Do you have a good story to tell about placing a difficult risk? We'd like to report it in National Underwriter. The best of such reader tales from the excess and surplus lines market place will be included in a special issue of NU on Feb. 12, 2007.

NU editors are reaching out to readers from wholesale brokerages, managing general agencies and specialty lines insurance companies to tell us about one or more of the most unusual and memorable risks you've ever placed or written. The most unique and compelling stories--in the eyes of our editorial staff--will be included in a special feature entitled, "Unusual & Special Risks."

How each person defines "unusual or special," of course, is subjective. And since the E&S business is, in essence, the marketplace for special and unusual placements, it may be difficult to sort out something that's truly extraordinary. A good guideline would be something that made you do a double-take when it crossed your desk.

For example, one market participant featured in last year's article described her experience in placing liability coverage for a Mardi Gras krewe throwing coconuts rather than beads into the crowd. Another spoke about his reservations in placing liability insurance for the manufacturer of barstool racers. (See Feb. 6, 2006, NU's first "Unusual & Special Risks" feature for more examples.)

It could be a one-time-only risk that you have never encountered before or since, or it could one that was unique when first presented, but later developed into a niche for your firm.

It may memorable just due to a timing issue--you were trying to place a daycare center at the height of the 1980s hard market or a coastal risk right after Katrina. Or other characteristics might have made it special or difficult--perhaps the size or aggregation of exposures.

In some cases, you may have been successful in placing/writing coverage. Others may have never gotten done. And still others may be the subject of your war stories--they got done, but you wish they hadn't.

Please send a short description of your best ideas, in an e-mail to NU Senior Editor Daniel Hays at dhays@nuco.com by Jan. 5 to be considered for our special issue. He'll follow up with January interviews for our Feb. 12 cover story.

Special Reports /

Reader Alert: Tell Us About Placing A Unique E&S Risk

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