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2019 ISSUE 1<br />
NOTES FROM NATIONAL INTERSTATE INSURANCE FOR OUR PARTNERS IN RISK<br />
This Reptile<br />
wants to<br />
Eat You Alive.<br />
Get to<br />
know<br />
the ReptileTheory before it<br />
's too late.
Contents2019 ISSUE 1<br />
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO 3<br />
EXTRA MILER: DEBBIE FAIX 4<br />
INTRODUCING CONVOY:<br />
SAY HELLO TO UPSIDE WITHOUT THE DOWNSIDE 6<br />
EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT: MICHELLE WILTGEN 8<br />
TURNING RISK INTO REWARD 10<br />
UNDERWRITERS SPOTLIGHT: MEET A FEW<br />
MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM 12<br />
Proactive<br />
with a Purpose<br />
The Reptile Theory and How to Help Prevent It 20<br />
A PATH BACK TO WORK 24<br />
A TRUE PARTNERSHIP:<br />
NATIONAL INTERSTATE AND AKRON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL<br />
AKRON MARATHON RACE SERIES 26<br />
HOW TO REPORT A CAT CLAIM 28<br />
Subscriptions:<br />
Extra Mile magazine is a free, quarterly publication offered by National Interstate Insurance<br />
Company in support of its customers. To subscribe, call 800-929-1500 or email amanda.<br />
genther@natl.com.<br />
Publisher:<br />
Established in 1989, National Interstate Insurance is one of the leading specialty property<br />
and casualty insurance companies in the country. Offering more than 30 different insurance<br />
products, including traditional insurance, innovative alternative risk transfer (ART) programs for<br />
commercial companies and insurance for specialty vehicle owners. Its customized solutions are<br />
made possible by its talented and dedicated team members. National Interstate employs over<br />
700 employees in offices in Northeast Ohio, HI, and MO.<br />
© 2019 National Interstate Insurance Company<br />
National Interstate Insurance Company<br />
National Interstate Insurance Company<br />
@NatlCareers<br />
@Natl_hq<br />
National Interstate Insurance Company<br />
Editorial Contributors:<br />
Amanda Genther<br />
Melanie Irvin<br />
Tony Mercurio<br />
Chris Mikolay<br />
Sandra Ritley<br />
Shawn Los<br />
Charlie Wendland<br />
Kimberly Wickert<br />
“New year — a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story?<br />
Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours.”<br />
Alex Morritt<br />
Letter from the President and CEO<br />
TONY MERCURIO<br />
I like the quote above. It reminds me that we don’t have to accept<br />
the status quo, that each day is a choice to do something great, that<br />
we should seek constant improvement. And while I believe this<br />
attitude is hardwired into our DNA at National Interstate, the reality<br />
is we must continue to evolve and get better every day if we are to<br />
remain successful.<br />
Our industry is changing rapidly. More and more vehicles are<br />
being equipped with technologies that promise to dramatically<br />
reduce the number of accidents on the road. Yet, the Commercial<br />
Auto insurance market remains unsettled – rising loss costs,<br />
distracted drivers, more congested roads, nuclear verdicts – these<br />
headwinds are causing problems for insureds and insurers alike.<br />
Inside this edition of the Extra Mile you’ll read about one of those<br />
issues in particular, the “Reptile Theory”. In short, Reptile Theory<br />
is a strategy plaintiff’s attorneys have been using to devastating<br />
effect – juries are giving eight and sometimes nine figure awards<br />
in accidents where the initial facts appear extremely favorable to<br />
the motor carrier. You need to know about Reptile Theory, and more<br />
importantly, what you can do to avoid falling prey to it.<br />
While the road ahead may be bumpy, National Interstate is working<br />
hard to make it as smooth as possible. Over the past year we have<br />
continued in our quest to build the insurance experience around<br />
you by investing in our people, our systems and even in our new<br />
building. And I’m proud to say our efforts were rewarded with an<br />
A.M. Best financial strength rating upgrade to A+ (Superior). This<br />
rating is only given to insurance companies A.M. Best determines<br />
have a superior ability to meet their financial obligations, and if you<br />
have been paying attention to the difficulty many insurers are facing<br />
in the Commercial Auto world, you would note our recent upgrade<br />
as particularly impressive. I could not be more proud of our team for<br />
achieving this milestone.<br />
Speaking of milestones, in 2019 National Interstate<br />
celebrates its 30th anniversary. As I take a<br />
moment to think about my 24- year career with<br />
the company and our humble roots, I’m awed<br />
at what we’ve achieved as a team. But I’m<br />
even more excited about what is yet to come,<br />
knowing our team has even greater chapters to<br />
write. To that end, this year we’ll be launching several innovative<br />
new insurance programs, including Convoy and Gibraltar. Convoy is<br />
geared toward more traditional truck insurance buyers, and it gives<br />
each participant the cash flow advantages of a deductible product<br />
coupled with the control and potential rewards of an alternative risk<br />
program. Gibraltar is a new member-owned group captive targeted<br />
to best-in-class energy and environmental service providers. I can’t<br />
wait to see these new programs gather momentum and provide<br />
exceptional value to our insureds.<br />
In closing, I wish you a healthy and prosperous 2019. As always,<br />
I thank you for your partnership, and may each mile you drive be a<br />
safe one.<br />
Best,<br />
Tony Mercurio<br />
President & CEO<br />
3
Debbie<br />
Faix<br />
At National Interstate, we take great pride in our promise to be your<br />
best partner on your worst day. That promise begins the moment a<br />
claim is reported and then processed by a Claim Processing Technician<br />
responsible for receiving, entering and assigning new claims. Debbie<br />
Faix, one of our Technicians, has claims cross her desk every day. While<br />
she hasn’t been with the company very long, she understands the impact<br />
she can have on a customer’s worst day.<br />
We met Debbie from an employee referral. She received a Bachelor<br />
of Science degree in Communication with a minor in Psychology and<br />
Sociology from Ohio University. Prior to joining National Interstate in<br />
early 2018, Debbie held many roles in various industries. From being<br />
a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Adjuster and an immediate response<br />
adjuster, to working in a vet’s office and in a preschool setting, Debbie’s<br />
different experiences helped develop her communication and people<br />
skills into what they are today.<br />
Debbie also does her best to remember her customers. If she’s talked<br />
to someone before, she’ll reference prior conversations and joke that –<br />
given she’s on the phone talking about tough claims - she “hopes she<br />
doesn’t have to talk to you again any time soon.”<br />
Aside from her remarkable customer service skills, Debbie takes<br />
advantage of the training and volunteer opportunities our company<br />
offers. She volunteered at the fluid station during the Akron Marathon<br />
race series in the summer of 2018, and participates in state-specific<br />
training, job shadowing opportunities and medical training to name a<br />
few. In addition, Debbie is always good for sharing a positive word or<br />
sending kudos out to other departments. In the time that Debbie has<br />
been here, she has contacted several employees to thank them when<br />
they go an extra step to help her out. These small gestures can turn<br />
anyone’s day around.<br />
Recently, Debbie used an Ohio buckeye to share a positive message<br />
with her team. She stated that a buckeye forms in a rough, prickly shell<br />
not very appealing to the eye. However, when opened, the buckeye<br />
is beautiful, smooth and shiny. Debbie handed out buckeyes to her<br />
team with the message that with a little bit of guidance, training and<br />
teamwork, you have the ability to break through a rough outer shell to<br />
reveal something great on the inside.<br />
With a knack for making connections, Debbie is a true manifestation of<br />
our tagline “An insurance experience built around you.” She makes our<br />
customers feel welcome from the moment she picks up the phone and<br />
builds trust and rapport by making a personal connection to the caller.<br />
If you’re routed to Debbie, do not be surprised when she has the unique<br />
ability to take a small piece of information you provided and turn it into<br />
a conversation starter – “Hey! Your baseball team really gave our Indians<br />
a run for their money last night!” or “I remember vacationing in your city<br />
once! I really enjoyed having dinner at The Lobster Shack – have you<br />
been?” These statements go a long way in building a connection with<br />
the caller, putting them at ease during a time that likely may be stressful<br />
for him or her.<br />
Meet Debbie<br />
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO<br />
OUTSIDE THE OFFICE?<br />
Biking, hiking, kayaking…anything outside.<br />
WHAT IS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?<br />
