AMRISC DESCRIPTION
2017
2/13/2017
Executive Summary
AmRisc is the largest wind MGA in the US. According to Business Insurance, we are the 4th largest MGA in the country.
Established in late 2000, AmRisc is an underwriting manager focused on middle-market, E&S commercial property wind
risks as well as admitted residential condominium business in Florida. We are honored to be Lloyd’s largest wind
coverholder, and a direct insurance Program Manager with QBE Specialty, Steadfast (Zurich), Indian Harbor (XL),
Lexington (AIG), General Security (SCOR), United Specialty, PESLIC (Munich Re) and Hannover. AmRisc is the exclusive
MGA for American Coastal Insurance Company (ACIC), which insures Florida condominium associations on an admitted
basis.
For Producers, AmRisc delivers the “100% Solution” for their CAT-exposed clients via market-leading per risk and portfolio
capacity, specialized underwriting, and a high level of responsiveness.
For Carriers, AmRisc’s multi-model approach provides turnkey production, exceptional underwriting execution, policy
issuance, inspection, regulatory compliance, portfolio management and catastrophe control. Insurers can participate on a
portfolio with an attritional loss ratio under 15% and industry-leading CAT metrics for PML and expected loss ratios.
For Insureds, AmRisc provides $300M+ per risk of top-rated wind capacity covering their unique property insurance
coverages in a single policy customized to deliver that “100% Solution”. Claims management is via a single TPA, which is
time-tested and structured for the high volume claim count that is inherent in catastrophe property insurance.
Production Growth and Capacity
AmRisc finished 2016 with $845 million written premium. The decrease in premium from 2015 is due to current market
conditions.
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
E&S
Admitted
311
302
307
250
260
204 231
163
27
25
55
80 100 125 125
106
255 287 214
332 380 365
475
643 595
548 603
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Performance
AmRisc writes predominantly US wind and has produced an inception to date loss ratio of 12.9% for Non-CAT and 12.3%
for windstorm for its E&S carriers. All insurance results are highlighted below:
NonCAT L/R CAT L/R Total L/R $B Earned Premium E&S and Admitted Insurance 11.3% 9.2% 20.5% 7.10 E&S Insurance 12.9% 12.3% 25.2% 4.95 ITD from 2001 ‐ 31‐Dec‐16 Factoring out the last three years of minimal US CAT, AmRisc’s E&S inception-to-date CAT loss ratio is 16.5% for the
evaluation period of 2001 through 2013. During this shorter evaluation period the industry experienced an average of $13.1
Billion per year of insured US Windstorm losses while AmRisc’s results were close to 50% better than industry average.
Portfolio Statistics
Due to current market conditions, AmRisc expects to grow written premium by approximately 10% in 2017. 95% of our
accounts and 80% of our premiums are written full value, with the remainder being primary or quota share accounts. The
premium and TIV split are shown below:
Underwriting
AmRisc currently manages over 40 contracts, the majority focused on writing the E&S portfolio on an All Risk basis. There
are approximately 70 underwriters and 100 support staff, organized into eight underwriting teams. Underwriting is
organized around products within AmRisc’s CAT specialization, which enables underwriters to stay one step ahead of the
market. Division Presidents and Team Managers have loss prevention engineering experience and / or are veteran E&S
underwriters averaging over 17 years underwriting experience. Brief bios of the management team are included herein.
Underwriting is controlled using a proprietary, computerized rating system called RisCalc and a proprietary database
software called RiscTrack. Tools also include RMS and AIR CAT modeling, internet data gathering resources, SLOSH
storm surge modeling and online flood mapping. Our foundational risk measurement is the RisCalc Model Price, which
measures technical price adequacy for each account based on premium, deductibles, coverage, and terms & conditions in
lieu of rate or changes in catastrophe modeling outputs. The RisCalc Model Price on the entire book has been measured
and trended across all contracts since 2003.
In the hands of the AmRisc Underwriter, each account’s RisCalc model “tells the story of the risk” capturing the individual
risk pricing for all covered perils, as well as showcasing critical CAT metrics and Return on Capital for each account. This
quantitative benchmark, coupled with the experience-informed judgement of the AmRisc Underwriter, better evaluates
where we are in the CAT market cycle and allows us to more effectively manage an individual account’s risk transfer.
