Getting Started Some industries or segments are more open to new programs than others.


Professional liability is an area that lends itself to a program administrator or to a program itself.


Richard Augustyn, NIP Group


When exploring new opportunities for insurance programs, a smart place to begin is by examining whether a particular segment’s professional liability needs are being met. “Typically, standard companies don’t have a broad appetite for professional lines,” Richard Augustyn said.


Assuming a would-be program administrator has identifi ed a professional segment that may not be well-served by insurers, Augustyn recommends engaging knowledgeable third-party administrators and focusing on litigation management. That will help limit claims costs and loss ratios while increasing a program’s competitiveness.


Offering customized workers’ compensation coverage for targeted fi elds is also a fruitful area for new programs, Geoffrey McKernan said. “If you develop an expertise in certain areas, then you can build a nice program.”


McKernan points to a program his organization developed for horse groomers and trainers, adding that this highly specialized area has proven to generate a signifi cant volume of business, rewarding the effort required to start the program. “Very few carriers, if any, will write it.”


In the market, signifi cant changes to regulatory and legal requirements can open new doors to liability-focused programs, Glenn Clark said. For example, more-stringent requirements to


maintain the privacy of health information is creating the likelihood that an increasing array of professions might run afoul of HIPAA and other regulations. “The fi rst people who usually fi gure it out prosper, and prosper well,” Clark said.


Copyright © 2010 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise.


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