I just watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, AGAIN, since it<br />
was on TV when I was flipping through the stations – BIG HP fan! There’s<br />
a huge following here at National Interstate, too (#mischiefmanaged)!<br />
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY?<br />
I would make sure my family was taken care of, then I would travel, and<br />
paddle a kayak around all of the beautiful places across the country.<br />
PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW…<br />
I’ve never been to Disney World. I guess I need to win the lottery!<br />
Debbie does her best to exemplify what every employee strives for at<br />
National Interstate. She embraces our company culture, puts a smile on<br />
your face and is someone you want to have around on your worst day.<br />
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB?<br />
My dream job would be an elementary education teacher for first graders, if<br />
morphing into Mrs. Claus doesn’t work!<br />
MY DAY CAN’T START UNTIL…<br />
I have a cup of coffee and step outside to greet the day.<br />
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY?<br />
Christmas.<br />
WHY DO YOU LOVE YOUR JOB?<br />
I love my job because I work with a wonderful, collaborative team in our<br />
Claims department, and I feel appreciated here at National Interstate.<br />
ARE YOU A CAT OR DOG PERSON?<br />
Dog, but I’d like one of each.<br />
4 5
INTRODUCING<br />
CONVOY<br />
Say Hello to upside<br />
without the downside.<br />
How does Convoy Work?<br />
1<br />
2<br />
Each participant purchases a $25k basket deductible policy<br />
from National Interstate.<br />
Other members join the group and 25-40% of each participant’s policy<br />
premium is placed into a shared pool to be used to pay claims above the<br />
deductible and up to $150,000. The pool earns investment income on that<br />
premium at a guaranteed rate of 3.65%. 1<br />
We’re kicking off 2019 with a new product we believe will be a huge<br />
hit in the marketplace, particularly for insurance buyers who have an<br />
aversion to the word “captive”. In Convoy, our new program geared<br />
toward mid-size trucking fleets, you’ll find evidence of our hallmark<br />
National Interstate creativity and win/win mentality. Convoy is an<br />
alternative risk program with a twist – we’re taking the best of a<br />
deductible program and the best of a captive to create an entirely new<br />
category of insurance program targeted to more traditional insurance<br />
buyers.<br />
We think many of your current and prospective insureds are going to<br />
love the programs key features, including:<br />
The benefits of a small deductible program<br />
➼ Lower upfront premium<br />
➼ Initial cash flow savings<br />
➼ Retain smaller, more frequent and more predictable losses<br />
➼ Basket coverage on Auto Liability, Physical Damage and Cargo<br />
The benefits of a captive program<br />
➼ Potential return of premium<br />
➼ Investment income accrues to members at 3.65%*<br />
➼ Greater control of insurance destiny<br />
➼ Alignment of interests with insurance carrier<br />
➼ United with other best-in-class motor carriers<br />
➼ Annual meeting<br />
With the insurance market in flux, we believe Convoy will be a great<br />
solution for controlling cost of risk and rewarding motor carriers with<br />
potential underwriting profit and investment income – without the<br />
downside risk that typically accompanies a higher risk program.<br />
Designed for insureds who have a lower risk tolerance and who may<br />
be reluctant to join a captive, Convoy members share risk from $25k<br />
to $150k in a fund that has no downside. If there is money left over,<br />
underwriting profit and investment income are returned to members on<br />
a pro rata basis. If the entire fund is used, National Interstate assumes<br />
the risk via an aggregate stop loss. The group is therefore incentivized<br />
to control losses and has the potential to see significant return, along<br />
with investment income, while stabilizing and controlling cost of risk.<br />
Source:<br />
3<br />
Claims occur and are paid out.<br />
1<br />
Effective 1/1/2019 - 12/31/2019. 3.25% through 12/31/2018<br />
2<br />
Subject to terms of Participation Agreement. Positive balance is not guaranteed and is determined by aggregate loss performance of the pool.<br />
If there is a positive balance at the end of a 3-year accounting cycle,<br />
National Interstate will return premium and investment income to each<br />
participant on a pro-rata basis determined by individual performance. 2<br />
Give us a call at 800-929-1500 x2279 to discuss Convoy in greater detail, or better yet, let’s do a Webinar (our PowerPoint is pretty slick).<br />
The insurance market continues to change, and trucking companies need innovative solutions to combat the climbing costs of risk.<br />
*Guaranteed investment yield effective 1/1/19. Determined annually.<br />
CHRIS MIKOLAY<br />
VP, National Accounts and Truck Alternative Products<br />
6<br />
7
EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT<br />
Michelle<br />
Wiltgen<br />
NATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER<br />
IN YOUR OWN WORDS, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU DO?<br />
As the National Marketing Manager for the Passenger division, I am<br />
responsible for marketing all available insurance solutions including<br />
traditional and alternative risk transfer, or “captive,” products to<br />
prospective companies. That said, I think most of our current partners<br />
and even prospective partners will tell you that I am the face of<br />
National Interstate, not only to our Passenger accounts, but to many<br />
of our other products as well. I feel the biggest responsibility I have,<br />
regardless of how big our company gets, is to make our partners,<br />
both customers and brokers/agents, feel that they are part of our<br />
family. That responsibility is something I don’t take lightly and I know<br />
our partners don’t either.<br />
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS YOU MAKE AS A LEADER?<br />
I have been with National Interstate for almost 28 years. When<br />
I started at the company, there were only 23 other employees.<br />
Back then, it was about building the business and survival. Now,<br />
it’s still about building the business, but my role has transformed<br />
in a way that I think about the example I can set for our younger<br />
team members, and how I can help them learn the business and<br />
our culture. We are a proud company that has worked hard to<br />
get to where we are today, and I want to do my part to see that<br />
legacy continue. Our core values of integrity, transparency, fairness,<br />
accountability, empowerment and collaboration will help that<br />
become a reality. Being a leader isn’t a title, it’s a position you earn<br />
throughout your career by the example that you set every day.<br />
YOU’VE BEEN IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY YOUR ENTIRE<br />
CAREER. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT MOST SURPRISES<br />
YOU ABOUT THE INDUSTRY AND KEEPS YOU IN IT?<br />
The number of insurance companies that have entered into this<br />
business and have had to exit because they could not figure out how<br />
to do it successfully always surprises me. I consider it a badge of<br />
honor that National Interstate has endured for 30 years in an often<br />
volatile market. My passion about what this company does and the<br />
relationships that we have with our partners is what keeps me in this<br />
ever-changing industry.<br />
CAN YOU NAME SOMEONE WHO HAS HAD A TREMENDOUS<br />
IMPACT ON YOUR CAREER? WHY AND HOW DID<br />
THIS PERSON IMPACT YOUR LIFE?<br />
My family has had the biggest impact on my career. I grew up<br />
with four older brothers, and we were poor. But, we didn’t know it<br />
because everyone in our neighborhood was poor. My parents taught<br />
all of us work ethics, respect and that hard work really does pay<br />
off in the end. I was never told I couldn’t do something “because I<br />
was a girl”. During my senior year of high school, I started working<br />
at a local insurance company. The following year, knowing I would<br />
be responsible for my college tuition, I worked there full-time during<br />
the day and went to college full-time at night to earn my degree.<br />
That experience taught me how to support myself and become<br />
independent.<br />
MY MORNING CAN’T START WITHOUT…<br />
If I am home, a 125-degree latte that my husband makes me...on the<br />
road I settle for whatever latte I can get!<br />
YOU TRAVEL 40-45 WEEKS A YEAR FOR NATIONAL<br />
INTERSTATE. HAVE ANY GOOD TRAVEL TIPS TO SHARE?<br />
I know that to some people, travel may sound glamorous and to<br />
others a nightmare. I can tell you that travel is not glamorous and<br />
many times, when travel is disrupted, it is a nightmare! The best<br />
advice I can give is to be organized, don’t sweat the small stuff and<br />
don’t believe travel will go smoothly 100% of the time. Also, I am a<br />
master at packing a suitcase – just call me for tips!<br />
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING?<br />
Believe it or not, my husband and I love to travel – traveling for fun<br />