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AmRisc focuses on the capture of quality data including secondary risk characteristics. While this would seem relatively
basic, general execution by competitors in the market is weak. Our quote, binder and policy documentation standards are
stringent. The proper execution of these basic underwriting steps, combined with experienced specialists and marketleading capacity, enables AmRisc to outperform its peers by a significant margin.
Inspections
AmRisc developed customized inspection forms and then worked with several inspection companies to implement a
comprehensive inspection routine focused on the wind characteristics of a risk. With our entry into the DIC-EQ market, we
have now implemented a similar routine for the unique earthquake characteristics. Recently, these inspection forms were
updated and now utilize a state of the art web platform tied to our systems for immediate ordering, receipt, review and
status tracking. All inspection data is directly connected to our exposure database and automatically updated. AmRisc
inspects 95% or more of the exposed TIV in the portfolio, and geocoding for the entire portfolio is 100% street resolution or
better. Inspections are designed to pick up secondary construction characteristics important to wind resistance that the
market often ignores. As secondary characteristics are then captured in our catastrophe modeling software, the model
results are significantly more accurate than the industry average.
RiscTrack, our proprietary database system creates various reports that identify differences between submitted
information and inspected information. AmRisc can determine if underwriting action is needed, warn Insureds if they
appear not to be in compliance with warrants or subjectivities, and/or take proper cancellation measures. Producers
understand that AmRisc’s execution of the underwriting & inspection process is strict, and undesirable risks are best
placed with companies less stringent in their underwriting/inspection routine.
Portfolio Optimization
Catastrophe underwriting involves both individual account underwriting as well as portfolio management. Using Risk Link,
Classic/2, RisCalc and RiscTrack, AmRisc can optimize the portfolio parameters most important to companies. AmRisc
offers a class-leading balance of premium to PML to enable companies to minimize the capital dedicated to the portfolio.
Distribution
AmRisc’s market position creates a competitive advantage when competing for the best accounts. Our Elite Producer
Program (EPP) is the central platform for managing appointments, targeting production and rewarding all of our Elite
Producers. The Elite Producer Program helps producers focus on target business, binder hit ratios and renewal retention
while also balancing incentives between higher demand business (such as Tri-county Florida and Harris/Galveston area
wind) and all other business.
Our Brokerage (wholesale) producers’ performance within the EPP is based not just on written premium, but also a point
calculation taking into account several components including premium, hit ratio, and product written. For program rules,
including the details of this EPP point calculation, the list of appointed producers and their Elite Status, please see our
website at http://www.amrisc.com/elite_producer.shtml.
Historically, distribution has emphasized the Brokerage (wholesale) channel with some exceptions: select Florida retail
appointments for American Coastal business that were part of the late-2007 insurance company startup; select national
retailer appointments for E&S business in 2009. In both cases, underwriters were working on both retail and wholesale
accounts that, while effective, were not maximizing the deployment of our carriers’ PML. For this reason, and to improve
our overall product delivery, the AmRisc Agency Group (AAG) was formed in 2015 with staff dedicated to the agency
space and serving that segment exclusively.
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Eighty percent (80%) of total production comes from our top 10 Producer companies. The current overall distribution split
between channel and account type is shown below:
Conclusion
AmRisc is the largest wind MGA in the US.
In the E&S segment, AmRisc delivers $300M Per Risk Capacity and deploys nearly $3B of PML for our E&S Syndicate and
Carrier partners.
Our ITD (Yearend 2016) Non-CAT loss ratio is 12.9% and windstorm loss ratio is 12.3% for E&S business.
We achieved this result during a challenging timeframe beginning with the eight land-falling hurricanes of 2004 and 2005
and extending through the active 2008 and 2012 seasons; a result that far exceeds that of its industry peer group.
For commercial property insurers, we believe the middle-market offers the best combination of rate adequacy and
profitability. These strengths, combined with strong execution of the basics and instantaneous market penetration, make
AmRisc the MGA of choice for middle-market commercial catastrophe portfolios.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss whether AmRisc might be a good fit with your commercial wind or
earthquake capacity, please visit our website at www.amrisc.com.
