Click through to check out biographies of the brokers, carrierexecutives and risk managers dealing in Environmental insurance whooffer their perspective throughout PC360-NU's January digital issue. The subjects also offeradditional thoughts on this line, including their views on why moreclients should strongly consider this relatively inexpensive buthighly valuable coverage.

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Mike Benishek, an Account Executive and Risk ManagementAdvisor at agency Lutgert Insurance in Sarasota, Fla.

Benishek has worked in risk management and in the insuranceindustry for nearly 40 years. He began his career as a safetytechnician for a midsize manufacturer and then held positions withone of the world's largest insurance brokers and a large Workers'Compensation insurer. Benishek then headed the risk-management andinsurance department for 20 years at PTG Management Co., a large,privately held multinational agribusiness. A challenge he sees inmanaging Environmental risk is that it is “often hidden,” whichnecessitates extensive due diligence when an organization isattempting to acquire property.

“Even after [contamination] is properly disposed of” before aproperty acquisition is completed, “one still has to carefullyreview the wording of the 'pre-existing conditions' clause in thePollution policy” to ensure the buyer is adequately protected,Benishek says.

Veronica Benzinger, Managing Director and Chief BrokingOfficer in the Environmental Services Group at Aon Risk Solutionsin West Palm Beach, Fla.

Benzinger, a licensed broker since 1980, has been with Aon fornearly her entire career. She began specializing in Environmentalrisk in 1999, when she recognized a growing need for Environmentalexpertise among clients and in the insurance industry. At thattime, she stepped into the Environmental field as head of thebroker's new Environmental Center of Excellence in the Northeast.The most rewarding aspect of the field for Benzinger, she says, isits inherent “creativity.” Since Environmental coverage is writtenin the surplus-lines market, which is free of rate and formrestrictions, Benzinger can “craft insurance policies that addressbusiness issues and provide the solutions that our clients need, aswell as balance-sheet protection.”

“We see more insurance companies coming into the Environmentalmarket because it has been a more profitable line,” she adds.

John C. Gibson, Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Senior VicePresident and Environmental Product Line Manager at the Chubb Groupof Insurance Cos.

Gibson has been in the insurance industry for 32 years, but hemoved into the Environmental area just four years ago to takeadvantage of an opportunity to be a global product manager. In thatcapacity, he draws on his underwriting experience to help developEnvironmental products. The most-rewarding part of working in theEnvironmental field for Gibson is “the flexibility to trulyunderwrite risk, since it's underwritten on surplus-linespaper.”

“Pollution insurers have made only a small penetration of themarket” of potential buyers, Gibson says. But “once they buy, theybuy,” and do not drop the coverage.

Marc D. Hindman, Atlanta-based Chief Risk Control Officerand Regional Practice Leader of the Strategic Outcomes Practice atWillis North America

Hindman began focusing professionally on environmental issues inthe mid-1990s, when he was an environmental consultant for BureauVeritas, the global testing, inspection and certification company.He then was director of environmental affairs for 11 years atbiotech-company Human Genome Sciences Inc., which pharmaceuticalgiant Glaxo-SmithKline purchased last year. Hindman, who has beenwith Willis five years, became interested as a collegeundergraduate in how companies could satisfy shareholderexpectations, yet do so in a more environmentally sensitiveway.

“Whether you're private or publicly traded, Environmentalinsurance is an effective risk-transfer mechanism to guard againstlow-frequency, high-severity events. If you're publicly traded,Environmental insurance [might even amount to] a fiduciary duty toshareholders,” Hindman says.

Claire Juliana, New York-based Director of EnvironmentalClaims in the Environmental Services Group at Aon RiskSolutions

Juliana is an 18-year veteran of the insurance industry and hasspent all of it in the Environmental field. She began her careeradjusting claims for an insurer. Juliana says she “found itfascinating” and moved into underwriting before becoming a “clientadvocate.” Juliana, who also is an attorney, says the Environmentalfield is an “evolving area” in terms of its legal and regulatoryframework. That dynamic is professionally rewarding, because itcreates continuous challenges for those working in the field, sheadds.

“There has to be communication up and down the chain so everyonein the organization knows what to do if there's a release of acontaminant,” Juliana notes.