is totally different than traveling for business! I enjoy finding great<br />
new places in the U.S. and beyond, and finding delicious restaurants<br />
and wine along the way! One of our favorite spots is Ocean Reef Club<br />
in the Florida Keys, which is only a two-hour drive for us, but still<br />
feels like we’re on vacation once we get there.<br />
WILL WE EVER SEE A ROAD OF DRIVERLESS BUSES AND COACHES?<br />
While I think we will eventually see driverless buses and coaches,<br />
I think we are further away than many people believe. I think the<br />
technology is absolutely there, but improved infrastructure including<br />
roads and bridges need to be built to support this type of vehicle.<br />
Without the proper roads to accommodate driverless technology,<br />
there will be no place for these vehicles to operate. I think about this<br />
a lot and the one question that is always on my mind is if something<br />
comes towards a driverless vehicle, how can the decision be made,<br />
either way, to either veer into a crosswalk or into traffic? How does<br />
the vehicle make that kind of split-second decision? It definitely<br />
keeps me up at night.<br />
WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?<br />
I’m actually reading two – one called You are Driving Me Crazy –<br />
written by June Bratcher, owner of Daisy Charters and a long-time<br />
National Interstate partner. June was unable to make our last Calypso<br />
captive advisory meeting, so she gave the book to her son, David<br />
who informed me, “Mom sent you a present.” I was so excited! In the<br />
book, June writes about how she started Daisy Charters and built it<br />
to what it is today. I’m also reading A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult<br />
because I read anything and everything she writes.<br />
WHAT WILL THE INSURANCE MARKET LOOK LIKE IN FIVE YEARS?<br />
The insurance market changes every year, so I expect it to continue<br />
evolving. The game changer for the future will be the use of technology<br />
– telematics and data analytics will have the biggest impact on<br />
insurance that we’ve ever seen. This technology will change how<br />
we underwrite and therefore, will change the market as a whole. For<br />
example, National Interstate is on the leading edge of using this kind<br />
of technology and it’s already changing how we look at exposures.<br />
That will continue, the more that the data becomes available through<br />
increased customer use of automated event recorders and telematics,<br />
providing us with the ability to be even more predictive.<br />
8<br />
9
TURNING<br />
RISK<br />
INTO<br />
Reward<br />
Ensuring safety at every site should be a top priority in the crane<br />
and rigging industry.<br />
Yet, even with the most sophisticated technologies and best riskmanagement<br />
techniques, bad things can happen to good operations.<br />
Crane operations are inherently risky, and managing risk properly is not<br />
easy. Smart executives should take the time to properly understand the<br />
many ways risk can be transferred, when risk should be retained and<br />
how various risk-financing techniques affect a company’s cash flow<br />
and bottom line.<br />
Alternative Risk Transfer Programs<br />
An alternative risk transfer (ART) program, also known as captive<br />
insurance, is created specifically to insure only the risks of a single<br />
company or a defined group of companies.<br />
Once available only to very large firms, ART program participation has<br />
grown and is now available to a wide variety of organizations. In these<br />
programs, the participant pays a premium similar to a guaranteed-cost<br />
policy, but a portion of that premium is designated to pay for expected<br />
losses up to a certain limit.<br />
If the participant has fewer losses than expected, part of the premium<br />
may be returned, along with any investment income accrued.<br />
Conversely, if losses are higher than expected, the participant will pay<br />
additional premiums up to a specified maximum.<br />
ART premiums are not determined by the whims of the insurance<br />
market, but largely by the individual operator’s loss experience.<br />
For better operators, the long-term cost of risk can be substantially<br />
lower and more stable than if they had been insured with a more<br />
traditional product. That’s a primary reason better operators continue<br />
to migrate to this option.<br />
Navigating this Field<br />
However, an ART program isn’t for everyone.<br />
To benefit, a participant must hold a longer-term vision, partner with<br />
insurance companies and agents who are experts in alternative risk<br />
products, and, above all, understand the product.<br />
There are many myths and misconceptions about alternative risk, and<br />
navigating this field of insurance requires unbiased, expert advice.<br />
First, find an insurance agent who understands ART and has access to<br />
it. Second, demand transparency from the agent and insurance carrier<br />
about how premiums are spent, about the best and worst case claims<br />
scenarios and about how premium and collateral are to be returned.<br />
Finally, when exploring a group option, ask for data highlighting past<br />
financial performance and speak with current members about their<br />
experience.<br />
Turning Risk into Competitive<br />
Advantage<br />
Speaking with hundreds of company executives over many years, I<br />
have observed two distinct mentalities about insurance coverage.<br />
Some buy insurance; others manage risk. There is a world of difference.<br />
To illustrate, let’s consider two fictitious fleet companies: Randy’s<br />
Crane and Dave’s Rigging. Both are experienced operations, but also<br />
face a myriad of challenges trying to run a profitable company.<br />
Randy likens insurance premiums to fuel costs. He may look for<br />
the lowest price, but he basically views insurance as a commodity<br />
beyond his control. He also believes accidents are more or less random<br />
occurrences, a cost of doing business. As you’d expect, Randy’s annual<br />
insurance renewal is one of the most stressful parts of his job.<br />
Dave’s Rigging, in contrast, decided to control its risk. It took steps to<br />
reduce accidents and workers’ compensation claims, such as using a<br />
return to work program and pre-hire physical abilities testing, which<br />
greatly improved its safety program and reduced the frequency of<br />
workers’ compensation claims.<br />
Dave also challenged his insurance broker to help him control losses<br />
and fight claims more aggressively. The effort not only helped Dave’s<br />
Rigging drive down its total cost of risk, but also turned that risk into<br />
competitive advantage. The company is now positioned to thrive in<br />
the future, while companies that leave risk management to chance<br />
will continue to struggle.<br />
Risk can be controlled to a greater degree than many imagine.<br />
However, this requires a holistic approach to risk management,<br />
including vision and support from senior management, a commitment<br />
to reducing accidents before they happen and aggressively managing<br />
losses that do occur.<br />
Article originally seen in Crane Hotline magazine as Turning Risk into<br />
Competitive Advantage<br />
SHAWN LOS<br />
VP, Specialty Transportation<br />
10<br />
11
It<br />
UNDERWRITERS SPOTLIGHT:<br />
Team<br />
MEET A FEW MEMBERS OF OUR<br />
has been said that the art of underwriting is akin to driving a bus by looking<br />
only at the rearview mirror. Without a doubt, selecting and then pricing risks<br />
correctly is no easy feat, but National Interstate is proud to employ many<br />
talented underwriters who seem to have a knack for seeing around corners. In<br />
this feature, we spotlight 10 of our underwriters who have more than 110 years of<br />
underwriting experience combined. Read on as we pick their brains on creative<br />
financing strategies, predictive modeling and much more.<br />
AJ Pero<br />
SENIOR UNDERWRITER<br />
Years Underwriting: 2<br />
How have you personally made National Interstate a more successful<br />
underwriting company? In addition to my underwriting role, I try to add an analytical component to the group by creating various<br />
performance reports relating to Alternative Risk Transfer (Captive) Performance, Monthly Loss Development and the Summarizing of Accident<br />
Year Loss Experience by Coverage Line. These reports allow our Specialty Managers to analyze and act on trends in their product and make<br />
more educated underwriting decisions moving forward.<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you job satisfaction? There are three main things that<br />
contribute to my job satisfaction – responsibility for the bottom line, building relationships with internal and external partners and working<br />
extremely hard on a competitive quote and getting the bid.<br />
With the growth and impact of predictive modeling, why does underwriting still matter? Predictive<br />
modeling is great, but there are two things the model can’t predict: an insured being lucky and lack of data. In the Specialty area, I see that<br />
there is just not as much industry information as you can find in other business units, which equates to less credibility with the predictive<br />
