilcox
Cochrane & Company
States
Available
MA RI
CA
NE OH WI
CT
TN TX UT WA
NV OK TX UT
All States
All States
All States
IL IN KY MI OH TN
TX
NY SC TX
CA
TX
All States
All States
ID MT OR WA
CA

Market

CPRO Associates
Gateway Specialty Insurance
Gorst Co.
HCC Specialty (MA)
J.M. Wilson
Jimcor Agencies

LevelFirst
MAXIMUM
Midlands

NIF Group

Quaker Special Risk
Quirk & Company
Swett & Crawford
Towerstone, Inc.
Tuscano Agency
Zurich Programs
States
Available
RI PA VA
AR OK TN TX
All States
All States
All except AK LA WV
CA
Most States
NJ NY
All States
AZ ID OR WA
All States
Most States
All States
PA RI WV
All States
AR KS LA NM OK TX
AZ CA NV WA
AK AZ CA HI NV TX
All States
TX
All States
All States
Most States
All States
All States
RI VT
All States
MA
IN MI OH
TX UT WA
TX
Most States
Most States
Most States
LA NM OK OR TX WA
CA
All States
All States
IL IN OH
AL FL GA SC TN
All States
Most States
TX
All States
Most States
Most States
All States
All States
IL MO
CA TX
LA NM OK TX
CA
2014 Hospitality Risks Directory - Alphabetical Directory of Markets
2013 Hospitality RisksCorp, an AmWins Company

Directory
Charles A Walker
183 Davis St., Douglas, MA 01516

Phone: 508-476-1990, Fax: 508-476-1991
Email: info@agencyint.com
www.agencyint.com
800 W. Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041

Phone: 323-255-2333, Fax: 323-255-0957
Email: jmccarthy@amqts.com
www.andersonmurison.com
P.O. Box 8049, Syracuse, NY 13217

Phone: 315-488-3143, Fax: 315-488-3029
Email: gseubert@twg-esr.com
www.twg-esr.com
Abram Interstate Ins. Services, Inc.
Appleby & Sterling
2290 Agate Ct., Ste. D, Simi Valley, CA 93065

Phone: 805-583-9828, Fax: 805-583-9832
Email: mike@applebyandsterling.com
www.applebyandsterling.com
2211 Plaza Dr., Ste. 100, Rocklin, CA 95765

Phone: 916-780-7000, Fax: 916-780-7181
Email: media@abraminterstate.com
www.abraminterstate.com
8900 Keystone Crossing, Ste. 800

Indianapolis, IN 46240
Phone: 800-878-9891, Fax: 888-552-9891
Email: info@arlingtonroe.com
www.arlingtonroe.com
San Francisco: Caroline Barwick - Phone: 415-547-4568

Email: caroline.barwick@acegroup.com
Atlanta: John Lavin - Phone: 678-795-4022
Email: John.Lavin@acegroup.com
www.acewestchester.com
500 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 1039, Chicago, IL 60611

Phone: 866-867-0505, Fax: 312-245-3001
Email: quote@advancede-s.com
www.aesins.com
2251 - A Ward Ave., Simi Valley, CA 93065

Phone: 936-441-5959, Fax: 936-521-5922
Email: rcranford@ashleyga.com
www.ashleyga.com
3250 N. 29th Ave., Hollywood, FL 33020

Phone: 954-963-6666, Fax: 954-986-0670
Email: info@advancedesgroup.com
www.advancedesgroup.com
4365 Executive Dr., Ste. 400, San Diego, CA 92121

Phone: 877-66-ATLAS, Fax: 619-814-8914
Email: info@atlas.us.com
www.atlas.us.com
Bass Underwriters
1575 Boston Post Rd., Guilford, CT 06437

Phone: 203-453-2859, Fax: 203-453-8859
Email: info@agencyint.com
www.agencyint.com
6951 W. Sunrise Blvd., Plantation, FL 33313

Phone: 954-473-4488, Fax: 954-316-3100
Email: businessdevelopment@bassuw.com
www.bassuw.com
7125 El Cajon Blvd. Ste 3, San Diego, CA 92115

Phone: 800-922-7283, Fax: 619-593-2008
Email: teresa@agostinisurplus.com
www.agostiniwholesale.com
American Specialty Insurance & Risk Services,

