Alternative Vision Saves Millions

Steve Stoeger-Moore saved Wisconsin’s 16 technical colleges $10 million in premium over the past 10 years.

He did it by helping to create an alternative insurance system whereby the schools obtain nine varieties of coverage — including general liability, auto liability, workers’ compensation, property, violent acts, and most recently, cyber risk — via a mutual municipal insurance company.

Steven Stoeger-Moore, president, Districts Mutual Insurance

That company is Districts Mutual Insurance (DMI). The mutual taps reinsurance markets including Gen Re and Fireman’s Fund, to obtain coverages above retention layers held by the individual colleges.

Most of the time, DMI also holds a retention layer.

The alternative insurance structure was devised in the midst of the hard markets of 2001-2003, when a few of the schools’ finance professionals wondered whether there might be a better way to go, said Stoeger-Moore.

At the time, he said, the Wisconsin Technical Colleges — which had been purchasing their needed insurance products as a consortium — were reeling from annual rate increases year after year.

“The schools had been seeing double-digit increases in premium for three straight years as of 2003, with compounded increases of 20 percent each year during ’01, ’02, and ’03 — all driven by market conditions, not losses,” Stoeger-Moore said.

In fact, he said, the schools’ loss ratio over the three-year period was just 27 percent.

“The coverages appropriate to higher education had become more and more restricted. Carriers were selectively writing various businesses, and M&A activity among insurers was taking a lot of options off the table,” he said.

“No college pays for a loss suffered by another college. And no college pays a premium based on a loss at another college.” — Steven Stoeger-Moore, president, Districts Mutual Insurance

Meanwhile rates were going up and up and up every year, Stoeger-Moore said.

The solution: DMI.

Before the mutual was formed, Stoeger-Moore served as risk manager for the Milwaukee Area Technical College, one of only a few state technical schools that had a risk manager in place.

As the market hardened, school finance officials approached Stoeger-Moore, who developed the blueprint for DMI and agreed to take on the insurer’s day-to-day operations.

“It’s an insurance carrier that has no employees,” he said.

On the other hand, via independent vendors, DMI has experts working as third-party claims administrators, accountants, and auditors, besides commercial insurance carriers like London-based Beazley, which is now partnering with DMI in underwriting a cyber breach response program.

Stoeger-Moore said that it is illegal for insurers to pool their exposures, payments, or reserve funds under Wisconsin state law.

“No college pays for a loss suffered by another college,” he said.

“And no college pays a premium based on a loss at another college.”

Stoeger-Moore has his share of fans. “Steve is really the most knowledgeable insurance technical person I’ve ever met. He created this whole thing,” said Joe DesPlaines, DMI’s business continuity and crisis response consultant.

DesPlaines said Stoeger-Moore envisioned that the mutual would offer insurance coverage as well as risk management consulting including crisis response planning, employee health and safety, and security assessments.

DMI’s budget is derived from college premium payments, said Stoeger-Moore.

Linda Joski, area vice president for Arthur J. Gallagher and Co. in Wisconsin, which brokers all reinsurance coverages for DMI, said that Stoeger-Moore is one of a kind.

“He is innovative and creative and works so well with these colleges,” she said.

Responsibility Leader

Steven is also being recognized as a 2014 Responsibility Leader.

Creating His Own Solution

When the 16 institutions comprising Wisconsin Technical Colleges faced persistent problems obtaining insurance coverage suited to their unique needs, Steven Stoeger-Moore didn’t just find the solution — he created it.

Stoeger-Moore helped to establish Districts Mutual Insurance (DMI) in 2004 to represent the colleges and provide better insurance and risk management services.

Under his self-implemented “Rule of 16,” he ensures that if any school has a problem, all 16 colleges benefit from DMI’s solution. That dedication led to the development of comprehensive risk management programs — provided to each school at no cost — for electrical and fire safety inspections, emergency response planning, legal consultations, and employee health and safety consultations, among many others.

And when those programs were tested, Stoeger-Moore sprang into action. In the past 10 years, the Wisconsin Technical College System has weathered both a tornado and a major fire. Both times, he was at the scene within 24 hours of the event, providing claims and insurance guidance as well as comfort for shaken colleagues.

Stoeger-Moore has also worked to bolster the industry’s future by encouraging young people to consider a career in risk management. Through DMI, he creates opportunities for young people to learn about the colleges’ unique challenges and the programs created to meet them.

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Risk All Stars stand out from their peers by overcoming challenges through exceptional problem solving, creativity, perseverance and/or passion.

See the complete list of 2014 Risk All Stars.

Responsibility Leaders overcome obstacles by doing the right thing over the easy thing to find  practical solutions that benefit their co-workers and community.

Read more about the 2014 Responsibility Leaders.