model for our insureds. Also, an account can be in the right venue and losses may look good on paper, but if you dive deep into their<br />
processes, you can see they might lack sophistication, or the business culture lacks a focus on safety, which could lead to losses in the future.<br />
Describe the most creative underwriting strategy you have used to win a deal. For our largest traditional<br />
account in our specialized carrier product, we utilized a large basket deductible covering multiple coverage lines and partnered with our parent<br />
company, Great American Insurance Group, on the Occupational Accident coverage for their IOOs.<br />
What one department outside of underwriting is most critical to our success as an organization<br />
and why? Far and away, it has to be Risk Management. They are the eyes and ears of the company, and they can provide honest,<br />
unbiased insight into a risk that only an in-person visit, kicking the tires and meeting with an organization’s personnel can accomplish.<br />
James Hannon<br />
SENIOR UNDERWRITING MANAGER<br />
Years Underwriting: 41<br />
With the growth and impact of predictive modeling, why does underwriting<br />
still matter? Predictive Analytics modeling is a tool for Underwriters’ use. The subtleties of understanding,<br />
comparing and weighing data presented (including the PA information) with prior experience and innate underwriting<br />
knowledge enhances the decision making process. The model alone cannot do that.<br />
How have you personally made Vanliner Insurance Company a more successful<br />
underwriting company? Guidance for my underwriting staff has hopefully provided them with better<br />
insights into the nuances of the underwriting process, allowing them to make better decisions. Supporting their<br />
decisions and encouraging their input should give them a greater sense of ownership of their books, acknowledging<br />
their true value to the company.<br />
What three characteristics are most influential in your decision process? First<br />
and foremost, good management. Everything else falls from that. Good management will hire, train and retain good<br />
drivers. It will also put those drivers in good equipment. The result of demonstrating these critical features will be<br />
increased profitability from fewer claims.<br />
How do you negotiate when working with your internal or external customers?<br />
First...listen. Allow the other person to explain all the issues that need resolution. Then, ask questions to make sure<br />
the REAL issues at hand are understood (get to the facts beyond the emotion). Next, offer a compromise and have a<br />
willingness to negotiate to resolution.<br />
Describe the most creative underwriting strategy you have used to win a deal.<br />
By understanding the real needs of a very large prospective insured, we gathered a team of critical experts to assist<br />
the agent with the sales presentation to the decision makers at the company. This included the claims manager, for<br />
reassurance about how we would be handling the customer’s money with a large retention being proposed; the loss<br />
control manager, who would outline the truly useful and value-added components of a risk management program;<br />
and me (Underwriting Manager) to fill in any blank spots and expand on answers related to the agent’s presentation.<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you satisfaction on the job?<br />
Being the gatekeeper for the company and having a real impact on its profitability and success is very satisfying.<br />
Knowing that, by staying focused on the major issues, we can win the day.<br />
What one department outside of underwriting is most critical to our success?<br />
Claims. They are critical to our ultimate success because they need to be good stewards of our money and, at the<br />
same time, be good ambassadors for us by being fair with good settlements that help solidify the customer’s thinking<br />
that they made the right decision to purchase our product. Risk Management follows very closely for similar reasons.<br />
12<br />
13
April Colagiovanni<br />
UNDERWRITING SUPERVISOR, TRUCK<br />
Years Underwriting: 12<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you satisfaction on the job? Being<br />
an underwriter allows me to utilize my decision-making skills and employ my sense of curiosity every day. I like to<br />
analyze a risk, understand the potential exposures and find a resolution that will make sense for National Interstate<br />
and the insured.<br />
Describe the most creative underwriting strategy you have used to win a deal.<br />
Creative underwriting strategies are important since we cannot always rely on price to sell a deal. We have used the<br />
following strategies to help win an account: Amended pay plans to fit an insured’s budget (with approval of course!),<br />
deductible options and facultative reinsurance including driver carve outs and buffer layers.<br />
With the growth and impact of predictive modeling, why does underwriting<br />
still matter? There is a science and an art to underwriting. We rely on the data and science provided in loss<br />
rating and predictive variables, but we cannot overlook the art of a human underwriter. A predictive model cannot<br />
interpret the character or safety culture of an operation like a person can.<br />
A human underwriter is able to survey the character of a risk by crosschecking and validating information, speaking<br />
with the potential insured, reviewing websites, reading loss control reports and being inquisitive. A human underwriter<br />
is also keener to the conditions of the external market, allowing them to be more effective.<br />
Having an even balance of art and science in underwriting will help us have an advantage over those who are moving<br />
towards automating the underwriting process.<br />
How do you negotiate or resolve conflicts when working with your internal or<br />
external customers? Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen and understand what is being asked of you and this will<br />
go a long way.<br />
What one department outside of underwriting is most critical to our success<br />
as an organization and why? Technology. Keeping up with the world around us and continuing to be<br />
innovative will set National Interstate apart. Offering our customers a product that our competitors cannot will create<br />
a more “sticky” sales situation.<br />
What was the last book you read? I re-read the book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.<br />
Mike Krainz<br />
ASSISTANT PRODUCT MANAGER<br />
Years Underwriting: 7<br />
What gives you job satisfaction? I like winning. In insurance, I don’t think there’s a more exhilarating<br />
feeling than working as a team to land a new account that we have a high degree of confidence will perform well.<br />
How have you made National Interstate a successful underwriting company?<br />
Personally, I pride myself on bringing a certain amount of grittiness to work on a day-to-day basis. Attributes like<br />
effort, attitude and toughness are controllable and can be infectious. Adding humor once in a while helps, too! As<br />
a division, we thrive in uncomfortable situations, finding creative solutions for outside-the-box, complicated risks.<br />
Describe your biggest underwriting achievement. My greatest underwriting achievement<br />
actually happened a few years ago on a prospect that we declined. Without naming the company, it looked like an<br />
A+ account on paper: low frequency, no severity, exceptionally strong financials, good venue, etc. They had the most<br />
comprehensive safety manual that I have ever seen. It was over 200 pages! We set up a pre-quote loss control visit,<br />
and I was able to tag along. Within 30 seconds of meeting the “safety director”, I knew we would not be quoting<br />
them. At one point, he actually had the gall to tell us that he drafted his safety manual only to impress insurance<br />
companies and he doesn’t actually enforce it. That specific situation taught me that underwriting is a much broader<br />
endeavor than merely analyzing data. It also gave me a greater sense of appreciation for what our Risk Management<br />
team does on a day-to-day basis.<br />
Why does underwriting still matter? Underwriting will always be an essential part of sustainable<br />
profitability in insurance. There is no single computer program, equation or “magic elixir” that can manufacture a<br />
profitable book with a high new business success rate. I believe there will always be a human, “artsy” element to<br />
underwriting.<br />
Who has been most influential on your underwriting career to help get you<br />
where you are today? There are too many to list out. For the last three years, Scott Clough, Director of<br />
National Accounts, has invested a ton of time showing me what it means to be an inward and outward-facing<br />
professional. I am still learning!<br />
What superpower do you wish you had to enhance your underwriting skills?<br />
Ideally, I wish I could be the male version of Jean Grey. I would use telekinesis to move claimant vehicles out of our<br />
insureds’ paths, preventing accidents. For good measure, I would use telepathy to influence our insureds to install<br />
