If you were a program administrator, you had to like the odds. At last month's Fifth Annual Summit of the Target Markets Program Administrators Association, there was one insurance company representative on hand for every two program administrators. With that many insurance execs walking around, program administrators who couldn't find a carrier to talk with had only themselves to blame.

And talking–or more specifically, networking–was far and away the main activity at the meeting, which was held in Tempe, Ariz. A limited schedule of workshops left plenty of time for one-on-one interactions, and throughout the lobbies and courtyards of the Mission Palms Hotel, the mating dances of program administrators and insurers continued more or less nonstop.

Attendees I managed to buttonhole seemed pleased overall. Scott King, director of sales at HBW, in Atlanta, Ga., said he came to the meeting looking for additional markets for a residential contractors program–a tough class of business, if there ever was one–and said he had some promising talks with insurers. “There will be ongoing dialogue,” he said. “I'll put it that way.”

John Solari, president of Professional Underwriters, in Exton, Pa., said he and an associate decided to stay an extra day so they could talk with three or four additional insurance companies. Solari, who said he was looking for help with certain “geographic opportunities,” said he was a little pessimistic coming into the meeting but was leaving in a decidedly upbeat mood. He said he found carriers' attitudes toward program business had improved markedly from last year's meeting, and even more so from the one before.

Nicholas Ketcios, vice president of underwriting for Legacy Insurance Services, in Phoenix, Ariz., said he came to the meeting to learn a bit about the association and to gather information about the criteria insurers are using to evaluate programs. “We're basically seeing if we have some programs we can submit over the next 60 to 90 days,” he said. Legacy's areas of expertise include commercial transportation and nonstandard auto. “We've met with a couple of markets that we think perhaps we can do business with,” Ketcios said.

Edwin L. Rice, executive vice president with ESL Inc., in Harrisburg, Penn., said he had an unsupported commercial umbrella program, oriented to contractors, but was not particularly looking for carriers. “What I hoped to gain was a better knowlege of program business,” he said, “and how to handle our program better.”

Doug Grahn, director of marketing at Smith, Bell & Thompson, in Burlington, Vt., said his organization was acquired last year by Hilb Rogal & Hobbs. It will be functioning as a managing general underwriter for the broker and therefore might be expanding into additional programs. Grahn said he made contact at the meeting with several insurers that might be of help in that regard.

Ricardo Verges, with Program Placement Consultants, in Haverford, Penn., said he had come to the meeting “to make as many professional relationships as possible, and this is working very well.” Verges said he had been meeting not only with insurers but also with other program administrators. “We're in the business of putting portfolios of small programs together and presenting them to insurance companies,” he said.

As favorable as the program administrator-to-insurer ratio was at the meeting, the association's executives wouldn't mind seeing it deteriorate a bit. Art Seifert, president and CEO of Lighthouse Underwriters, in Annandale, Va., and the current president of the Target Markets Program Administrators Association, pressed the need for new membership at the opening of the meeting. The five-year-old association has enough insurer and vendor associates, he said, but needs to grow beyond its current 125 program administrator members. “Anything you can do to help us in that endeavor is going to be positive for the association,” Seifert said. “You're doing yourself a favor if you help us recruit new members.”

Insurance companies want to see the association grow too, said Rick Weidman, vice president of marketing of Clarendon Insurance Group and a member of Target Markets' board. He said each member of the association's carrier committee was challenged to bring two program administrators to the meeting.

C.T. Kelly, president of CIC Insurance Brokers, of Abilene, Texas, and another association board member, said the group would like to increase its membership by 25 at each meeting. Since 35 nonmember program administrators and MGAs attended the meeting, it appeared the association had a shot at achieving its objective.

During a two-and-a-half hour block of time, numerous insurance companies gave 20-minute presentations in different meeting rooms. While the presentations I sat in on were not packed, there were at least a dozen program administrators attending each, and there was good interaction.

For the most part, insurers seemed satisfied with the turnout and their opportunities to meet with program administrators. At least one, however, withheld judgment. When asked whether the meeting had been productive, Amberry L. Brown, president of PICA Group Services, a new insurer at the event, replied, “Time will tell.”

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Correction: In the Directory of Markets for Truck Insurance, which was published in last month's issue, the listing for Insurance Innovators Inc., of Glenside, Pa., incorrectly indicated that Allstate Insurance Co. was among the markets it represents for truck insurance. Insurance Innovators provided us the information on a form.

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What's Going On: Talking with the talkers at the Target Markets meeting

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