About ICI Mutual

Underwriting Department

Margaret M. Sullivan, Director, Underwriting Department

In the highly competitive marketplace for professional liability and bond insurance, ICI Mutual’s underwriting team stands apart from the crowd, with fund industry experience and expertise that no other insurer can match. We possess over 75 years of combined experience, which makes a difference for our clients, especially when it comes to understanding their risks, tailoring their coverages, and setting premiums for their policies. It also translates to consistency and stability in an area of insurance noted for its volatility and cyclical nature.

Unlike most underwriters in the financial institutions category, our underwriting team concentrates exclusively on fund industry risks and insurance requirements. We have a clear mandate to understand deeply the legislative, regulatory, and legal environments impacting funds, their boards, and their service providers. We pay close attention to trends and developments, and we do so with strategic oversight and bi-annual input from the Risk Prevention and Underwriting Committees of ICI Mutual’s Board of Directors, comprised of fund industry independent directors and senior executives.

ICI Mutual requires its underwriters to know which risks matter and to ask relevant risk-related questions.  We focus on arbiters of risks at fund groups, namely independent directors, investment risk managers, compliance officials, in-house and outside counsel, and the regulatory framework that protects investors. Our application for insurance probes the “processes” that mitigate risks. We ask about prospectus development, fair valuation, compliance systems, and other areas where actual claims arise. We speak with clients every day about risks and controls and we establish risk-related, consistent premiums for policies.

Our continued dialogue with our insureds gives us an edge in the market. We do not react blindly to headline risks. For instance, as the credit crisis unfolded, many of our competitors predicted dire insurance consequences for all financial institutions, including funds and their service providers, and several increased rates and restricted terms as a result. In contrast, ICI Mutual recognized that fund complexes differed from the financial institutions that manufactured, sold, and warehoused exotic securities. We understood that fund complexes, as investors, would be impacted; however, our conviction in the industry’s inherent protections for investors allowed us to enforce stability in insurance rates and terms for funds.

ICI Mutual’s underwriters are entrusted with a significant responsibility to maintain the Company’s excellent reputation for knowledgeable and timely service. As a result, we spend time with each client to understand the intricacies of their businesses and to develop long-term relationships. This has resulted in core client retention rates of over 95% each and every year.