DriveCams in every vehicle. To top it off, I would be able to fly, which would save money on travel expenses, lowering<br />
our expense ratio. I think I just established how much of a nerd I am.<br />
14<br />
15
16<br />
Jonathan Hicks<br />
DIRECTOR, PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION<br />
Years Underwriting: 13<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you satisfaction on the job? The<br />
ability to clearly see how my actions influence our corporate results. While all roles at National Interstate have a<br />
significant impact on the results, I particularly enjoy seeing how my decisions favorably impact our net income.<br />
Describe the most creative underwriting strategy you have used to win a deal.<br />
When I managed an agency captive, we ran into a phase where new business growth had become stagnant.<br />
We learned from our agency partner that their business had an immediate cash flow need that was better met<br />
by a competitor’s higher, up-front commission offering. While our agency compensation offering was superior in<br />
total, it often took three to four years before all of it was realized. To combat this, we offered a different agency<br />
compensation structure that provided higher up-front commission but took them out of the risk-tasking game. Not<br />
only did we meet the needs of our business partner, we also increased sales and did so at higher margins than the<br />
prior program structure.<br />
How have you personally made National Interstate a more successful<br />
underwriting company? By continuing to develop and empower our underwriting team. One of the<br />
easiest traps for lesser experienced underwriters to find themselves in is the tendency to do all the analysis, point<br />
out the pros and cons, but then wait for an authority figure to make the decision for them. The underwriter is by far<br />
the most knowledgeable person on that account and should be the one making the decision.<br />
What can the “young guns” learn most from the “grizzled veterans”? You are in<br />
the business of taking calculated risk. If it hasn’t already happened, one of your customers will eventually have a<br />
catastrophic loss. That doesn’t make you a poor underwriter. It shouldn’t cause you to underwrite “scared”, or lose<br />
confidence in the underwriting process. It should help reinforce the fact that we need to approach each risk with a<br />
healthy amount of caution.<br />
Talk about a time that you made a mistake and what you learned from that<br />
experience. Early in my career at National Interstate, I was obsessed with being right no matter the cost. This<br />
alienated some coworkers and external business partners. A colleague helped me realize the cost of that fixation<br />
after an important business meeting. While I would be lying if I said I don’t still revel in being right, I realize it should<br />
never stand in the way of getting the job done.<br />
How do you negotiate or resolve conflicts when working with your internal or<br />
external customers? It has been my experience that treating people like you would like to be treated is a<br />
game changer. This requires listening to the other person’s perspective and working to find common ground. Once<br />
you’ve established common ground and shown respect, it’s much easier to get to the root of the conflict and find an<br />
acceptable solution.<br />
Brandi Fredeking<br />
PRODUCT MANAGER<br />
Years Underwriting: 5<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you satisfaction on the job? I enjoy<br />
the way underwriting combines both quantitative and qualitative analysis. This forces me to become more rounded in my approaches, which<br />
is a comfortable challenge.<br />
How have you personally made Vanliner Insurance Company a more successful underwriting<br />
company? I recently developed a quantitative system to determine which captive members should be on the “Watch List”. The watch<br />
list consists of members who may need assistance or improvement in order to achieve better results and compliance with group mandates.<br />
This system takes a variety of loss control and results-oriented measures into effect and allows us to be unbiased when developing this list<br />
as each member is evaluated against the same metrics.<br />
What can the “grizzled veteran” underwriter/manager learn most from the “young guns”? I think<br />
the main thing the “grizzled veterans” can learn from the “young guns” is change management – whether it be technology, new policies or<br />
new processes. The younger generations tend to adapt to change much easier.<br />
What can the “young guns” learn most from the “grizzled veterans”? The “young guns” need to take<br />
advantage of the “grizzled veteran’s” wealth of underwriting knowledge – especially their expertise on coverage forms and endorsements,<br />
and how they translate to how/what claims are paid out. The “grizzled veterans” have years of experience in the industry performing the job<br />
and should not be dismissed by the “young guns”.<br />
What one department outside of underwriting is most critical to our success as an organization<br />
and why? I feel that our Loss Control team provides an instrumental role in our success as an organization, as they are the ones helping<br />
our insureds to improve their operations, which leads to improved results. This team also contributes by providing additional details about a<br />
risk that may not have been included in the original application allowing for better underwriting.<br />
Al Franko<br />
UNDERWRITER<br />
Years Underwriting: 4.5<br />
What is the most innovative change you or someone in your department has<br />
made to the underwriting process within the last year? One of the more innovative changes that two underwriters<br />
made in our department over the past year was overhauling our pricing model, allowing us to be more responsive to our business development<br />
and customer pricing requests. It has also enabled us to eliminate a number of repetitive manual calculations that we were previously doing<br />
on every account. Because of this change, we are able to spend more time with our current customers on their renewals and with future<br />
customers on new business submissions.<br />
Who has been the most influential on your underwriting career to help get you where you are<br />
today? There are a number of people who have had an influence on my underwriting career over the years. The first is a friend that I used<br />
to volunteer with. He was the individual who initially introduced me to the insurance industry and helped guide me to my first underwriting<br />
position with a Managing General Agency underwriting commercial umbrella insurance. In addition, the National Accounts team has been<br />
a huge influence on career development. We are constantly challenging and pushing each other to develop our knowledge base and skills.<br />
What gives you job satisfaction? There are many things at National Interstate that give me satisfaction on the job, but if I<br />
had to pick one, it would be the people that I work with daily. Through them I’ve been able to learn different approaches to the underwriting<br />
process and grow as an individual while becoming better at my job. Individuals both in my department and around the company also bring a<br />
positive attitude to the job and approach problems as something to be overcome rather than permanent roadblocks.<br />
How have you made National Interstate a successful underwriting company? Through my time here I’ve<br />
been able to contribute to our success by working with the National Accounts team to help select accounts that contribute to our company<br />
goals. Within our team we take more of a collaborative approach to the underwriting process and challenge each other.<br />
What was the last book you read? Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey, which is a part of the Expanse series.<br />
17
Corey Ricketts<br />
UNDERWRITER<br />
Years Underwriting: 3.5<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you satisfaction on the job? One<br />
of the main tasks of an underwriter is to identify and analyze trends. I find it particularly satisfying when you can<br />
identify the root cause driving a trend and in turn, make specific recommendations that can have a direct impact on<br />
the trend itself.<br />
An opportunity fits our underwriting appetite; what three characteristics are<br />
most influential in your decision process? When reviewing an account during our team meetings,<br />
the first few things my eyes go toward are the territory factor, claims reporting time and the driver profile. Loss history<br />
is a huge factor as well, but the aforementioned characteristics are some of the main drivers of loss experience.<br />
Claim reporting time and the sampling of MVR’s can be a huge indicator of how serious an insured takes safety and<br />
in turn, how you can anticipate them to perform. The territory factor is important in the decision process due to the<br />
direct relationship it has with claims costs.<br />
How have you personally made National Interstate a more successful<br />
underwriting company? During our account review meetings, I do my best to be an active participant<br />
and provide feedback when appropriate. As a young underwriter, I find great value in getting feedback during these<br />
