Uh-oh. Fifteen thousand D&O policies to rewrite and three months to do it. That was the task that confronted New York City-based Distinguished Programs several years ago when the carrier that underwrote the program went bankrupt. At about the same time, Matt Bruno, one of the top underwriters at Distinguished Programs, an insurance wholesaler, realized his dream of moving to China. But Bruno wasn’t actually leaving Distinguished Programs.

In China, Bruno discovered that he could connect via the Internet directly to the Distinguished Programs system the same way that anyone would connect from the road. He recruited some local college graduates to assist him in processing some of the accounts he was working on. His new hires learned the processes quickly and were precise in carrying out their duties. This led Bruno to think about what other tasks they might be able to help with. It wasn’t long before Distinguished Programs reviewed its processes and procedures to identify routine tasks that could be sent to Bruno and his Chinese team. And it wasn’t long after that that the formal China operation, based in Qingdao, was established.

The scene changes to Napa, California, where Paul Hanson Partners (PHP) is based. Since opening its doors in 1993, the agency has specialized in insurance for the transportation industry. In 1998, PHP established a program administration division and created a property and casualty program for moving and storage companies called Mover’s Choice, underwritten by AIG.

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