A family owned business, Chris has been with Caitlin-Morgan since 1993, joining his father and brother to run and expand the firm. Caitlin-Morgan Insurance Services helps independent agents place business and develop package programs for select industry niches, providing products in four core areas: WC Wholesale Brokerage, Captive Consulting and Administration, Alternative Risk Products, and E&S Brokerage.
In discussing the company culture, Chris emphasizes three key underlying factors that drive their success: expertise, responsiveness, and price competitiveness. “Everyone in the company who works on our various programs were underwriters, offering a level of expertise in the markets we serve that’s unparalleled,” said Chris.
“Many wholesalers basically accept a submission, send it to their various markets in the hopes they will receive a quote. We operate differently. We look at the risk internally and decide if we can do anything. Whether we can write the risk or not, we’ll let the agent know immediately if we can provide them with a quote and cover. We won’t make an agent wait one or two months to hear an answer only to find out the account is declined. We do an excellent job of screening, so that the agent knows where he/she stands. This expertise allows us to be responsive to the needs of both the retail agent and the insured being served.”
Caitlin-Morgan’s programs are also competitively priced and have staying power. “We work with markets that are committed to the profitability and longevity of the program. We don’t work with carriers coming in and out of the market. We want markets that are going to be here, said Chris.”
KEY PROGRAMS
Midwest Insurance Group, Inc., a Risk Retention Group, managed by Caitlin-Morgan and owned by its member companies, writes Professional Liability for nursing homes, primarily in Indiana. “The premise of this group was to participate in the Patient Compensation Fund (PCF), which is a state fund that allows Midwest as the carrier to provide $250,000 in PL limits with the state taking on the next $1 million of any one claim. There’s a statutory cap of $1,250,000, eliminating the possibility of huge dollar-amount verdicts in Indiana if you participate in the PCF. It’s a phenomenal program and the reason that the Medical Malpractice and Professional Liability for nursing homes is the lowest in the country,” said Chris.
Caitlin-Morgan is licensed in multiple states with Midwest. “Outside of Indiana, we look for opportunities with larger nursing home groups that wish to basically self-insure. We can issue a policy through Midwest Insurance Group and offer a self-insurance structure through its Bermuda segregated cell captive or through our own Delaware series captive that's available as a vehicle for them.”
Also, on the wholesale brokerage side, in the Nursing Home/Assisted Living arena, Caitlin-Morgan has four "A" rated carriers that will write General Liability and Professional liability nationally, in addition to having access to carriers that will write all lines for this class. “This is a growing new product for us,” explained Chris.
Indiana Educational Service Center Risk Program is a Workers Compensation program for a group of public schools that are individually self-insured, with a reinsurance structure that allows them to enter into this group without the required $300,000 premium account for self-insurance. “We've put a structure together in which schools in Indiana individually can self-insure and can still be protected at the top-end, based on their size,” explained Chris.
Lumber Specialty Coverage offers commercial package insurance to distributors of building materials and the primary and secondary manufacturers of wood products. “We have a national lumber program for basically all lines of coverage for all types of classes: sawmills, kitchen cabinet manufacturers, veneer and plywood manufacturers, palate manufacturers, lumber yards,” said Chris.
Workers' Compensation, with access to over 15 "A" rated carriers. “We have a vehicle to provide cover with companies that specialize in Workers Comp to help agents write tough-to-place risks,” said Chris.
There are also about another 8 to 10 other programs that Caitlin-Morgan offers, including Human Services (profit, not-for-profit, foster care, adoption agencies, etc.), Higher Education (private universities, high schools, and elementary schools), Miscellaneous Healthcare Facilities (diagnostic radiology, dialysis, bariatric, cancer research, community health, etc.).
Each program, whether national or regional, is open access to agents.
What’s more, Chris said that they are always looking for captives and rent-a-captives programs that Caitlin-Morgan can put together on more of a consulting basis.
Caitlin-Morgan is a member of the BIG I, The Indiana Agent Association as well as other various agent associations around the country. Additionally, Caitlin-Morgan belongs to the Vermont Captive Association and the Arizona Captive Insurance Association in which Chris served as past president from in 2009-2010. Their marketing program includes ProgramBusiness.com and email marketing. “We do a lot of email marketing internally,” said Chris.
“And we have a VP of Marketing who goes on many face-to-face visits with agents, mostly in Indiana and in the Midwest. We also do print advertising in the agent association magazines.” Chris also explained that they’re looking into moving into social media – blogging, tweeting – in the future.
For more information about Caitlin-Morgan’s programs, please call Chris at 317-575-4440, ext 233 or contact him via email at: Chris.Murray@caitlin-morgan.com.