meetings, and it is my hope that I am doing the same for those around me.<br />
What do you do to continue to learn and develop as an underwriter outside<br />
of your daily job? One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned in my time as an Underwriter is<br />
that putting yourself in uncomfortable and challenging situations can only benefit you in the end. Taking on new<br />
opportunities, whether it is a new position or an additional responsibility will further your growth and allow you to<br />
be better equipped when the next challenge comes along.<br />
What one department outside of underwriting is most critical to our success as<br />
an organization and why? While all departments play a vital role in the success of the organization, the<br />
Risk Management department is critical because they are, in most cases, the face of the company and our eyes on<br />
the ground. In the field, they are critical in determining if an insured is a cultural and safety fit for National Interstate.<br />
In most cases, underwriting only has a paper submission to go off when evaluating a risk, which does not always<br />
tell the full story.<br />
Michael Winchell<br />
DIRECTOR, SPECIALTY TRANSPORTATION<br />
Years Underwriting: 13<br />
Describe the most creative underwriting strategy you have used to win a deal.<br />
Rather than focusing on a single deal, I think it’s the way we’ve adapted to the rapidly changing landscape in the towing industry that’s<br />
been successful. Traditional tow was losing money. Rather than exiting the space entirely, we identified the large fleet, lower utilization,<br />
heavy-duty, recovery-focused segment as one where we thought we could differentiate ourselves with service, claims, risk management and<br />
unique structures like liability deductibles and alternative risk, or “captives”. Deductibles have been an effective and attractive option in the<br />
marketplace, and we launched the first group captive, TowCap Premier, designed specifically for the industry. We feel we’re writing the types<br />
of risks that make sense, and National Interstate is now being viewed as the market of choice for best-in-class heavy-duty towers.<br />
Who has been most influential on your underwriting career and how did they have impact?<br />
Shawn Los, VP, Specialty Transportation, has had the biggest influence on me from an underwriting perspective. Shawn is a notoriously<br />
conservative underwriter, but over the years I’ve appreciated his willingness to get aggressive on the right accounts. I’ve tried, hopefully with<br />
some success, to model that approach. There are opportunities out there where the price and/or terms may make you uneasy, but you know<br />
that account will make your book better AND encourage more quality opportunities to come in the door – either because the customer is<br />
connected or the agent has a quality book.<br />
What can the “grizzled veteran” underwriter/manager learn most from the “young guns”?<br />
Anytime a new underwriter starts, it’s a good time to evaluate the “why” in your underwriting guidelines, processes, etc. If you can’t answer<br />
why you do something, or if the answer is “because we’ve always done it that way” then it’s probably time to re-evaluate things because<br />
you’re likely to get the question and you’ll need to have an explanation.<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you satisfaction on the job? Underwriting sits at the core<br />
of our business practices. Underwriting challenges you to take a collection of subjective and objective information and distill it into a strategy.<br />
Michael Wilson<br />
DIRECTOR, UNDERWRITING & ANALYTICS, TRUCK<br />
Years Underwriting: 12<br />
What is it about the underwriter role that gives you satisfaction on the job? I enjoy<br />
the challenge of selecting the right accounts for the right price in an industry that has gone through some significant changes over the last<br />
10 years. There is always something new to learn, and I try to keep improving every day.<br />
What do you do to continue to learn and develop as an underwriter outside of your daily job? I<br />
think it’s important to follow trends and innovations that not only impact our industry, but other industries as well. There are always lessons<br />
to learn and innovations that can be implemented in our business that come from outside the insurance world.<br />
Describe the most creative underwriting strategy you have used to win a deal. Our department has<br />
always done a great job of not turning away unique or difficult-to-understand accounts, and we have embraced finding solutions for these<br />
risks. We have used different options like deductibles and reinsurance. We always try to provide as much information as possible in order to<br />
educate the insured as to why the option we chose is the right one for them.<br />
What can the “grizzled veteran” underwriter/manager learn most from the “young guns”? I<br />
don’t know if I can be considered a “grizzled veteran” yet, but I think it’s important to listen to anyone that is new to the industry or your<br />
department. A new set of eyes allows someone to question and challenge long standing practices that may not be the best or most efficient<br />
way of doing something. Some of the best innovations in our pricing model have come from our newer underwriters who challenged the<br />
standard and thought of a better way.<br />
What superpower do you wish you had to enhance your underwriting skills? Teleportation<br />
18<br />
19
Proactive<br />
Purpose<br />
The Reptile Theory and<br />
How to Help Prevent it<br />
with a<br />
When it comes to handling claims in<br />
the modern world, do facts still matter?<br />
Of course, they do. However, when it comes<br />
to claims involving the Reptile Theory, a jury’s<br />
reliance on the basic facts of the accident begin to<br />
diminish. Should these basic facts, like who had the green light,<br />
who made the left turn and who received a citation not be the only<br />
factors considered when it comes to determining fault and returning<br />
a verdict? The Reptile Theory seeks to render all of these basic facts<br />
irrelevant and instead appeal to the jury’s primitive, “Reptilian Brain”.<br />
In the 1960s, Paul MacLean, an American neuroscientist, created<br />
the “Triune Brain” model, which divided the human brain into three<br />
regions and organized into a hierarchy. The three regions are the<br />
Reptilian Brain (Primal), the Paleomammalian (Emotional) Brain<br />
and the Neomammalian (Rational) Brain. 1 Now, the human brain is<br />
obviously a complex organ and dividing it into three regions may<br />
be overly simplistic. That said, when it comes to the Reptile Theory,<br />
awakening the Reptilian Brain in the jury can lead to potential serious<br />
consequences for the defense.<br />
The Reptilian Brain is responsible for our primitive survival instincts.<br />
When that survival is threatened, the Reptilian Brain takes over and<br />
can overpower logic and reason. Plaintiff attorneys may seek to<br />
awaken these primitive instincts by attempting to show that the motor<br />
carrier or their driver is a danger to the jury, their families and the<br />
community. They further attempt to convince the jury that they are the<br />
only ones with the power to eliminate this danger and should do so by<br />
awarding excessive monetary damages.<br />
The formula is a simple one: Safety Rule + Danger = Reptile. The<br />
concept of the “Safety Rule” is paramount to the Reptile Theory. A<br />
plaintiff attorney will point out the safety rule to the jury, get the<br />
defendant to agree with that rule, and then demonstrate to the jury<br />
that the defendant broke the rule, thereby needlessly putting the entire<br />
community at risk. The semantics of Reptile Theory are also important.<br />
For instance, according to Reptile Theory, it would be improper to say,<br />
“The truck driver ran the red light”, but rather “The trucker violated the<br />
➼<br />
public safety-rule to watch where he was<br />
going and obey traffic signals”.<br />
These rules also come from a variety of credible<br />
sources. Some of the most common are:<br />
Driver/employee manuals<br />
➼ Company policies and procedures<br />
➼ Training materials<br />
➼ Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FCMSRs)<br />
➼ Truck driver school books<br />
➼ Defensive driver courses<br />
➼ Preventable accident manuals<br />
As an easy example, let us focus on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety<br />
Regulations. Specifically, §382.303, Post-Accident Testing. If it was<br />
required that the driver submit to post accident drug and alcohol testing<br />
and failed, the plaintiff attorney has a clear path to establishing the<br />
Reptile Theory. The claim becomes less about what actually occurred<br />
or who was at fault and more about the company’s hiring practices<br />
and the unnecessary danger they created by placing an unsafe driver<br />
on the road.<br />
After establishing the rules, the next step would be getting the<br />
defendant to agree with the rule. This is generally accomplished<br />
through the deposition of the driver or safety director. The following<br />
