them a broad array of products that
can be accessed either online or via
our underwriters.
What are some of your priorities
for NAPSLO this coming year?
NAPSLO’s priorities do not change
year to year and are the result of
the collaborative work of NAPSLO
committees, the board of directors and the executive committee.
Over the past decade, NAPSLO
as an organization has grown in
stature and value to our members
as our industry has prospered.
We have invested the resources to
build an impressive staff and to
expand initiatives across a broad
front that have increased the value
of NAPSLO to our members.
Without a doubt, NAPSLO is one
of the premier national associations. It represents the top firms,
both carriers and agencies, who
are committed to the specialty
insurance marketplace and the
wholesale distribution system.
More specifically, I think it is
important for NAPSLO to con-
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Q&A continued on page 4 A
Q&A With Gil Hine: A Profile in Excellence
How did you get into the
insurance business?
After I graduated with an MBA
from the University of Texas in
1974, I joined the Mergers and
Acquisitions Department of a large
Houston-based international food
company that owned an insurance
subsidiary. The first few projects I
worked on were insurance transactions. I jumped at the opportunity
to move to the insurance company
to be a little closer to the action.
They were underwriting some very
heavy catastrophe casualty and
auto business. They also owned an
excess & surplus lines agency. I was
able to gain valuable underwriting
experience, and it wasn’t too long
before I knew I wanted to return
to my hometown of San Antonio
and start my own agency.
In 1982, I left Houston and
returned to San Antonio and
partnered with a recently retired
agency executive and one of the
finest men I have ever met to
start McClelland and Hine. We
struggled for the first five months,
turned a profit the next month
and never looked back.
What appeals to you about the
surplus lines sector, and what
are some of your (and your firm’s)
specific areas of expertise?
I love the never-ending sense of
urgency, the commanding need
to be entrepreneurial and to balance the objectives of our carriers
with the needs of our retail agents
and their clients. Even with all
the mergers and acquisitions and
consolidation, there is still room
for independent wholesale agencies to grow and prosper by being
nimble and disciplined.
San Antonio was never a hotbed
of heavy E&S business. To grow our
agency had to adapt to the needs
of our market. Small is beautiful.
We are committed to being able to
profitably produce and underwrite
small commercial and personal
lines business by investing heavily
in proprietary information and
communication systems. We have
focused on agencies serving smaller
commercial clients and provided
New territory, new limits.
Colony Specialty’s Environmental division now offers increased excess
policy limits of up to $25 million, available over unsupported primary
coverage. Plus, we’ve added some new stars to our underwriting staff
to build up our expertise and service throughout the country.
Technology and Service focused on your Success.