Inc.
142 N. Main St., Roanoke, IN 46783
Phone: 260-672-8800, Fax: 260-672-8835
Email: dsmith@amerspec.com for Casinos
Email: cmills@amerspec.com for Special Events
www.amerspec.com
AmWINS Group, Inc. - 60 Offices Nationwide

See Website for Locations - HQ - Charlotte, NC 28210
Phone: 704-973-3489, Fax: 704-943-9000
Email: marketing@amwins.com
www.amwins.com
See Website for Addresses, HQ - San Jose, CA 95037

Phone: 800-411-0083, Fax: 408-227-7732
Email: carol@ckspecialty.com
www.ckspecialty.com
Cochrane & Company
P.O. Box 19150, Spokane, WA 99219

Phone: 509-838-0655, Fax: 509-838-1710
Email: marketing@cochraneco.com
www.cochraneco.com
9310 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Chatsworth, CA 91311

Phone: 818-507-1980, Fax: 818-545-3818
Email: mail@compasseands.com
www.gorstcompass.com
421 Wadsworth St., Middletown, CT 06457

Phone: 860-347-9600, Fax: 860-347-9611
Email: info@CTUnderwriters.com
www.ctunderwriters.com
CPRO Associates
CRC Insurance Services - All Offices
Brecht &Associates
1450 Hughes Rd., Ste. 109, Grapevine, TX 76051

Phone: 817-424-5335, Fax: 817-424-3772
Email: jbrecht@brechtassoc.com
www.brechtassoc.com
Burns & Wilcox - All Offices

See Website for Locations
HQ - Detroit/Farmington Hills
Phone: 248-932-9000, Fax: 248-932-9046
Email: quote@burns-wilcox.com
www.burnsandwilcox.com
See Website for Locations

Headquarters - Birmingham, AL 35209
Phone: 205-870-7790, Fax: 205-879-3739
Email: marketing@crcins.com
www.crcins.com
23251 Mulholland Dr., Woodland Hills, CA 91364

Phone: 800-669-9800, Fax: 818-591-9856
Email: dklayman@crusaderinsurance.com
www.crusaderinsurance.com
1180 Avenue of the Americas, 16th Fl

New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-297-3100, Fax: 212-297-3130
Email: info@distinguished.com
www.distinguished.com
American Union Risk Associates, LLC

1250 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd., Ste. 1003
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
Phone: 954-362-1520, Fax: 954-362-1527
Email: Thomas.Clementi@aurains.com
www.aurains.com
5501 LBJ Fwy., Ste 240, Dallas, TX 75240

Phone: 972-598-0400
Email: tcampbell@cproassociates.com
www.cproassociates.com
10150 York Rd., 5th Fl, Hunt Valley, MD 21030

Phone: 800-366-5810, Fax: 410-828-8179
Email: allrisksij@allrisks.com
www.allrisks.com
824 Front St., Conway, AR 72032
Phone: 800-233-2398, Fax: 501-450-6962
Email: stevejr@amcins.com
www.amcinsurance.com
681 S. Parker St., Orange, CA 92868

Phone: 714-939-7470, Fax: 714-939-7753
Email: CSenefsky@citainsurance.com
www.citainsurance.com
435 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Phone: 800-829-7330, Fax: 877-622-2911
Email: info@bgsurplus.com
www.bgsurplus.com
All Risks, Ltd.
16800 Devonshire St., Granada Hills, CA 91344

Phone: 818-923-6090, Fax: 818-923-6203
Email: rchopra@choprainsurance.com
www.choprainsurance.com

1600 Aspen Commons, Middleton, WI 53562
Phone: 608-829-4208, Fax: 608-829-7408
Email: marketing-agency@capitol.net
www.capitol.net
Entertainment Brokers International A member of the OneBeacon Insurance Group

1100 Glendon Ave., Ste. 900, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Phone: 781-332-8450, Fax: 866-934-4992
Email: pwilliams@onebeacon.com
www.onebeacon.com
2013 Hospitality Risks (MA)

Directory
HCC Specialty

8722 S. Harrison St., Salt Lake City, UT 84070
Phone: 877-678-7342, Fax: 801-304-5551
Email: quotes@eibdirect.com
www.eibdirect.com
401 Edgewater Pl., Ste. 400, Wakefield, MA 01880

Phone: 800-927-6306, 781-994-6001
Email: mmatheson@hcc.com
www.hccspecialty.com
Executive Perils
11845 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. 750, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: 310-444-9333 ext. 145, Fax: 310-444-9355

