While wholesale agents, brokers and carriers depend on a number of well-regarded excess and surplus lines associations to help develop business and protect their interests, individuals specifically devoted to the wholesale program sector are deeply involved in a relatively new group specifically designed for their niche in the industry.

“There was no organization that spoke to program specialists,” according to Ray Scotto, executive director of Wilmington, Del.-based Target Markets Program Administrators Association (www.targetmkts.com), which has been around for about six years.

As Mr. Scotto tells it, after spending a couple of years working on the idea, Glenn W. Clark, president of Rockwood Program Inc.–a program administrator based in Wilmington–set up a meeting for other administrators and carriers with the idea of forming an association.

The purpose of the first Target Markets Program Administrators Association meeting was to see if there was enough interest in building an organization just for program business wholesalers.

That inaugural meeting, held in Tempe, Ariz., took place a month after Sept. 11, said Mr. Scotto, with 150 people showing up.

“There were a lot of no-shows,” said Gregg Thompson, the association's president as well as chairman and chief executive officer of Kennesaw, Ga.-based Thomco Insurance, a national program administrator primarily for day care centers.

However, those specialists who did make it to that initial gathering “felt they did not have the opportunity to connect with the decision-makers, and companies felt they were not getting the opportunity to do the business they wanted to do,” according to Mr. Scotto.

“Other groups deal with large, diversified programs,” he added. “Our group specializes.”

Mr. Scotto was hired shortly after that meeting from the public service sector, and the building of the new organization began.

As the organization approaches its seventh anniversary meeting–to be held Oct. 15-17 in Tempe–he said the association now boasts 180 program administrators, 40 carrier program-specific divisions, and 50 vendors providing technology, third-party administration, attorneys and other support for the wholesalers.

Among the meeting's benefits (there are currently two annually) are intensive working sessions between administrators and carriers looking to do business together. There are continuing education classes offered, and even the golf tournament is primed for business development, with pairings made between brokers and underwriters.

“If you make the investment to come to our meeting, we want you to feel it was worthwhile for your business,” said Mr. Scotto.

“Target Markets is geared to us and our issues,” according to Mr. Thompson. “The interaction with other program administrators is invaluable.”

Robert E. Mackoul, chief executive officer of Mackoul & Associates Inc., based in Long Beach, N.Y., with offices in New York City, calls Target Markets meetings something similar to speed dating, because one is always moving and meeting with carriers and others in continuous business discussions.

A retail agency that specializes in co-operatives and condominiums in the metro-New York area, he found he needed commercial umbrella and oil storage tank coverage for his risks, and thus began the managing general agency New Empire Group to satisfy that need.

Eventually, he was told to grow the business or lose the appointment.

What started as a small operation is now a true wholesale program business in 35 states, he said, overseen by Robert G. Mackoul, vice president of Mackoul and Associates.

“We are the small guy on the block,” said the CEO. “We are not in the big league. But I don't think we would have been able to meet the people we have met that have lead to the numbers we have, and to our continued growth. We would not be where we are without them.”

Chris Gallagher, executive vice president of New York-based Hudson Insurance Group–a program underwriter and member of Odyssey Re–called Target Markets “an excellent organization” offering lots of opportunities to meet “with quality program administrators,” saving time because executives avoid dealing with unrelated business segments.

“TMPAA provides tremendous value to Fireman's Fund Specialty,” said Jack Russell, executive director and U.S. leader of specialty programs for Fireman's Fund, in an e-mail. “The association is a conduit for program administrators and program carriers to meet, interact and exchange ideas and best practices for growth and profit. We appreciate TMPAA's leadership in our industry.”

While meetings are an important function, Target Markets provides much more, Mr. Scotto pointed out.

The association has developed best practices designations to identify what makes a successful wholesale program brokerage and identify who meets and exceeds the grade. The survey and designation was put together by the brokers and carriers. The three-year-old designation has been awarded to six firms so far.

There is also Target Programs (www.targetprograms.com), where retail agents can find members offering markets, while members get to market their offerings to producers.

Not just anyone can be a member, however, Mr. Scotto explained. Members must have program binding and underwriting authority and $1 million in revenue a year. Members must also be actively involved in the association, serving on boards and committees. “We all have a stake in running this,” he said.

But the biggest benefit for the members is just being able to speak to one another. “You save a lot of time not having to recreate the mistake others have made,” noted Mr. Scotto.

“We have grown unbelievably and we are proud of our success,” said the association's president, Mr. Thompson. “We fill a void that was desperately needed for our unique business models. We are very excited about the future, and encouraged, because specialization is growing in this industry.”

Special Reports /

Target Markets Aims At Program Business

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