demonstrates a typical line of questioning in a driver’s deposition:<br />
Q. You would agree with me that if you followed at such a speed<br />
or at such a short distance that you couldn’t stop your vehicle, then<br />
that would be disregarding the safety of other people on the roadway;<br />
wouldn’t it?<br />
Q. You should never, as a commercial driver, needlessly endanger other<br />
members of the public that are using the roadway with you; right?<br />
20<br />
21
Q. And if you did and you hurt someone, you would be<br />
responsible; correct?<br />
hard to enforce consistently, and failure to consistently enforce your<br />
policies is an open invitation for scrutiny by a claimant’s attorney.<br />
This pattern of questioning demonstrates the reptilian tactics of the<br />
plaintiff’s attorney. Once the driver agrees to one of these questions,<br />
the attorney will then attempt to influence the jury to believe that their<br />
responsibility is larger than the case at hand. This is about making<br />
the community a safer place and the jury must do something about it.<br />
WHAT STEPS CAN WE TAKE TO PREVENT<br />
THE REPTILE?<br />
As discussed above, the claimant attorney’s main objective here is to<br />
enhance the value of a case, sometimes exponentially, by appealing<br />
to the simplest and oldest area of the human brain. While often<br />
involving complex issues and technicalities, the strategy is really quite<br />
simple. A claimant attorney using the reptile approach is trying to: 1)<br />
frame the case in such a way that helps jurors make their decision;<br />
2) present what the jurors can agree are fair rules of conduct; 3)<br />
present a violation as one that needlessly endangers the public; and 4)<br />
give the jurors a reason to care. When deployment of this strategy is<br />
successful, it can be hard for defendants to overcome the effects even<br />
when the relevant facts and logic are on their side. In this case, the<br />
best defense is a good offense. There are several ways that you can<br />
help stop the reptile in its tracks before an accident occurs.<br />
EDUCATE PERSONNEL<br />
Educate all drivers, safety personnel and operations managers on<br />
the importance of understanding basic safety regulations such as<br />
federal and state regulations, CDL manuals, truck driver<br />
school books, defensive driver courses and company<br />
policies and procedures. Develop and stick to a plan<br />
for ongoing training to keep up with new regulations,<br />
new avenues for exposure and new technology.<br />
Practice what to do in an accident, and do it often.<br />
Pro tip: the National Interstate Risk Management<br />
team is a great resource.<br />
DON’T CREATE STANDARDS YOU<br />
CAN’T ENFORCE<br />
You should establish company policies and<br />
procedures that are clear, concise and consistent.<br />
Examine those policies closely and regularly. Do your<br />
policies contain higher standards than those required<br />
by law? If so, consider whether those policies are<br />
essential. Unnecessarily stringent policies may be<br />
PROACTIVELY ENFORCE YOUR POLICIES<br />
Don’t wait until an accident occurs to question whether polices have<br />
been followed. You should have a system in place to help ensure the<br />
investment you have made in education and training is paying off.<br />
How often are you looking at driver logs? How often are you reviewing<br />
AER or GPS data? Are you taking corrective action when violations<br />
are discovered? Identifying and addressing issues before they become<br />
issues will make you safer on the road and better equipped to defend<br />
a claim when an accident occurs.<br />
TIMELY REPORTING – HELP US HELP YOU!<br />
Unfortunately, accidents are never convenient. They can occur at odd<br />
hours and in unfamiliar places. Don’t wait for Monday morning. Contact<br />
your insurance carrier immediately. National Interstate has a 24-hour<br />
response hotline available. CALL IT! The number is 800-929-0870.<br />
Claims don’t typically get better over time, and even claims involving<br />
favorable liability scenarios can develop adversely overnight. Our<br />
catastrophic “CAT” loss handling process identifies claims that require<br />
immediate escalation, and ensures they are handled immediately by<br />
our most senior claim professionals.<br />
A CAT loss is typically a claim involving a fatality, pedestrian or<br />
motorcycle accidents, serious injury, substantial cargo damage, fire,<br />
a multi-vehicle accident, substantial property damage or a fuel spill.<br />
When a CAT loss is identified, the handling adjuster will act quickly to<br />
assess the situation and determine an appropriate response.<br />
This often includes retaining local defense counsel. The reasons to<br />
retain defense counsel are numerous and include:<br />
➼➼<br />
Securing the best independent adjusters and accident<br />
reconstruction experts<br />
➼➼<br />
Getting “boots to the ground” quickly<br />
➼➼<br />
Serving as a conduit between the insured driver and the<br />
investigating agency<br />
➼➼<br />
Ensuring compliance with post-accident testing<br />
➼➼<br />
Identifying witnesses<br />
➼➼<br />
Preserving evidence<br />
➼➼<br />
Obtaining relevant information weeks or sometimes even months<br />
before an official report is released.<br />
Most importantly, having defense counsel involved early also maintains<br />
the legal privilege of the investigation and provides easy access to<br />
invaluable guidance and advice in those vital early stages of the claim.<br />
Our 24-Hour Reporting Hotline - 800-929-0870.<br />
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE PROACTIVE?<br />
As noted above, being proactive with safety and risk management<br />
can be a huge investment of time and resources. Being proactive in<br />
accident investigation can also involve significant time and expense.<br />
We understand this can sometimes be frustrating when you are<br />
focused on your business. While the aim is to prevent a claimant’s<br />
attorney from even having the opportunity to use the reptile theory, it<br />
is equally important to recognize even the slightest potential early in<br />
an accident investigation, even in cases where your driver does not<br />
appear to be at fault or the other party may not be seriously injured.<br />
Recently, a jury in a neutral<br />
Texas venue awarded<br />
a claimant with a neck<br />
and back injury more<br />
than $101 million dollars in<br />
a lawsuit against a<br />
trucking company. Liability<br />
was not disputed, and<br />
the claimant sought chiropractic treatment and underwent<br />
one surgery. His total medical expenses were no more than $250,000.<br />
So, what happened? The insured driver had a poor driving record<br />
(three moving violations within three months of hire and was on<br />
company probation for three other accidents while employed by the<br />
trucking company). He also tested positive for both marijuana and<br />
methamphetamines. 2 This information was used by the claimant’s<br />
attorney in a reptile fashion to inflate the award.<br />
The scary thing is that this verdict is no longer an outlier. In some<br />
venues, large verdicts like this are a regular occurrence. Obviously, if<br />
this driver was not on the road in the first place, this accident would<br />
not have occurred. Would your policies with respect to accidents and<br />
drug testing have worked here? Hopefully yes, but even the most<br />
proactive policies and enforcement strategy don’t always work. When<br />
faced with adverse facts, it is important to recognize them early so<br />
that we can properly evaluate the potential exposure and position the<br />
claim for resolution as soon as possible - ideally before the adverse<br />
facts have to be disclosed to the other party.<br />
CHARLES WENDLAND<br />
Director of Claims<br />
MELANIE IRVIN<br />
Claim Attorney<br />
1<br />
“The Triune Brain in Evolution: Role in Paleocerebral Functions” – Paul D. MacLean, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda,<br />
Maryland<br />
22<br />
2<br />
https://www.news-journal.com/news/local/avinger-man-awarded-million-verdict-from-fort-worth-trucking-company/article_6d3af616-<br />
8c3e-11e8-8835-cb8c102ab13e.html<br />
23
A Path Back to Work<br />
KIMBERLY WICKERT<br />
MRC, CRC, Director, Return to Works Programs, York<br />
In 2016, Employers paid out more than $96 billion in workers’<br />
compensation costs. 1 While these figures are staggering, the National<br />
Safety Council estimates adding in uninsured costs, administrative<br />
expenses and loss of productivity may also add to the medical<br />
and benefit costs, and may not reflect the real costs to employers,<br />
individuals and society as a whole. Employer organizations are<br />
not only searching for ways to continue to minimize their workers’<br />
compensation claims, but to also decrease the indemnity associated<br />
with lost time days when an employee is off work following an injury.<br />
The goal of return to work (RTW) programs has long been getting<br />
employees back to work following a work-related injury. According to<br />
Kimberly Wickert, Director, Return to Work Programs at York, proactive<br />
organizations not only look at return to work in their risk management,<br />
