DAILY
NE WS
DAILY
NEWS WEDNESDAY September 17, 2014
Greatest continued on page 4 A
Driven by our people Creative. Knowledgeable. Experienced. The team of professionals at Colony Specialty
possesses the ideal combination of qualities to develop and deliver the unique insurance
solutions our customers require. Discover how our expertise creates value for all
members of the client chain – wholesalers, retailers and insureds. Contact us today.
800 577 6614 | colonyspecialty.com
Hank Haldeman
Executive Vice President
The Sullivan Group
Los Angeles
President
The two greatest challenges for the wholesale/ surplus line
industry today are, first, to
effectively communicate
to the retail community as
well as the ultimate buyer the value
brought to the transaction by the
wholesale broker. In an era where
most other industries have learned
the efficiencies of outsourced
specialization, commercial insurance
lags behind. NAPSLO members—
brokers and companies—provide
efficient, expert access to creative yet
competitive solutions to unique and
challenging risks. Second, we have
to do an even better job of attracting
a new generation of
brokers and underwriters
to the wholesale/surplus
line segment of the
industry if we are to
sustain and grow our role
as creative specialists.
Our greatest potential
for growth is the same
as it always has been—
new product development. We
can and will grow, incrementally,
through insuring the exposures
and coverages that are mainstays of
surplus lines—the tougher, more
volatile and/or less standardized
risks. But our growth spurts come
from monitoring social and legal
developments and standard insurer
appetites—including but not limited
to “emerging risks"—and being
able to combine the expertise and
creativity of the wholesale broker
with the unique flexibility and
willingness to experiment of the
non-admitted insurer, in order to
create insurance solutions to these
new exposures.
Gilbert C. Hine Jr., CPCU, CFP
President
McClelland & Hine Inc.
San Antonio, TX
Secretary
One of the many challenges our
industry faces,
along with all
businesses, is the
aging workforce
and the challenges
of effectively
and efficiently
replacing highly
experienced professionals with
unique skill sets—as well as
managing a multi-generational
workforce with vastly different
experiences and expectations,
especially in the use of technology
and social media.
In terms of opportunities, I
believe the hydraulic fracturing
technologies being implemented
in the U.S. and worldwide are
and will continue to provide
significant growth opportunities
in the Excess & Surplus lines
sector. As an example, the Eagle
Ford Shale formation south of San
Antonio is now the largest oil and
gas development in the world.
Projected capital investment is
expected to exceed $116 Billion.
In Focus: The Greatest Challenges,
Opportunities in Surplus Lines in 2015
NAPSLO board members reveal what they consider the most pressing
issues in the year to come