Email: damienm@eperils.com
www.eperils.com
2245 First St., Ste. 211b, Simi Valley, CA 93065

Phone: 805-494-6553, 805-494-6778
Email: submissions@horizonsurplus.com
www.horizonsurplus.com
Hotels & Resorts Insurance Program

681 S. Parker St., Ste. 300, Orange, CA 92868
Phone: 714-939-7420, Fax: 714-939-7437
Email: sbaxter@citainsurance.com
www.citainsurance.com
1500 NW Bethany Blvd., Ste. 235, Beaverton, OR 97006

Phone: 503-526-9700 , Fax: 503-626-2260
Email: submissions@ies-xs.com
www.ies-xs.com
Founders is a multi-state specialty carrier, serving the insurance needs of independent agents for over 100 years. Founders
specializes in writing liquor liability and general liability
coverages for the hospitality industry. Founders is rated A-
or Excellent by A.M. Best,and is a member of the Utica
National Insurance Group.
5501 LBJ Fwy, Ste. 740, Dallas, TX 75240

Phone: 214-347-8117
Email: wwrobel@level1st.com
www.level1st.com

P.O. Box 8201, Calabasas, CA 91372-8201
Phone: 818-591-3010, Fax: 818-591-3066
Email: lionheartins@msn.com
1111 E. Touhy Ave., Des Plaines, IL 60018

Phone: 800-768-0040, Fax: 847-296-3362
Email: marketing@foundersinsurance.com
www.foundersinsurance.com
LevelFirst
365 W. Passaic St., Ste. 225, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662

Phone: 201-880-1891, Fax: 201-880-1895
Email: inquiry@insurancemultiplex.com
www.insurancemultiplex.com
IPC
P.O. Box 1150, Gardnerville, NV 89410

Phone: 775-782-6655, Fax: 775-782-6654
Email: chris@ipc-nv.com
www.ipc-nv.com

11235 SE 6th St., Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: 425-453-5157, Fax: 425-454-8233
Email: drowland@fulcrumprograms.com
www.fulcrumprograms.com
Fulcrum is an insurance program administrator & specialty

wholesale broker dedicated to serving the insurance and risk
management needs of select industries. We specialize in programs for hospitality and real estate including apartments,
condos, hotels, resorts, casinos and more.
Gorst Co.
9310 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Chatsworth, CA 91311

Phone: 818-507-0900, Fax: 818-507-1133
Email: mail@gorst.com
www.gorstcompass.com
275 E. Hillcrest Dr., Ste. 250, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Phone: 805-494-4440, Fax: 805-494-8798
Email: info@gray-stone.com ; hstone@gray-stone.com
www.gray-stone.com
1711 Ginesi Dr., Freehold, NJ 07728

Phone: 732-761-9904, Fax: 732-761-9905
Email: wendy.certo@gremesconj.com
www.gremesconj.com
P.O. Box 192, Stockton, CA 95201

Phone: 209-948-8108, Fax: 209-465-3843
Email: mindy@mjhallandcompany.com
Wholesale Broker/MGA with 60+ markets with emphasis on

Bar/Restaurant/Nightclub risks. In business since 1973, writing business in AK, AZ, CA, NV, TX & LA
150 S. Bloomingdale Rd., Bloomingdale, IL 60108

Phone: 800-800-1704, Fax: 630-582-2803
Email: MJones@IzzoInsurance.com
www.izzoinsurance.com
J.M. Wilson
8036 Moorsbridge Rd., Portage, MI 49024

Phone: 800-282-8113, Fax: 269-327-2620
Email: cbaldwin@jmwilson.com
www.jmwilson.com
MAXIMUM
222 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 2340, Chicago, IL 60606

Phone: 312-559-9348, Fax: 312-559-0930
Email: joem@maxib.com
www.maxib.com
P.O. Box 700930, San Antonio, TX 78270

Phone: 800-333-2017, Fax: 210-366-2407
Email: Shannon@mhi-tx.com
www.mhi-tx.com
Gateway Specialty Insurance
1170 Devon Park Dr., Wayne, PA 19087

Phone: 877-977-4474, Fax: 610-254-1855
Email: info@gatewayspecialty.com
www.gatewayspecialty.com

6641 W. Broad St., Ste. 300, Richmond, VA 23230
Phone: 804-289-2700, Fax: 804-549-5087
Email: info@jamesriverins.com
www.jamesriverins.com
Jimcor Agencies
60 Craig Rd., Montvale, NJ 07645