but they focus on Remain at Work to avoid lost-time days when an<br />
employee is injured on the job. Developing remain-at-work and returnto-work<br />
programs for industries like transportation and trucking, where<br />
injuries often stem from the heavy physical requirements of the job,<br />
have historically been challenging due to the lack of modified or<br />
transitional duty jobs offering lighter physical effort.<br />
York has partnered with trucking companies to identify transitional duty<br />
tasks at terminals that employees who drive trucks can perform while<br />
they are on restricted duty following an injury. It may be challenging<br />
to identify several job titles an individual can perform. However, it is<br />
feasible to identify multiple sedentary or light work tasks at a terminal<br />
that can be combined to create a full-time job an injured employee can<br />
perform while working under physical capabilities that are restricted in<br />
nature from their position of injury.<br />
While the on-site transitional duty jobs are the first option for<br />
employers, other alternatives to return employees to work quickly and<br />
safely are needed. Over 18 years ago, York developed a way around this<br />
obstacle by identifying an innovative alternative when an employee<br />
is unable to work within their physician-documented restrictions in<br />
a light or modified duty position at the employer worksite. In these<br />
circumstances, York partners with non-profit organizations to design a<br />
program where employees can work as a volunteer while recovering<br />
until they can transition back to their original job. York has relationships<br />
with thousands of non-profit organizations across the country and<br />
continues to develop sites based on each individual employee’s needs<br />
in this modified duty work program.<br />
While York provides traditional rehabilitation and wellness services,<br />
its Modified Duty Offsite (MDOS) program allows employers another<br />
option to offer employees to avoid them sitting at home and becoming<br />
socially isolated and physically deconditioned while they are on<br />
restricted duty. York prides itself on matching the injured employees’<br />
current skills with the non-profit’s needs. “Non-profits are always<br />
looking for volunteers and we help them avoid the recruiting and initial<br />
screening process,” says Wickert. Employees volunteering at the nonprofit<br />
as part of the MDOS program are expected to follow not only<br />
their company’s workplace policies with respect to dress, time cards<br />
and breaks, but also those of the non-profit.<br />
York “vets” the non-profit organization through a multi-level screening<br />
process by completing a job analysis of the identified non-profit job.<br />
The job analysis will show the physical demands are within the<br />
physician prescribed restrictions. A case manager will attend the<br />
initial meeting with the injured employee and non-profit supervisor to<br />
observe the actual job and assess the overall safety of the non-profit<br />
organization. York can have the case manager continue to remain on<br />
to oversee the program in its entirety or National Interstate and the<br />
insured employer can take over supervision for the remainder of the<br />
program. “We encourage employers to run the program for up to 90<br />
days or 120 days at most,” says Wickert. “If a longer timeframe is<br />
needed, we can extend on a case by case basis but will begin to<br />
question if the restrictions are temporary.”<br />
While recovering workers serve in a volunteer capacity, they are paid<br />
their wages by their employer. The employer also assumes liability<br />
if the recovering worker is reinjured but based on York’s process of<br />
documentation and vetting the non-profit, this has not been a barrier<br />
to the success of the MDOS program. With current unemployment<br />
rates so low, employers are challenged to find experienced workers<br />
and this program allows National Interstate’s insured employers to<br />
retain those individuals and avoid turnover associated with workrelated<br />
injuries. The fact that the employer has identified alternative<br />
ways to accommodate the employee’s restrictions conveys an added<br />
level of commitment that may help motivate the employee during their<br />
recovery.<br />
While employers see dollar savings by keeping or returning employees<br />
to work quickly following a work-related injury, the MDOS program<br />
also has intangible benefits in its service as a community outreach for<br />
many employers who have incorporated the program into their social<br />
responsibility goals. Often, employees continue to volunteer at the nonprofit<br />
following their return to work at their employer site as they have<br />
seen the value in helping others in their local communities. Wickert<br />
recommends employers add this program to their benefit package<br />
information during the onboarding process, as well as annually during<br />
benefits enrollment to create the culture of this program as a benefit<br />
to help the employee return to work in the unfortunate event of an<br />
injury. This also enhances the “work culture” of the organization and<br />
lets everyone know the company invests in its employees and their<br />
return to work.<br />
Source:<br />
1<br />
According to the National Academy of Social Insurance<br />
24<br />
25
a<br />
True<br />
Partnership<br />
National Interstate and Akron Children’s Hospital<br />
Akron Marathon Race Series<br />
SANDRA RITLEY<br />
Human Resources Supervisor<br />
What started five years ago as an opportunity to expand our<br />
employer brand presence within the Northeast Ohio community has<br />
since developed into an employee engagement, total wellness and<br />
community partnership staple.<br />
National Interstate began its partnership with the Akron Children’s<br />
Hospital Akron Marathon in 2014 as a Bronze Sponsor of its race<br />
series, allowing our company to experience a first-time connection<br />
to this local event. It didn’t take long for us to understand the<br />
value, energy and fun the series brought to the community and our<br />
employees. It also provided a venue for our team to volunteer two<br />
times during the summer months right in their own backyards.<br />
In 2016, we increased our commitment, becoming the title sponsor<br />
of the 8k and 1-mile race series and Corporate Cup Challenge<br />
participant. Corporate Cup companies compete against each other<br />
to receive the title of Corporate Cup Champion. Points are given to<br />
participating companies based on the number of employees who<br />
run or volunteer, philanthropic fundraising for local charities and top<br />
race finishers. We are proud to say that in our first year participating,<br />
National Interstate won the Corporate Cup!<br />
The Akron Marathon race series offers 8k, 10k, 1-mile, half marathon,<br />
marathon and team relay opportunities. To promote physical and<br />
mental wellness, National Interstate employees can run in any of the<br />
races courtesy of the company. Additionally, to promote team and<br />
community involvement, National Interstate hosts fluid stations at<br />
both the 8k/1-mile and FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, Half Marathon<br />
and Team Relay to keep runners hydrated and motivated along<br />
the way. In addition to fluid stations at the 8k and 1-mile race,<br />
the NATMobile, our branded company car, serves as the race pace<br />
car. We are proud to share that each year National Interstate has<br />
roughly 150 employees and family members participate as a runner<br />
or volunteer throughout the series.<br />
Leading up to the 8k/1-mile and Marathon, National Interstate<br />
hosts a spirt week that includes themed apparel days and raffles.<br />
Employees may donate to participate in the theme days and purchase<br />
raffle tickets for exciting prizes with money raised benefiting Akron<br />
Children’s Hospital.<br />
National Interstate is dedicated to the local community and proudly<br />
supports the Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon race series.<br />
The community relationships built and employee engagement have<br />
been invaluable, and we look forward to the continued partnership<br />
in 2019 and beyond.<br />
26<br />
27
YOUR<br />
BEST PARTNER<br />
ON<br />
YOUR WORST DAY<br />
CATASTROPHIC CLAIMS<br />
Must be reported by telephone.<br />
A CAT loss is typically a claim involving:<br />
➼ A fatality<br />
➼ Pedestrian or motorcycle accident<br />
➼ Serious injury<br />
➼ Substantial cargo and/or property damage<br />
➼ Fire<br />
➼ Fuel spill<br />
The minutes immediately following a<br />
catastrophic loss are crucial. As specialists<br />
in commercial transportation insurance,<br />
National Interstate claim professionals are<br />
available around the clock, 24-hours a day,<br />
7 days a week to assist you in your time<br />
of greatest need.<br />
In the event you suffer a catastrophic loss,<br />
please call 800-929-0870. Catastrophic<br />
claims must be reported via telephone<br />
and will be handled by our rapid response<br />
team. Don’t wait until tomorrow to report<br />
your claim; let us help you today.<br />
Call 800-929-0870 24/7 to report.