“We ask them to be more holistic and not think in silos about their [risk] solutions,” says Cargill, who notes that a close working relationship between the client and broker is usually essential to making sense of all the risk information and giving a proper presentation to the carrier.

And the quality of this information is absolutely vital to placing a risk successfully, says Ron Whyte, co-head of the international division of Integro's International Practice.

“The better information we get, the better job we can do,” Whyte says. “And the first thing is to make sure you have the right information.”

This task can be especially challenging for middle-market accounts with more limited resources, and when a company's locations are remote from one another and need to rely on executives in those locations to assemble and transmit the information. 

Solutions? If there is a good relationship with a carrier, and if they have people in the field in that location, Whyte recommends using them to help collect the right data.

MODEL BEHAVIOR

More risk managers are finding it necessary to model their global risks and understand the full context of them, from compliance trends to disaster and recovery, says George Haitsch, practice leader, Willis Risk Solutions, part of insurance broker Willis Group Holdings. Those who have not gone through this exercise need to, he says.

Indeed, notes Rick Jensen, managing director for Willis International, a member of insurance broker Willis Group, if there were no compliance issues, all international coverage could be written in New York. 

But the reality is every country has different laws and regulations, and risk managers alone usually can't keep up with them all—and so have to rely on their brokers. 

“Client's say to us all the time, 'Make sure I'm compliant,'” says Jensen.

Indeed, the role of the broker to provide global expertise is becoming more crucial for multinational accounts, especially when the issues go beyond placement and extend to the myriad of regulations for each individual country.

What these clients want is to work with a “team of people who have worked and lived overseas, who have not just the technical knowledge, but also have done business dealings outside of the United States,” says Sherry Gonzalez, managing director and practice leader for insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher. “They want a team that will demystify and make that non-U.S. location not feel so foreign to them.”