Thomas Miller’s Dan Negron manages the TT Club mutual in the Americas. Recently the London-based mutual unveiled their new cargo cover website for forwarders and other logistic providers. By George Lauriat, AJOT Dan Negron, a lawyer by degree, if not by inclination, started his career a few decades ago with a big US retailer’s legal department which, among other things such as coffee makers and water coolers, contained a fair component of international trade. Later Negron went into law practice and spent a fair amount of time litigating in Federal Court. The self-realization hit him that he really didn’t like litigation, but he did like the corporate environment he’d experienced earlier. Fortunately for Negron there was an opening at the New Jersey offices of Thomas Miller, not just an insurance company but an insurance company that specializes in “Mutuals or Clubs.” Managing Mutuals or Clubs is a niche sector for insurance companies. It was a perfect fit for Negron. Not only was the insurance business the type of corporate environment he liked, but Thomas Miller’s management of Mutuals contained the added bonus of a strong international element. There is also an educational component to Negron’s job that starts with explaining how a mutual works. “An insurance Mutual is a group of insureds, known as members - usually from the same industry – that pool their risks together,” Negron explained. “Thomas Miller manages under contract a number of Mutuals providing staffing and services.” Mutuals or Clubs are a little bit different animal than standard insurance companies, as they are composed of “members” using the insurance facilities. The mutual is not for profit, as opposed to fixed premium insurers which exist to make a profit for their shareholders. A typical fixed premium insurance company, because it is designed to make a profit, often moves into and out of different businesses, whereas the Mutual’s common professional bond builds in year-in year out consistency. In the event of a good underwriting year, Mutuals can also pass back to their members through reduced or returned premiums the benefits. Since the “members” are drawn from the same industry they therefore have common problems. The board or committees of the Club are elected from the membership, and they decide on the scope of the policies, cover, claims payments and premiums. This gives the Mutual a great deal of control over the insurance products. The board of a Mutual can even extend “omnibus” claims – claims that would otherwise not be covered. Although Mutuals come in all flavors (Thomas Miller has around 26 in their portfolio), one of the main business lines is Transport Insurance (others being Professional Indemnity, Specialty Businesses & Investment Management). Under the Transport Insurance sector Negron acts as senior underwriter and VP in the Americas for the London-based TT Club Mutual Insurance Ltd.. The TT Club’s main business is liability insurance for logistics service providers. The liability insurance covers a host of risks ranging from personal injury to equipment related issues. The members include ocean carriers, ports, terminals, vehicle and equipment operators and freight forwarders: essentially anyone involved in the supply chain. As Negron says, “it’s a niche business” but critical to the movement of goods. TT CLUB FORWARDERS Negron said historically one of the great problems with cargo insurance, particularly with the freight forwarders and logistics providers, was timing. Getting the right cargo coverage in a timely manner with transparency to make managing the cargo risk easier has always been a challenge. It wasn’t that long ago that telex, couriers and postal services handled such matters. While the services were slower in the past, insurance cover for a freight forwarder was relatively straightforward. Now that has all changed. With the need for speed, the web platform has become part of everyday business life. The supply chain has become more complex, and so has the insurance ri