Over the years, he adds with a chuckle, "I've
gotten a reputation among my fellow agents that if
a risk is weird and difficult to place, send it to
Rudy because he'll find a way to handle it. My employees
ask me, 'What do you enjoy working on the most?' I
like the complicated, difficult risk. I like to unbundle
the information and figure out how to handle it; I
find that really challenging and stimulating."
How about an example? "The risk I've found most
challenging is arranging workers compensation coverage
for an underwater engineering company," he responds.
"They do underwater construction, and what makes
them unique is that they developed a technique for
cleaning out waste tanks for nuclear plants. There's
a special kind of water that is put into the tanks,
and every so often the tanks need to be drained to
clean out the sludge and scrub the walls of the nuclear
reactor. My client sends divers into the tanks to
clean out the sludge without having to drain the water.
That's resulted in an enormous savings for nuclear
plant operators."
It's that kind of determination and persistence that
make Howard a go-to agent for difficult risks. Here's
another example. "Just recently, on a referral,
I got a call from someone who builds reefs in the
ocean. He said, 'Somebody told me to call you and
you'd figure out a way to do it.' I said, 'I haven't
handled a risk like this yet, but I think I can get
it done.' So I found a market that was willing to
write it." Among other non-mainstream risks on
Howard's client roster are an importer of toys from
Hong Kong, a manufacturer of kites for surfboards,
and commercial barges.
MOVING INTO PERSONAL LINES
As mentioned earlier, Howard's commercial lines clients
were eager to bring him their auto and homeowners
business. As anyone who's done business in Florida
knows, finding a stable personal lines market is definitely
not a walk in the park. How did Howard accomplish
it? "I met the people from New America Insurance
at a Florida Association of Independent Agents conference,
and that was right about the point at which I was
considering entering the personal lines business.
As the saying goes, timing is everything, and New
America was looking for someone in my area to represent
it, so we had a marriage. Today New America writes
about 60% of my homeowners business. They appreciate
our loyalty to them and the business we send them,
and they've been very good to us in terms of being
flexible and helping us do what it takes to remain
a viable homeowners market."
New America also operates an MGA for commercial lines;
as it happens, Howard already represents the carriers
with which New America MGA places business. "They've
told me they're considering adding other carriers,
and if they did, I'd certainly do business with them,
because I feel very comfortable about the relationship
I have with them."
