Vice President – Reinsurance, Certified Arbitrator
Lumbermens Mutual Group
2009 AIRROC Run-Off Person of the Year
Barbara Murray’s title may say “Vice President – Reinsurance” but what she really specializes in is closing down discontinued lines of business.
It’s what she has done at Kemper Insurance in suburban Chicago since 2005 and how she entered the field of insurance run-off in 1986 (after a brief stint at a managing agent for Fremont Insurance) at Argonaut Insurance Company when she joined to help them with closing down their medical malpractice exposures. This ultimately led her to the position of Executive Vice President of Insurance Run-Off Consultants, a Division of Argonaut, where she was responsible for running off the Direct and Assumed Reinsurance exposures resulting from contracts entered into as far back as the early 50’s facing long-tail liabilities. “At Argonaut, I initially assumed that it would be a short-term position and I ended up being there for 17 years, closing down multiple lines of business.“
“Over time I’ve learned that, in the insurance and reinsurance run-off arena, anything can happen, and closing down an operation can take a lot longer than you think, even with the most assertive plans,” says Murray. It’s not just complex torts or long-tail liabilities that force insurance companies into run-off. Murray says that “the industry is seeing organizations getting into trouble through a series of unfortunate events, a combination of multiple forces colliding at once.”
“Rapid growth in unfamiliar territory without proper experience models and planning, inadequate due diligence when entering into merger agreements, poor processes and controls, soft markets and a few catastrophic events is all it takes to create a recipe for disaster,” she says. Murray has concerns that these issues are deeply imbedded in the industry and that organizations will continue down this path. Personally, she feels that this environment creates opportunity for her. “A lot of people literally run when they hear a company is headed for run-off. I stumbled into this business by fate, and have found that I thrive on the challenges brought about by closing down an operation,” says Murray.
Among her challenges are reviewing and assessing massive amounts of data with an often skeletal crew as operational units shut down. “It takes a special personality to unwind and unravel the past while at the same time managing liabilities, diligently pursuing assets, monitoring the balance sheet and resolving disputes.” In addition to that, many of her external business relationships are multi-faceted and long term. “This is a challenging business, and, because you tend to run into the same people again and again, relationships are incredibly important.”
Some of the lessons Murray has learned in her career include:
| Mentors: |
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She had several mentors; however, there are two men that stand out: one, a former boss, and the other, a co-worker. From the first, she learned the importance of reading policies and contracts and getting the facts. “I am at the point now where I memorize various contract wordings,” says Murray. “It sounds so basic and fundamental, but you would be surprised how often people open their mouths or write a letter without having consulted the contract wording or learned the facts.”
The second person who significantly affected her development in her early career was a fellow claims analyst, who taught her the importance of ‘never walking away from a deal without everyone being okay with the deal’. From him, Murray learned how to work a situation and keep relationships intact. “Although in reality this does not occur in every instance, the important issue is to try to maintain a positive interaction.”
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| Mentorship: |
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“It’s always hard to say for sure how you really impact someone, but I try to always teach people the lessons I’ve learned on the importance of becoming educated on the issues and fostering relationships.” Murray views both informal and formal mentoring opportunities as key in both individual advancement and operational enhancement, and would like to see more organizations institute formal mentoring opportunities. |
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| Women: |
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“It’s great seeing so many more women advancing into key, highly visible positions. Overall I think many women struggle with not only balancing work and home life, but in determining how to best prove their value to an organization in pursuit of advancement while effectuating this balance. Maintaining a current environment is entirely different than improving one’s position and generates an entirely new set of issues and challenges.” Murray is not certain if it is true that women have to work harder than men to get ahead as she has personally never felt limited due to the ‘glass ceiling’. But she acknowledges fully that her ability to advance and focus on what she needs to at work would be impossible without support from her family and husband. Their willingness to pick up the slack and forgive minor oversights at home has allowed her to take on additional challenges at the office. “Obtaining a leadership position in an organization requires personal sacrifices (as well as skill and hard work) for both men and women; the key is having the support system in place and an agreement on priorities as a family and as individuals within the family,” she says. Murray views success at the office as also being contingent upon proper planning, teaming and utilizing the appropriate resources, regardless of level within an organization. |
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| Reinsurance: |
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“We need to think about the direction we want this industry to take. With all the financial and sustainability issues we are facing, I think we are going to see more fall-off, more mergers and acquisitions and a more finite group of long-term players. I think our industry will continue to be dynamic, but I worry about long-term sustainability. I believe a number of companies will be going into run-off for a variety of reasons, which leaves lots of opportunity for someone like me.” |
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| Influences: |
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Born in Germany and raised in Chicago, Murray was raised by a single mother who ultimately became well-established in the high-end jewelery design industry, having her own store in Chicago’s Gold Coast for over 30 years. “Her years of personal sacrifice, with little outside support, were a huge positive influence on me and my own work ethic.” In addition, the family had to deal with the challenges of Murray’s physical disabilities. She is a victim of Thalidomide. “Thanks to my upbringing, I do not view myself as disabled. There is no time for self-pity, never has been, and there are many far worse off than I. People see me and they notice my disabilities. Then they work and interact with me and the whole concept of a disability fades away because they see who I am”. |
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| Guiding Principles: |
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“A lot of someone’s success is determined by how they react to the situations they are faced with. I try to be on the positive, we-can-deal-with-it side. Things go wrong all the time in life, both at work and at home. Frustration is understandable, but it is how you express that frustration (brief is good) and move on that is important. We’re here to fix things and turn things around. When I decided to make this way of thinking my mindset, and focus on the problem-solving aspect of the issue rather than the current state of affairs, my outlook changed and frustration level diminished.” |
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| Work-Life Balance: |
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“I’m terrible at it; I should practice what I preach. Thank goodness for my husband, or I would not be successful.” |
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| New Accomplishment: |
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Murray recently became a certified arbitrator. “I find it difficult when managing disputes to find arbitrators who are personally familiar with an issue or have a full appreciation for the magnitude of problems in resolving a direct case that is later presented to the reinsurance market for payment. I think it is an important aspect of the arbitration requirement in this industry’s contracts that experienced individuals rule on these matters. Not to say that today’s arbitrators are not experienced, but there are so many complicated issues with new ones popping up frequently, that it is impossible for one individual to be a master of all. I am also concerned that arbitrators are allowing proceedings to morph into trial-like experiences, with outside lawyers directing the dispute process, resulting in tedious battles over discovery and issues that are not germane to the true nature of the dispute. I think we need strong arbitrators who are not afraid to keep things on track and make tough decisions, even if it means upsetting a lawyer who could in the future generate business for the arbitrator. Leaders in insurance and reinsurance owe it to the industry to ensure we are directing our destiny.” |
Fast Facts
Professional Career
Vice President of Reinsurance, Kemper Insurance Companies
Director, Insurance Services Division, PriceWaterHouseCoopers
Executive Vice President, Insurance Run-Off Consultants (a Division of Argonaut Insurance Co.)
Claims Analyst, Professional Managers Inc. (Managing agent of Freemont Insurance)
Paralegal, Marvin Brustin, Ltd.
Education
Master’s of Arts, Organizational Management, University of Phoenix
B.S. University of Illinois, Chicago
Casualty Claims Law Associate, American Educational Institute
Certificates
ARIAS Certified Arbitrator, Environmental Law, Bad Faith, Reinsurance Accounting and Management
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