Bruce W. Kranz, Senior Vice President of EnvironmentalRisk at Cleveland-based Hylant Group

Kranz has spent all of his nearly 13-year insurance career inthe Environmental field and started the Environmental practice atHylant. For 20 years before becoming an insurance broker, he wasinvolved in environmental engineering and compliance for acoal-mining organization. His degree, in biology with anenvironmental focus, was earned as the environment was emerging asan area of study. Kranz says the most rewarding and enjoyableaspect of his career now is being part of the team of stakeholdersin a business transaction that is dependent upon everyone beingsatisfied that all potential environmental issues have beenaddressed.

“Environmental risk often is not the most important or costlything in a deal—but it is one of the things that can stop a deal,”notes Kranz.

William McElroy, New York-based Senior Vice President atLiberty International Underwriters, a unit of Liberty MutualGroup

McElroy, who has been interested in the environment since he wasa youngster, has spent his entire 27-year insurance career in theEnvironmental field. He previously was with anenvironmental-cleanup contractor and got into insurance“accidentally” when the industry at that time recognized it hadlittle expertise in environmental science. The most rewarding partof his career is that he is “part of the solution,” he says.“If I do the job right, there's less environmental damage.”

Regarding Pollution insurers' relatively low market-penetrationrate of 20-30 percent, McElroy observes: “The economy is clearly amajor factor in the dynamics of the market.”

Hugh McLellan, Vice President of Risk Management forEdmonton, Alberta-based PCL Constructors Inc.

McLellan says environmental contamination is “a significant riskin our thoughts. The ramifications are significant from an economicpoint of view.” The risk has grown over the past eight to 10 yearsas PCL has expanded its industrial work, especially on oil and gasand mining projects. Because of PCL's Environmental and Pollutionexposure, “we've learned a great deal” about loss prevention.

“The oil and gas industry is especially 'out there' in terms ofloss prevention,” McLellan says, noting that those companies arehighly regarded for developing and employing best practices.

Nancy Milkey, Project Manager of Hydrogeology at Tighe& Bond in Westfield, Mass.

Milkey, who has a master's degree in hydrogeology, has worked inthe environmental field for 19 years, focusing on the distributionand movement of groundwater in aquifers. The most rewarding andenjoyable aspect of her career is the variety of challenges shefaces from project to project. “Every site is different—everysite has its own challenges,” she says.

“At a heavily contaminated site, regardless of the amount ofmoney you have to spend on it, it can't be cleaned up in one year”because of how some contaminants move through the soil to thegroundwater, says Milkey, explaining why some cleanups can continuefor decades.

William Montanez, Director of Risk Management at OakBrook, Ill.-based Ace Hardware Corp.

Montanez has managed corporate risk for more than 30 years. AtAce, Environmental risk is a smaller exposure than otherrisks—although the company has two paint-production facilities anda network of distribution centers across the country—because Acehas adopted best practices in loss prevention, he says. Throughouthis career, which now includes a board seat with the Risk andInsurance Management Society and membership in PC360-NU's RiskAdvisory Board, Montanez has seen Corporate America develop abetter understanding of its Environmental exposure and how tomitigate losses.

“I think we've made insurers comfortable with our [Environmentalloss-prevention] policies and procedures, which can improvecoverage and reduce prices,” Montanez says.

Bob Newmarker, Boston-based Head of the EnvironmentalPractice at Zurich North America

Newmarker has spent the last 10 years of his insurance career inthe Environmental area, after working eight years in the actuaryand casualty fields. He moved into Environmental risk because heconsidered it unique and interesting as well as a challenge. Italso is important, Newmarker says, given that environmentalregulations can change, which then alters a client's riskexposure.

Even with longstanding environmental law, Newmarker says: “It'sone thing to have the laws on the book, and it's a completelydifferent thing as to how they'll be enforced.”

Catherine O'Leary, New York-based Vice President of theEnvironmental Division at Frenkel & Co. Inc.

O'Leary has worked in the Environmental field nearly her entire12-year insurance career. She has been a broker most of that time,although she was an underwriter for two years. O'Leary says sheenjoys working with clients and discussing Environmental risks“they didn't think they could manage.” Each company has its uniquerisks, and “you manuscript a policy to fit the client,” shesays.

Reflecting on why Pollution insurers have not deeply penetratedthe market of potential buyers, O'Leary says: “I don't thinkanybody buys insurance unless they think they can suffer afinancial loss from the issue.”

Craig Richardson, Atlanta-based Senior Vice President inthe Environmental Risk Group at Ace USA

Richardson has spent his entire 20-year insurance career in theEnvironmental area, with the last five years at Ace. Before movinginto the insurance industry, he was a member of a consulting groupthat supported the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Environmental risk underwriting is an ideal fit for his skill setbecause it combines his background in science and his businessinterest, Richardson says.