Phone: 201-573-8200, Fax: 201-573-8820
Email: dchiapperino@jimcor.com
www.jimcor.com
1712 Magnavox Way, Ft. Wayne, IN 46804

Phone: 877-648-6404, Fax: 260-459-5502
Email: kk.general@kandkinsurance.com
www.kandkinsurance.com
26255 American Dr., Southfield, MI 48034

Phone: 248-358-1100, Fax: 248-358-1614
Email: pgajewski@meadowbrook.com
www.meadowbrook.com

P.O. Box 60727, Pasadena, CA 91116
Phone: 800-639-4727, Fax: 800-639-4727
Email: jorge@mexipass.com
www.mexipass.com
Midlands
3817 NW Expy, Ste. 1000, Oklahoma City, OK 73112

Phone: 800-800-4007, Fax: 800-800-4007
Email: marketing@midman.com
www.midlandsmgt.com

2850 W. Golf Rd., Ste. 800, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

Phone: 800-446-2100 ext. 557, Fax: 847-806-6282
Email: contactus@monitorliability.com
www.monitorliability.com

Quirk &Company
5800 Monroe St., Bldg A, Sylvania, OH 43560

Phone: 419-885-2400, Fax: 419-885-7285
Email: jeff.pearse@ohioeands.com
www.ohioeands.com
P.O. Box 792030, San Antonio, TX 78279

Phone: 800-299-9421, Fax: 210-340-4075
Email: rquirk@quirkco.com
www.quirkco.com

1835 Banks Rd., Margate, FL 33063
Phone: 800-261-5177, Fax: 516-302-8951
Email: pwoodard@morstan.com
www.morstan.com
Motel Insurance Brokers, Inc.
801 International Pkwy, 5th Fl, Lake Mary, FL 32746

Phone: 866-387-8883, Fax: 800-466-5074
Email: info@motelinsurancebrokers.com
www.motelinsurancebrokers.com
1792 Woodstock Rd., Bldg. 200, Roswell, GA 30075

Phone: 770-971-9975, Fax: 770-971-7608
Email: jmurrey@nsoins.com
www.nsoins.com

6363 Katella Ave., Cypress, CA 90630
Phone: 800-222-5582, Fax: 714-228-7838
Email: marketing@pacificexcess.com
www.pacificexcess.com
RCAInsurance Group
Pacific Excess Insurance Marketing is a Wholesaler/General

Agent with access to many Standard, Surplus Lines and
Workers Compensation Markets in 19 states.
MGA/PA with admitted and non-admitted programs for

Restaurants, Taverns, Bar, Nightclubs, Social/Fraternal Clubs
and additional hospitality risks.
100 Tournament Dr., Ste. 214, Horsham PA 19044

Phone: 484-322-0400, Fax: 484-322-0401
Email: mcaviston@psgins.com
www.www.psgins.com
2492 Walnut Ave., Ste. 250, Tustin, CA 92780

Phone: 800-310-1303, Fax: 800-842-3076
Email: ricins@ric-ins.com
www.ric-ins.com

10900 NE 8th St., Ste. 1170, Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: 425-450-1090, Fax: 425-450-1026
Email: info@nsui.com
www.nsui.com

7233 E. Butherus Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Phone: 480-951-0905, Fax: 480-951-9730
Email: sbentley@nautilus-ins.com
www.nautilusinsgroup.com
New Empire Group
214 W. Park Ave., Long Beach, NY 11561

Phone: 516-431-8300, Fax: 516-431-5351
Email: jimo@newempiregroup.com
www.newempiregroup.com

P.O. Box 219, Montpelier, VT 05601
Phone: 800-548-4301, Fax: 800-347-4935
Email: achase@neee.com
www.neee.com
NIF Group
30 Park Ave., Manhasset, NY 11030

Phone: 516-365-7440, Fax: 516-365-7392
Email: marketing@nifgroup.com
www.nifgroup.com
NSM Insurance Group
555 North Lane, Ste. 6060, Conshohocken, PA 19428

Phone: 610-941-9877, Fax: 610-941-9889
Email: jwmccaffery@nsminc.com
www.nsminc.com

91 Cedar St., Milford, MA 01757
Phone: 508-634-2902, Fax: 508-634-2930
Email: atobin@massagent.com
www.massagent.com
1333 Broad St., Clifton, NJ 07013

