About Zurich
Building on a winning formula
Head of Programs Denise Olson in conversation
In sports, a key factor in any team’s success is how deep its roster is. One or two truly exceptional players may carry a team with comparatively less talent overall to great heights ... if everything breaks their way. But sometimes players get injured, leave to join other teams or retire, so it’s usually the team with the deepest roster of talent that has the best chance to go the distance.
So it is in business, too. Zurich has always taken great pride in its overall “bench strength,” and that extends from entry-level employees to senior leadership. Zurich’s Programs unit has enjoyed great success in recent years, but though Greg Massey’s retirement as Head of Programs last spring brought much-deserved salutes for his excellent leadership [see our tribute last issue], no one was pushing the panic button regarding his successor. Another proven leader with a great record of success was ready to step in and build on the team’s momentum: Denise Olson.
A 19-year Zurich veteran, Denise held several leadership roles in underwriting, product development and actuarial capacities before coming to Programs, where she served as Technical Director and Head of New Programs before assuming duties as Head of Programs. Steeped in all aspects of the business, she jumped into her new role last April and is excited about where Programs is headed while also cognizant of fast-evolving risks that can be potential bumps in the road.
Quality, not quotas
For Denise, a big part of strategizing for the future is recognizing Zurich’s enviable position in the programs insurance sector. Targeted growth and selectivity is key in maintaining the company’s strength and stability.
“In the past, we’ve had a targeted number of new programs that we wanted to bring on in any given year,” she noted. “We've stopped looking at it in that way and now look at where we want to grow our relationships. Does it make sense to add a new program? It’s both more opportunistic and relationship-focused.
“We do have growth goals across the Programs unit, but also keep in mind that we're a very mature program carrier. We have a large book of business and we really don't have any pressure to grow that much beyond where we're at. Certainly, as we've reshaped our portfolio, we’ve lost a few programs, and have looked to grow and add new programs as they made sense, but it’s organic ... so it’s more about targeting small growth year over year, as it fits our strategy, not trying to force anything and meet quotas from a new program standpoint.”
As the former Head of New Programs, Denise knows the path to finding and developing new programs very well, and she’ll continue to be active in that area as she leads the unit.
“I still remain pretty involved in new program development. We're not shifting away from our current approach. We still have the same process, and just because of my knowledge and depth within new programs, I expect to remain very involved.”
Our values, as a company, they’re not just words. People really want to live up to those values.
A changing planet means an evolving market
While “slow and steady wins the race” might be the mantra for adding new programs, adjustments within current offerings sometimes do need to be considered, especially involving property insurance programs or others that could be affected by climate volatility. Like the entire industry, Zurich is adjusting to the extreme changes in natural hazard activity.
“It's no secret we have been managing our CAT [catastrophe] capacity,” Denise explained. “From Zurich’s perspective, given climate change and the activity that's happened from a weather standpoint in the last five years, we’re addressing the right level of exposure for us in the marketplace given our market share.”
Denise emphasized that addressing the company’s exposures does not mean leaving Program Administrators or customers behind. Communication is the key here in finding the right balance.
“We’re going to continue to respond to what’s going on in the external market. At the same time, we want to help our Program Administrators understand the ‘why’ around our decisions and actions. For example, our limited reduction of CAT capacity is about what’s happening in the broader market. It’s not program-specific. We all have to be adaptable to what’s going on in the property reinsurance marketplace. We owe it to our Program Administrators to be very clear about when we’re making a change and why that change is coming into play. We need to hear them out and help them explain the changes to their distribution partners and our customers in turn ... so that everybody is on the same page and understands the ‘why’.”
Leaders never stop learning
Market awareness is always a high priority, and Denise said her new role has only reinforced “just how very important it is to be out in the marketplace, meeting our current and potential partners. I have really enjoyed that, and I look forward to every meeting that I have. I'm appreciative of the hospitality everyone’s shown me as I go out and meet them. In this role, I have an even better appreciation of just how important relationships are in this business.”
Of course, cutting across all strategies is what really defines and drives program insurance — the distinctive nature of each specialty market served and addressing the risks unique to those markets. And even for a Programs veteran like Denise, that means keeping up your knowledge base.
“For me personally, I had a knowledge of Builders Risk before but certainly not to the depth that I have now. I recently had the opportunity to meet in Austin with US Assure [Zurich’s Program Administrator for Builders Risk] and some of their key distributors. We had a couple of days where we had some fun, team-building type events, while getting to know each other better,” she recounted.
“The most valuable part to me was listening to the distributors talk about their book of business, their challenges, and the great things about US Assure. For example, I learned about the Builders Risk marketplace by sitting in on a deep dive discussion as they broke into smaller groups for the different segments of the market. That was very interesting ... to hear their concerns ... the things they're hearing from a product standpoint on a firsthand basis.”
Keeping up with evolving risks for longstanding programs goes hand in hand with gaining a thorough understanding of unique risks for a newer program. Denise cited Zurich’s Manufactured Housing Communities Insurance as an example of the latter.
“We're not insuring all the mobile homes or the manufactured homes that are in these communities; were actually insuring the owner ... and so you have to think about it from the owner's perspective. What kinds of risks do they have? They have a common building. They might have laundry services. There may be a pool. Just looking through the types of claims there was really interesting to me ... to see things like security gates shutting on cars ... what kind of issues there are related to pets on the premises ... or the other kinds of duties an owner owes to their tenants. There's a security aspect to it and there's a maintenance aspect to it. And so that was all very interesting to me to learn about.”
New or old, Denise said every successful program is as much about relationships as the market.
“The first thing is getting to know the individuals that you’re going to work with,” she explained. “Are they people that you like and you want to do business with? Do we have the same goals in mind? What’s your goal as an entity? It’s not right or wrong if their goal doesn’t align with our goal; that’s just not a great fit. It doesn’t mean it’s not a great program. We shouldn’t try to force something that isn’t going to work. So, the relationship side is the very first thing we look at. Initial meetings are really about getting to know each other. Then, as you get into the program itself, you have lots of conversations and that’s where you can understand the expertise the PA has. Are they bringing forward issues or are do you have to ask and dig for details? It’s about transparency.”
A team to be proud of
Now several months on the job as Head of Programs, Denise Olson points to the company at large and the colleagues she works with every day as the real reasons for the unit’s ongoing success and why she enjoys coming to work. She said operating within Zurich’s Middle Market business structure has benefited the Programs unit and she has a strong working relationship with Alex Wells, Head of U.S. Middle Market.
“I’ve definitely gotten to know Alex a lot better having taken on the new role. I had certainly talked with him several times before that and had spent some time getting to know him, but not nearly in the depth that I have been able to now. And I think that's been great for both of us ... to better understand what his vision is for Programs and to really articulate mine.”
“At Zurich, people want to do the right thing,” she continued. “Our values, as a company, they’re not just words. People really want to live up to those values. From a Programs team perspective, I am so thankful that we have really fantastic people with deep knowledge of underwriting, of the business, and who really want to solve problems for our Program Administrators.”
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