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Corporate Team Bios
Dan Peed, CEO of AmRisc, has a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering and an M.B.A. in
Insurance. In addition, he has CPCU and ARe designations, a Professional Engineering
designation in Fire Protection, and loss prevention engineering experience within the Factory
Mutual system. Dan has over 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry, which includes both
insurance and reinsurance underwriting focused on commercial property risks. He was a Director &
SVP of Fulcrum Insurance Company, CEO of American Underwriting Managers, and SVP and
Manager of Direct & Facultative Property for Sorema N.A. Dan is a founding member of AmRisc.
Laura Beckmann, President and Chief Operating Officer, has a B.A. degree in Broadcast
Journalism and a background in banking and business administration. With over 16 years’
experience in the financial services and insurance industry, her background includes time at Bank
One and Regions Bank as an Account Executive on both the banking and lending side. Prior to
joining AmRisc, Laura also spent time in broadcasting and film production for various networks.
She is responsible for AmRisc’s financial, operational, personnel, administrative and reporting
procedures and controls and is also very involved with American Coastal, managed by AmRisc.
C. Scott Hanson, Chief Capacity Officer and Chief Underwriting Officer, has a B.S. degree in
Chemical Engineering with Professional Engineering and CPCU designations. With over 30 years’
experience in the industry, his background includes time at Factory Mutual before joining CIGNA
as Account Executive. From there, Scott spent 5 years with XL Capital as Director of Energy, then
3 years as Chief Property Underwriter for G.E. Insurance, and finally, Chief Property Underwriter
for Aspen Specialty (E&S).
John Horton, Chief Marketing Officer, has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering
and an ARe professional designation. His 30-year insurance career began with FM Global as a
loss prevention engineer moving to account executive with Arkwright (FM Global) where he
marketed both in the U.S. and in the Asia-Pacific region. In the late 1990’s he held senior
underwriting positions with Sorema North America producing in the facultative reinsurance and
E&S markets. In addition to the CMO responsibility, John serves as CEO of National &
Specialty Products which includes National Accounts, AmRisc Online, DIC-Earthquake,
and General Liability products.
Bill Hopkins, Chief Claims Officer, has a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering and has over 20
years’ experience in the insurance and claims industry. In addition, he holds both a Professional
Engineering and A.I.C. designation. He was formerly a Director with the U.K. consulting firm of
Charles Taylor, and prior to that was Managing Director of Rush Johnson Associates. Bill joined
AmRisc in June 2007 and is responsible for claims and strategic development within the group.
Lisa Norwood, Chief Administrative Officer, has a B.B.A. in Business Management and holds
CPCU and CISR insurance designations. Her pre-insurance background includes 6 years at
McKinsey & Company as a consultant recruiter. In addition, she holds a teaching certificate in
Special and Physical Education and has spent over 25 years as a trainer and coach. Lisa joined
AmRisc in 2009 and is responsible for AmRisc’s regulatory and compliance efforts and producerfacing marketing efforts.
Sam McBirney, EVP of Program Development, has a B.B.A. in Finance and has spent his entire
professional career of over 35 years in E&S property and inland marine insurance. He has worked
as an underwriter and as a manager for several MGAs in the Houston area, as well as several E&S
property markets, including Chubb Custom, Fulcrum, and AIG. In addition to management of
underwriting teams, Sam oversees policy and endorsement development.
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Division Bios
General Property
Brian Reid, CEO of General Property, has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering with a
background in loss prevention engineering (Factory Mutual), facultative reinsurance including
CAT Property (Sorema N.A.), and lastly, was Regional Manager of the Fulcrum Specialty
Chemical Risk Division for Fulcrum and Rampart (both Sorema N.A. companies). Brian has
over 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry.
Eric Powell, Division President of General Property, has a B.S. degree in Chemical
Engineering with a background in loss prevention engineering (Factory Mutual) and risk
engineering at AON Risk Services. Eric joined AmRisc in 2007, and in addition to leading a
general property team, has spearheaded construction training for underwriters.
