Andy Ray is accustomed to being flexible when it comes toserving clients—“flexible” in the most literal sense. He has workedon policies insuring commercial vehicles that have had their driveshafts transferred  from the vehicles' left to right sidefor India's roads—and ensured these policies could respond toIndia's court system should a client be sued.

As an underwriter for Midlands Management Corp., a generalproperty-and-casualty MGA headquartered in Oklahoma City, Ray hasboundless experience in hard-to-place coverages. Much of his workkeeps him busy in Texas, Oklahoma and surrounding states. Butcustomers doing business overseas also seek his expertise,including an architectural firm bidding on a large repair-facilityproject in Saudi Arabia.

“Here in the U.S., we see anything from the small account to thehuge,” says Ray, who is based in Midlands' Dallas office. “Forinstance, we recently have been trying to place a rather largegravel dealer with an accident history. You use your pastexperience to help you figure out the best way to handle theaccount.”

It's a creative undertaking that involves working closely withretail agents and carriers—and combining primary and excesscoverages—that get policies written and bound. Ray works withseveral large carriers, including Markel and Travelers.

RESPONDING TO ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

The slowdown in residential and commercial construction requiresRay and his colleagues to be more wary when underwriting contractoraccounts—especially when these accounts have not carried insurancefor a while and want to premium finance their premium.

“Once upon a time when construction was booming, a contractorwould keep his insurance for the year because he had ongoing jobs,”Ray says. “Now, contractors may believe they don't have need forinsurance. They make the down payment and, once a job is done, theydon't pay their premium-finance note.”

Likewise, Ray's colleague Patricia Songer says the economy hastaken its toll on small restaurants, manufacturers and businessesin Oklahoma. Songer is a vice president in Midlands' Oklahoma Cityoffice.

“In general, smaller businesses are either downsizing orshutting their doors,” says Songer. “We do have to adhere to thecarrier's guidelines, but we look for ways to meet the needs ofcustomers and carriers. For instance, some carriers have loweredminimum premiums over the last couple of years to accommodate thosesmaller accounts that have downsized.”

Flexibility in today's market also demands being extra visibleto agents. Among other marketing tools, Midlands sends out regulare-blasts to retail agents, Songer says. On the pricing front,Songer and colleagues try to schedule credits and debits whereavailable. She says, “Most carriers can offer up to 25 percent justto be competitive with one another.”