Phone: 800-526-0147 ext. 2019
Email: mmaher@rca-insurance.com
www.rca-insurance.com
P.O. Box 803143, Dallas, TX 75380

Phone: 972-239-1458, Fax: 972-233-3487
Email: corky.ellis@patriotnational.com
www.patriotnational.com
60 Catamore Blvd., East Providence, RI 02914

Phone: 401-435-5400
Email: info@risco-inc.com
www.risco-inc.com

One Bala Plaza, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Phone: 800-873-4552, Fax: 610-617-7940
Email: phlysales@phlyins.com
www.phly.com
3104 Creekside Village Dr., Ste. 501, Kennesaw, GA 30144

Phone: 770-424-5770, Fax: 770-424-5774
Email: jonathan@ram-insurance.com ;
submissions@ram-insurance.com
www.ram-insurance.com
Professional Liability Insurance Svcs,

Inc. - Underwriting Facilities
303 W. Madison St., Ste. 2075, Chicago, IL 60606

Phone: 800-257-5590, Fax: 877-452-6910
Email: RJL@primeis.com
www.primeis.com
5802 Thunderbird, Bldg 10, Ste. 100

Lago Vista, TX 78645
Phone: 800-761-7547, Fax: 512-327-5834
Email: underwriting@plisinc.com
www.plisinc.com
ProHost USA
4500 Park Glen Rd., Ste. 410, Minneapolis, MN 55416

Phone: 952-922-2404, Fax: 952-922-5423
Email: info@prohostusa.com
www.prohostusa.com
1 E. Wacker Dr., Ste. 19201, Chicago, IL 60601

Phone: 312-262-3331, Fax: 312-262-3301
Email: mniemann@promontadvisors.com
www.promontadvisors.com
Promont Specialty
1 E. Wacker Dr., Ste. 19201, Chicago, IL 60601

Phone: 312-262-3331, Fax: 312-262-3301
Email: mniemann@promontspecialty.com
www.promontspecialty.com
Quaker Special Risk
See Website for Locations in NJ, NY, FL, MA

Headquarters - Eatontown, NJ 07724
Phone: 800-447-4180, Fax: 732-223-9072
Email: fwalsh@qsr-insurance.com
www.quakerspecialrisk.com
50+ Locations, Headquarters - Itasca, IL 60143-3141

Phone: 866-595-8413
Email: Contact_Us@RPSins.com
www.rpsins.com
P.O. Box 1060, Noblesville, IN 46061
Phone: 800-752-8402, Fax: 317-776-6891
Email: info@roushins.com
www.roushins.com
273 Clarkson Rd., Ste. 102, Ellisville, MO 63011

Phone: 636-391-4841, Fax: 636-391-2115
Email: newquotes@rsimo.com
www.rsimo.com
Sangamon Associates/Hotel Excess
65 S. Main St., Ste. A300, Pennington, NJ 08534

Phone: 609-818-9534, Fax: 609-818-9535
Email: bcleave@sangamonassociates.com
www.hotelexcess.com
SASSI - Salon & Spa Specialty Insurance

21 Maple Ave., Bay Shore, NY 11706
Phone: 888-823-9380, Fax: 631-666-7646
Email: info@brownyard.com
www.sassiagency.com
Southern Cross Underwriters - All Offices

4500 Mansell Rd., Alpharetta, GA 30022
Phone: 800-568-1700, Fax: 678-498-4610
Email: marketing@siuins.com
www.siuins.com
Specialty Insurance
1610 Route 88 Ste. 102, Brick, NJ 08724

Phone: 732-701-8900, Fax: 732-458-3728
Email: mwatters@specialtyagency.com
www.specialtyagency.com
1301 Wrights Lane East, West Chester, PA 19380

Phone: 800-282-6247 ext. 286, Fax: 610-692-5977
Email: Marketing@suitelifeins.com
www.Suitelifeins.com
3665 Bee Ridge Rd., Ste. 214, Sarasota, FL 34233

Phone: 941-308-1918, Fax: 877-817-8099
Email: Lana.Potts-Buri@UnisourcePA.com
www.UnisourcePA.com
Towerstone, Inc.
1000 Town Center Wy, Ste. 300, Canonsburg, PA 15317

Phone: 800-886-3897, Fax: 724-265-5751
Email: kskender@usgins.com
www.usgins.com
14185 Dallas Pkwy, Ste. 1000, Dallas, TX 75254

