RESOURCES
ARTICLES
2010 Perspective: An Interview with Ed Kellam
The Ware Insurance Company’s own Ed Kellam shares his thoughts about insurance related issues in today’s national and regional economies, and how companies can manage resulting risk.
Q: What do you foresee for 2010, Ed?
A: I still see a soft national market, with pricing being very competitive. The predicted hard market is just not here yet – despite the tightening of the underwriting process.
At Ware, we are working hard to obtain the best conditions and prices for our customers in this market. We have remained financially strong throughout the entire economic downturn. We continue to look at additional resources to bring to clients. Recently, we have installed a Client Connect portal on our website, whereby information from our insurance carriers, for example, might be passed directly through to our clients.
Because we consistently and diligently focus on being good risk managers and consultants, I believe the Ware Company is in a better position now (and with respect to our competitors) to help clients with their insurance planning – not only from a technical perspective, but from an anticipatory client service standpoint. One of our producers, Michael Kellam, recently finished an OSHA course to better enable him to consult on risk management issues. Simply put, we focus on being one step ahead.
Q: Can you expand on the regional market?
A: There is a great deal of conglomeration and structural reorganization occurring in our regional insurance market. So, it is an unsettling time from a financial and risk management perspective. I want to stress that it is vitally important for our mission here at the Ware Company to remain independent. We believe it is essential to our client’s success that we are not taking direction from a non-insurance entity. The people within the Ware Company bring that local, small business feel to each of our customers. We don’t screen our calls or close at lunch. In fact, we have added staff and will continue to add staff to better serve our clients.
Q: What effect will the changing insurance market have on clients during 2010?
A: Because Safety will always be #1, those clients with good safety records, will receive the most desirable pricing. The professional liability marketplace (architects, engineers, accountant, attorneys and other professionals) will probably not see dramatic rate reductions despite good loss histories and risk profiles. Pricing should level off for this sector. Nationally, the workers’ compensation market has not changed significantly since last year. Rising medical claims costs may put pressure on already low investment returns for underwriters. The surety market fared reasonably well last year. We’re seeing more and more contractors, for example, continue their efforts in breaking into the federal market; and therefore surety companies are responding with a more conservative underwriting perspective – focusing on liquidity, interest-bearing debt, credit availability and solid risk management.
That risk management piece is where we come in. At The Ware Company, we stand firmly behind our philosophy of long-term risk assessment and management – with insurance being just one of the elements of our customers’ overall cost of risk. We all know that lowering the frequency and severity of loss will lower premiums in the long run. That knowledge drives a host of opportunity – primarily for programs and strategies with respect to employment, health and wellness, safety, financial management and even training. So, when I say client service, the Ware philosophy incorporates a comprehensive view of a client’s operations. We become a partner with our clients – and that is how they derive value.