“AIRROC, you’ve come a long way baby!”
That was the title of the first message from the first Director of AIRROC, Trish Getty. And now, 20 years after that launch of “Vol. 1, No. 1” of what was then called “AIRROC Matters” we have come to a moment where we can bear witness to the brilliance and the depth of run-off industry cooperation that has grown during those twenty years. By using AIRROC as a means and opportunity to resolve a problem for a group of its members, a cross-company team of people forged a solution to a mutual problem and were commended with this year’s “Person of the Year Award”. It is wonderful poetic justice that this year’s award was given to a team of people from AIRROC members, the ECRA Working Group: Rick Dupree (Travelers), Greg Caps (Chubb), Marcus Doran (AIG), Steve Falk (Resolute Management), and Tony D’Angelis (Enstar). As our new Director, Kate Reynolds, so eloquently put it:
“In the fall of last year, the legacy community faced an unexpected challenge when the management of the ECRA Pool came to an abrupt halt. Overnight, the pool and its participating companies were left in a state of uncertainty. It was a moment that could have easily led to chaos.
But instead, something extraordinary happened.
A group of professionals from across the industry came together, setting aside company lines and competing interests, to stabilize the situation and find a path forward. Their work ensured that the ECRA Pool not only continued to operate, but did so under sound management, preserving the trust and functionality that so many companies depend on.
This award recognizes not only their problem-solving and professionalism, but also their commitment to the greater good of the legacy market. What they accomplished required diplomacy, deep technical expertise, and above all, trust, qualities that define the very best of our community.
One member of the group, Greg Capps, told me that many of the meetings to address the ECRA pool problems took place at AIRROC meetings; another member of the group, Tony D’Angelis, described how an AIRROC Education session last March (orchestrated by working group member and chair of the AIRROC Education committee, Marcus Doran) was a critical overview of the situation. That session included Steve Falk and Rick Dupree (along with board member, Judy Harnadek, Resolute Management and Andrew Rothseid, 2011 Person of the Year, now with Gallagher Re); it not only educated members about the complicated issues presented by the loss of R&Q as pool manager, but it also provided an illuminating description of the key characteristics of a solution (for more detailed information, please see https://www.airrocupdate.org/lifeguards-on-duty-the-ecra-pool). In the Award Ceremony at this year’s Legacy Transactions and Networking Forum, Rick Dupree, spokesperson for the Working Group, listed the extended team of people that came together across company lines to work out a solution and to construct the complicated underpinnings of that solution; on behalf of the steering committee, he shared credit with them for their support and hard work:
Steering Committee
Rick Dupree – Travelers
Marcus Doran – AIG
Steve Falk – Resolute
Greg Capps and Brendan McQuiggan – Brandywine
Pat Queally and Joe Puelo – Guy Carpenter
Tony D’Angelis – Enstar
Keith Kaplan – Bedivere
Legal Support
Daryn Rush – Chubb
Brian Bendig – Resolute
Jamie Scrimgeour – Travelers
Ryan Daly – Travelers
Karen Baswell – AIG
Josh Shettle -Ensar
Josh Schwartz – Alan Gray/Premia
Cliona Levy – Guy Carpenter
The extraordinary work of the working group and the support of this extended network has resulted in 98 percent sign-on to the plan to have both the ECRA Pool and the Carpenter Management pool handled by Alan Gray LLC, in conjunction with its wholly owned subsidiary A.G. Risk Management, Inc., a subsidiary of Premia Holdings. [And that percentage includes several insolvent entities and brokers].
In the upcoming 2025 AIRROC Annual (hard copy issue), Peter Scarpato provides an overview of the 20-year trajectory of AIRROC’s growth. He articulates and simplifies a core tenant of AIRROC that is precisely suited for this circumstance: “[b]ecause, in the end, all is the same as it was in 2004: people showing up because collaboration works.”
That’s why it fits; the ECRA team brought their skills; they brought their insight formed by their deep experience in legacy business, and they demonstrated their desire to make the industry stronger by solving problems together. They took on the task at hand and they are the epitome of legacy deal networking through joint efforts in the best interests of their companies.
AIRROC, you may have come a longer way still, Baby, but we are right where we belong— working together to recognize the achievements of this year’s “Person Team of the Year,” the ECRA Working Group. Congratulations!