Phone: 972-725-2100, Fax: 972-725-2101
Email: info@towerstonecorp.com
www.towerstonecorp.com
Travelers
Contact your local Commercial Accounts

Representative for more information.
www.travelers.com
(Addtl cvg listing: EPLI for Hotel/Motel/Restaurant)
One International Blvd., Mahwah, NJ 07495
Phone: 201-661-2411, Fax: 201-661-7383
Email: trivedi@tcacoverage.com
www.tcacoverage.com/umbrella_program_Trivedi_2010.pdf
See Website for Locations, HQ - Atlanta, GA 30327

Phone: 404-240-5200, Fax: 404-240-5393
Email: info@swett.com
www.swett.com
Swett & Crawford serves independent agents & brokers through

specialized P&C, Oil & Gas/Energy, Professional Services,
Transportation, Reinsurance & Underwriting Practice Groups.
These groups provide access to commercial insurance products &
programs, including P&C coverages, products liability, reinsurance, professional liability, commercial & public auto liability as
well as a host of customized binding authorities & exclusive programs tailored to specific industries, businesses & professionals.
Tuscano Agency
950 Highland Ave., Greensburg, PA 15601

Phone: 724-836-1510
Email: info@tuscano.com
www.tuscano.com
10210 N. Central Expy, Ste. 500, Dallas, TX 75231

Phone: 800-232-5830, Fax: 214-265-4976
Email: julieb@usrisk.com
www.usrisk.com
1620 La Jaita Dr., Ste. 300, Cedar Park, TX 78613

Phone: 512-346-0030, Fax: 512-342-2803
Email: submissions@taga1.com
www.taga1.com
300 W. Main St., Belleville, IL 62220

Phone: 618-233-0644, Fax: 618-233-0672
Email: sales@waschickedanz.com
www.waschickedanz.com
Western Security Surplus Insurance

Brokers, Inc.
595 E. Colorado Blvd., Ste. 810, Pasadena, CA 91101
Phone: 626-584-0110, Fax: 626-584-0110
Email: kstevens@wssib.com
www.wssib.com

P.O. Box 6609, Abilene, TX 79608
Phone: 800-592-4408, Fax: 325-695-0371
Email: fpeck@westernsurplus.com,
croeder@westernsruplus.com
www.westernsruplus.com
21800 Burbank Blvd., Ste. 202, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Phone: 818-716-9800, Fax: 818-716-9800
www.wcis-ins.com
Willis Programs, ResortGuard Ins. Program
One New Hampshire Ave., Ste. 200, Portsmouth, NH 03801

Phone: 603-334-3029, Fax: 603-334-3090
Email: Jeffrey.benjamin@willis.com
www.resortguard.com
3060 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27216

Phone: 800-334-5579, Fax: 336-584-8880
Email: creisdorf@gotapco.com
www.gotapco.com
Old Forge Ctr, 20595 Lorain Rd.

Fairview Park, OH 44126
Phone: 440-333-6300, Fax: 440-333-3214
Email: syoung@mcgowaninsurance.com
www.mcgowaninsurance.com
Swett & Crawford
23251 Mulholland Dr., Woodland Hills, CA 91364

Phone: 800-669-9800, Fax: 818-591-9856
Email: dklayman@crusaderinsurance.com
www.crusaderinsurance.com
See Website for Locations - HQ - Jackson, MS 39211

Phone: 601-957-3344, Fax: 601-957-3344
Email: iinfo@scui.com
www.scui.com
6363 Katella Ave., Cypress, CA 90630

Phone: 800-222-5582, Fax: 714-228-7855
Email: marketing@ucageneral.com
www.ucageneral.com
24551 Del Prado, Ste. 4126, Dana Point, CA 92629

Phone: 949-489-1833, Fax: 949-489-5702
Email: robert@robertwrightinsurance.com
www.robertwrightinsurance.com
UCA General Insurance is a Managing General Agent writing

Program Business in 9 states. Our primary focus is on Property
& Casualty Business, specializing in Restaurants, Hotels &
Motels, Condos & HOAs, Shopping Centers and more.
Zurich Programs
13810 FNB Pkwy, Omaha, NE 68154