Mold is a covered peril in Pollution policies, typically byendorsement, “and we get quite a few requests,” Richardson notes.“But it's not an automatic throw-in, and not everyone requestsit.”

Rich Sheldon, Philadelphia-based Environmental PracticeLeader at Willis North America

Sheldon has been in the insurance industry for 24 years, and allof his professional experience and education have been inenvironmental sciences. Before moving into the insurance field, heworked for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency subcontractor,where he was approached with an opportunity to perform riskengineering for an Environmental insurer. The most rewarding aspectof his career is the opportunity to explore and implement uniqueways to address Environmental risk in concert with variousbrokerage colleagues, underwriters, attorneys, consultants, clientsand prospects, Sheldon says.

“Every day brings a new and different challenge, sinceEnvironmental risks exist in nearly every type of business,”Sheldon says.

Mary Ann Susavidge, Exton, Pa.-based Chief UnderwritingOfficer for the North American Property/Casualty Environmental Unitat XL Group

Susavidge is a 15-year veteran of the insurance industry—all ofit in the Environmental area. Before that, she was a licensed civilengineer for eight years, designing landfills and storm sewers forvarious clients. Susavidge moved into the insurance sector becauseshe wanted to apply her skills in a broader way. The most rewardingpart of her work now is that she is “engaged every day in figuringout solutions for clients; there isn't an off-the-shelfsolution.”

In a real estate transaction, “the Environmental piece is oftenthe last one that makes a deal happen”—or kills it, Susavidgesays.

Chris Smy, Atlanta-based Managing Director and GlobalEnvironmental Practice Leader at Marsh Inc.

Smy has spent his entire 15-year insurance career in theEnvironmental field. Always having a strong interest in science andthe environment, Smy earned a master's degree in environmentalmanagement and pollution control after leaving the military. Thatled him initially into environmental consulting and then insuranceunderwriting, risk consulting and now broking. Smy says his fieldof work is rewarding because it presents him “an opportunity tohelp clients minimize and manage their impact on the environmentand to help facilitate a sustainable business model.”

Regarding Pollution insurers' market penetration, Smy says:“It's far more significant in the United States than in the rest ofthe world, but there's still the general perspective (amongcompanies with Environmental risks) that these policies are adiscretionary purchase.”

Rich Wagner, New York-based Executive Vice President andDivision Head for Pollution Underwriting in the United States andCanada for AIG

Wagner, an attorney, entered the Environmental part of theinsurance business in 2000 after focusing for seven years onGeneral Liability insurance-defense litigation. After three yearsworking on the legal side of Environmental insurance, he moved intothe business end of the field in 2003. Wagner says what he likesbest about his current focus compared to the legal one is that heis now helping clients complete business deals. Litigation deals“with the backside of a problem,” he says. “What's great about whatwe do here is that it's very solution-oriented.”

While Pollution insurers' market penetration is relativelyshallow, “I think there's a continuing opportunity,” Wagner says.“The challenge is that first we have to identify the need” forinsurance buyers.

Gene Wingert, Loss Control Environmental Manager at theChubb Group of Insurance Cos. in Whitehouse Station,N.J.

Wingert has worked in the environmental area for about aquarter-century. He worked at the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency and was an environmental consultant before moving to theinsurance industry and joining Chubb in 2004. Wingert had in mind acareer in the environmental field while studying civil engineeringin college, which was before environmental engineering was arecognized field. What he appreciates most about the field is hispotential to make a difference: “One very important aspect of theenvironmental field is the impact those of us who work in it canhave. Most of the time it's a very positive impact.”

Property owners that did not contribute to the pollution at asite can secure pollution-cleanup waivers from federal and stateenvironmental regulators, “but there are a lot of hurdles to gothrough to prove the company's an innocent landowner,” Wingertsays.

Karl Zimmel, Manager of Risk Management Services at TucsonElectric Power

For a power utility, the main environmental challenge isregulation, says Zimmel, who has professionally managed risk for 30years. Zimmel characterizes Environmental risk as a movingtarget—and says that's especially the case regarding regulationcovering how the utility monitors risk and files mandated reportsto regulators. “We're such a target for EPA regulation. That alwaysmakes [Environmental risk] challenging,” Zimmel says.

“Every year we review emerging risks” for the utility, Zimmelsays. “Included in that is Environmental risk, which isever-emerging.”