Get with the program

In all the times Tim Dillon has gone skiing, from his childhood on King Pine Mountain in New Hampshire to his many runs as an adult, he admits to seldom thinking about the risks around him on the slopes, outside of what could cause him to wipe out.

Of course, that was before he joined AIG.

Now, as the executive overseeing MountainGuard, AIG’s partnership with AmWins Program Underwriters, Inc. that provides specialized insurance coverage to ski mountains and resorts, ski-related risk is all Tim sees. No matter where he looks – the chairlift, snowmobiles, the bar at the lodge – Tim is acutely aware of how things can go wrong and what’s needed to mitigate and offset risk.

MountainGuard is AIG’s longest program relationship, celebrating its 60^th year of service in 2023, writing coverage for ski mountains and resorts in the U.S. and Canada. Tim has been with AIG for over 16 years and started working on MountainGuard in 2019, two years after AmWins purchased the program.

Programs can be mutually beneficial partnerships for carriers and the program administrators they work with. Program administrators like AmWins can access AIG’s capacity to underwrite risk, while the program partnership brings AIG a broad range of trading relationships with expert administrators that have a record of success underwriting risks for specialized business segments.

MountainGuard, as an example, provides a package policy for ski resorts that includes auto, liability, property and umbrella.

A lot can be learned from working in a niche program and intimately understanding your insureds’ businesses and the risks they face. AIG takes this approach for all of its programs, said Tom McGrath, Head of AIG Programs who oversees more than 27 specialty programs.

The AIG Programs portfolio focuses mostly on specialty niche exposures, including golf and tennis clubs, ski resorts, radio and television broadcasters, resort properties, among others. “Clients are industry specific, range in size, and face similar risks and are in need of flexible, tailored insurance solutions,” Tom said.

The Program Opportunity

According to the latest State of the Programs Business Study from Target Markets Program Administrators’ Association (TMPAA), programs business has outpaced the overall commercial insurance marketplace in terms of direct premiums earned, growing 32.8% between 2018 and 2022. A recent Conning Report, Managing General Agents-Firing on All Cylinders,  estimates the program insurance/Managing General Agent market to be approximately $70 billion as of year-end 2021.

Through the program partnership, Tom feels that insureds are able to access industry tailored expertise and coverage they couldn’t ordinarily get from standard commercial insurance carriers.

“Clients need quality – not just promised quality but validated through years of experience. It’s a mindset. We want to make it easier and add value. We genuinely care about our client’s needs and provide service, focus, help and support,” he said.

Elsewhere in the programs portfolio, Bonnie Muir oversees the EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants' Psychoanalysts Professional Liability Program, which provides coverage for psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and social workers. In its 50th year of service this year, the program offers professional liability and medical malpractice insurance coverage.

Bonnie has been in the program space for more than 18 years with the majority of her time spent on the program administrator side. She joined the AIG Programs team in 2021 with responsibility for a portfolio of specialty multi-line and mono-line programs.

“It was so interesting making the change and coming from a program administrator background to work on the company side,” said Bonnie, who added that she has been particularly impressed with the longevity and strong relationships AIG Programs has built with their program administrator partners, particularly EPIC.

“There is so much history and experience we’ve gained writing the EPIC Program for 50 years and it’s fascinating to see how claims trends have been impacted by societal and economic trends,” she said. “In reviewing the historical claims data for the program, you can see what was happening in the world at the time – the financial crisis, the opioid crisis, etc. – and the resulting impact on claims. Having this historical data helps make us a better advisor on the risks that practitioners face.”

The EPIC program’s service platform with AIG’s experienced medical malpractice claims staff, as well as a hotline for loss control questions and advice, provides clients with the insurance support they need in order to offer the best treatment and make the best decisions possible.  

“Doctors want to focus on their patients and what’s best for them,” Bonnie explained. “That’s why we feel such an obligation to provide them with risk management tools and best practices.  They are just trying to focus on their job and help people. It’s our job to support their insurance needs and help mitigate their risks, the best we can.”

Decades of Success

At the 2023 AIG Programs Client Summit, in March, 60 program administrators and AIG colleagues came together for three days of informative sessions and meetings designed to showcase AIG Programs’ market leadership and ability to provide innovative program solutions in niche markets.

The Summit, hosted by Tom McGrath and Christopher Flatt, President, AIG Programs and Captive Solutions, and President & CEO of Glatfelter, the large program administrator AIG purchased in 2018, celebrated the longevity of the AmWins and EPIC relationships, and the prominent role partners like them continue to play in AIG’s growth strategy after all these years. “AIG Programs remains key to AIG’s 2023 North America growth,” Christopher said at the event. “We are excited about our success to date and ready to build on that for the future.”