Phone: 866-873-0782, Fax: 402-963-5289
www.zprogramsmatch.com
NATIONAL COVERAGE
MyNewMarkets
Primary Flood
Market Detail: SeaCoast Underwriters Inc. (www.
seacoastunderwriters.com) can write primary flood

insurance for homeowners, renters and condo owners/renters. Limits for the building are available up to
$250,000 max and $100,000 max for contents. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is managed by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
a component of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
Available limits: As needed
Carriers: Nationwide, National Casualty
States: Fla., Ga. and Texas
Contact: Haley Miller at 407-333-7423 or email:
marketing@seacoastunderwriters.com
Escapees RV Club
Market Detail: BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc.
(www.bxsi.com) provides customized coverage at

competitive rates in every state.
Available limits: As needed
Carrier: Unable to disclose
States: Ala., Ark., Ariz., Conn., D.C., Dela., Fla., Ind.,
Ky., La., Maine, Mass., Md., Miss., Mo., N.H., N.J., N.Y.,
Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Texas, Va., Vt. and
W.Va.
Contact: Dennis Vidrine at 225-336-3299 or email:
dennis.vidrine@bxsi.com
Senior Living
Market Detail: Commercial Risk Services (www.
commercialriskservice.com) offers complete programs

for senior housing, assisted living facilities, nursing
homes, as well as home health care businesses. Coverage includes: property, general liability, professional
liability, auto, workers comp, as well as employee
benefits needs.
Available limits: Minimum $250,000, maximum $5 million
Carrier: Unable to disclose
States: Ark., Fla., Mo., ]Okla., Tenn. and Texas
Contact: Bobby Bland at 479-273-1376 or email: bobby@
commercialriskservice.com
Advertisers Index
Readers, browse, contact, or do product searches on
any of our full page advertisers at:
www.insurancejournal.com/adshowcase/
Abram Interstate
www.abraminterstate.com
Access Home Insurance
www.accesshomeinsurance.com
ACORD
www.acordlomaforum.org
Agency Ideas
www.agencyideas.com
American Reliable
www.assurantspecialtyproperty.com
Applied Underwriters
www.applieduw.com
Brecht & Associates
www.brechtassoc.com
Burns & Wilcox Ltd
www.burnsandwilcox.com
Century National
www.cnico.com
Chubb Corporate
www.chubb.com
City of Hope
www.cityofhope.org
First American Specialty Insurance Company
www.firstam.com
Golden Bear Insurance Company
www.goldenbear.com
Great American Insurance Group
www.GreatAmericanInsurance.com
IICF
www.iicf.org
Lighthouse Holdings, LLC
www.lighthousepropertyins.com
McClelland & Hine
www.mhi-tx.com
Monarch E & S Insurance Services
www.monarchexcess.com
Navigators Management Company, Inc.
www.navg.com
Oak & Associates
www.oakandassociates.com
PersonalUmbrella.Com
www.personalumbrella.com
QBE
www.qbededicated.com
State Compensation Insurance Fund
www.scif.com
Texas Mutual Insurance Company
www.texasmutual.com
Western Security Surplus
www.wssib.com
W6
SC9; SE5
25
29
47
2, 48
SC6
5
W5
9
27
W7
W9
13
21
SC10; SE6
W10
SC3
W3
3
23
5
15
W1
SC5
W8; SC7
A PROVEN
HOME & AUTO MARKETING
CAMPAIGN
www.PandCmarketing.com
w w w. P a n d C m a r k e t i n g . c o m
IDEA EXCHANGE
Closing Quote
In the Sharing Economy, Who Shares the Risk?
By Kathleen
Tierney
everal economic and societal factors have fueled the

growth of the sharing economy, in which people rent,
borrow, share and swap items they might have purchased
10 or 20 years ago. But what is being overlooked in the
rush to embrace this new way of consumerism are the
risks to those on both sides of the transactions.
As more people turn their homes into hotels and their
cars into cash, many are relinquishing some of their personal privacy while relying largely on trust to make deals
with strangers theyve met online. In this brave new world
where laypeople not businesspeople are making the
deals, many owners and renters are not adequately considering or managing all the risks.
The safety nets that law, regulation and insurance provide will need to evolve to help mitigate the risks.
A recent survey by ORC International conducted on
behalf of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies shows
that more than half of vacation homeowners would rent
their homes to others for financial gain, and more than
one-third of boat owners would rent out their boats. More
than one-third (36 percent) of Americans would rent
someone elses home for vacation, but far fewer (20 percent) would rent out their own home to others.
There are inherent risks with sharing belongings when
an unused home, boat or car is used for economic gain,
including damage and personal injury. Although the
chance of a serious incident may be slight, the financial
consequences to the owner or renter can be devastating.
The Chubb survey revealed that people are at least
aware of some of these risks. Survey respondents selected
several fears that might prevent them from letting others