Amber Martindale, Chief Underwriting Officer of E&S General Property, has a B.B.A. degree
in marketing and holds CPCU, ARM, and CISR certifications. With her 15+ years’ experience
at AmRisc, Amber has developed strong underwriting skills and team leadership abilities in the
E&S property space.
Steve Tschirhart, Chief Underwriting Officer of American Coastal, has a B.S. in Maritime
Administration and over 15 years’ experience in insurance. Steve began his career as a
marketing technician with Wortham, spent 2 years as an underwriter at Deep South Surplus,
and was a Business Developer for Great American Insurance Company before joining AmRisc
in 2009.
National Specialty
John Horton, CEO of National Specialty Team, has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an ARe
professional designation. His 30-year insurance career spans time with FM Global as a loss
prevention engineer, moving to account executive with Arkwright, and eventually, holding senior
underwriting positions with Sorema North America, producing in the facultative reinsurance and
E&S markets. In addition to his role as Chief Marketing Officer, he has responsibility for
development of National Accounts, AmRisc Online, DIC-Earthquake, and GL products.
Gordon Forbes, Division President of National Specialty Team, has a B.A. in Speech
Communication and has over 27 years’ experience in the insurance industry. Gordon began
his career with 7 years at CNA Insurance Company as a commercial insurance underwriter.
From there, he spent 6 years at Allianz Insurance and then went on to become a Regional
Property Manager with Lexington Insurance Company. Starting with AmRisc in 2009, he has
been instrumental in the growth of the National Accounts division.
Scott Hornsby, Chief Underwriting Officer of National Specialty Team, graduated with a B.S.
in Corporate Finance. He held a variety of underwriting positions during his 10 years at Aetna
Life & Casualty/Travelers Insurance Group. From there, Scott spent time with various
insurance companies, including United Capital Insurance Company, Sorema North America,
ACE USA, and Aspen Specialty Insurance Company. His AmRisc career began in 2007,
where he has been an integral part of launching the Atlanta Office.
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Division Bios (Continued)
Technical Risks
Brett Dupre, CEO of Technical Risks, has a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering and has
over 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry. His background consists of loss
prevention engineering at FM Global where he managed the High Hazards division and was in
charge of establishing corporate pricing, capacity and coverage guidelines for high hazard
occupancies. Brett spent time in the UK, Texas and the East Coast throughout his career with
FM Global and joined AmRisc in 2008.
Marcus Kelley, Division President of Technical Risks, has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
After working at Alcatel as a Mechanical Engineering design college intern, Marcus began his
career at FM Global as a Consultant Engineer. From there, he spent 5 years with Chartis
(formerly AIG Commercial Insurance) as a Property Senior Loss Control Consultant before
joining AmRisc in 2011.
Angela Matthews, Chief Underwriting Officer of Technical Risks, has a B.B.A. in Finance and
holds CPCU and CPL insurance designations. She began her career as a teacher but
transitioned to AmRisc in 2008. Her career consists of time on both the Tech and National
Accounts underwriting team. In addition, she has become an integral part of carrier contract
maintenance and development.
AmRisc Agency Group
John Allen, Chief Executive Office, AmRisc Agency Group, has a B.B.A. in Business
Administration and holds an ARM insurance designation. With 30 years’ in the insurance
industry, John’s experience spans companies such as The Travelers Insurance Company,
Continental Insurance Company, General Reinsurance Corporation, Royal Specialty
Underwriting, Inc., Axis Insurance Company, Peachtree Specialty Risk Brokers, and Aspen
Specialty. He joined AmRisc in 2011.
David Howard, Division President, AmRisc Agency Group, was a Distinguished Military
Graduate with a B.S. from Central Michigan University. After 4 years in the U.S. Army, he built
25 years’ experience in the insurance industry. David held high-level management positions
with Bankers Insurance Group, Insurance Management Solutions Group, and Paragon Strategic
Solutions (Benfield) before starting Edison Insurance Group.
Billy Hammond, Chief Underwriting Officer, AmRisc Agency Group, received his B.B.A. in Risk
Management and Insurance. His early career included time in law enforcement before working
6 years at Peachtree Special Risk Brokers as a surplus lines broker. He transitioned to
underwriting at Hiscox USA before joining AmRisc in 2014.