rent their home: bedbugs as a parting gift from renters (73
percent); theft of silver, antiques or family heirlooms (70
percent); breakage of valuables (69 percent); and someone
sleeping in their beds (56 percent).
Other significant fear factors included: renters leaving
lit candles that could burn down the house (76 percent);
renters throwing a wild party (75 percent); and someone
getting hurt on their property (70 percent).
Most people renting out their vacation home will expect
the usual wear and tear a broken vase, a wine stain
on the carpet, a clogged toilet.
New strategies are
But if they want to protect
themselves from exposures that needed to tackle
could result in significant finanthese emerging
cial loss, they should speak
exposures.
with their insurance agents.
Some risks may be covered by
insurance and some may require an additional policy. For
some exposures, there may be no coverage available.
New risk mitigation strategies are needed to tackle
these emerging exposures. Businesses will be created
to help manage the risks, and insurance coverages will
evolve. Most importantly, those on both sides of these
transactions the owners and the renters will need
to take some personal responsibility by better defining the
rules and helping to protect one another.
Tierney is chief operating officer of Chubb Personal Insurance in
Whitehouse Station, N.J.
We will help you build a great book of business!

With a Variety of Products!
Manufactured Home
Dwelling
Homeowners
Motorcycle
ATV
Agriculture
Watercraft
Personal Watercraft
Our companies are A Rated by A.M. Best!

American Reliable Insurance Company

Standard Guaranty Insurance Company
American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida
American Security Insurance Company
M AD 8083 0113
Contact us today!
For more information, call toll-free at 1-800-535-1333,
or visit us online at assurantspecialtyproperty.com.
Expect big things in workers compensation. Expect to save a third of your clients 30% or more. Most classes approved, nationwide.
For information call (877) 234-4450 or visit auw.com/us.
2014 Applied Underwriters, Inc. A Berkshire Hathaway company. Rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best.
Insurance plans protected under U.S. Patent No. 7,908,157.

InsuranceJournal West 2014.03.10

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

InsuranceJournal West 2014.03.10

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

WEST

Former Calif. State Fund Exec

RoCk-solId fInAnCIAl stREngtH

When success is measured by a fraction of a fraction.

standard premium of $200,000+. Most classes. All states.

Whats behind Navigators?

Directors and Officers liability

Need more? We have it, from specialized underwriting in marine liability,

Insuring a World in Motion

Whats behind Navigators? The simple answer is: more.

Inside This Issue

Brewing Boom Opens Doors

March 10, 2014 Vol. 92 No. 5 West

W1 Idaho House Backs New Legal

20 The Upcoming Windows XP

12 Spotlight: 10 Things to Know

W1 Southern California Edison Sued

24 E&O Insights: Pearsall

14 Tony Markel Leads City of Hope

W2 Former California State Fund

26 The Competitive Advantage:

Labor Study Shows P/C Insurers

16 Special Report: Brewing Boom

W6 California Farmers Hire Dowsers

22 Closer Look: Directors & Officers

W10 California Almond Farmers Face

28 How to Control Hospitality

W12 Report Projects L.A.s

4 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 10, 2014

he probably still waits days for UNDERWRITING APPROVAL.

he key to long-term survival for many businesses is having a woman in

FOR QUESTIONS REGARDING

or you may subscribe or change your address online at:

Placing insurance for different contractors can be a daunting

News & Markets

8 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-NATIONAL March 10, 2014

ening gap between the general economy

Who insures you doesnt matter.

Financial Strength and Exceptional Claim Service

Could be the top legal speed in Idaho,

Today is just the first step in a long

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins

Constructing the hurricane protection

Smart Car Technology

New technologies being embedded in

U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana

N.Y. Sen. Charles Schumers comment on

Attorney Mike Bush of Davenport, Iowa,

One of Many Factors

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William

News & Markets

ouse members voted in late February

California High Court Assigns

Southern California Edison Sued Over Oregon Restaurant Sued Over

wo women are suing Southern California Edison, claiming their

man who says he broke

News & Markets

Coyne has more than 30 years of

W2 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 10, 2014

Statement of Economic Interest and paid

Youll Get the Royal Treatment

Watch our videos at MonarchExcess.com

W4 | INSURANCE JOURNAL-WEST March 10, 2014

vice president; AJ Scott, Timothy Cline Insurance