From English Degree to Power Broker: Willis Towers Watson’s Clare McCarrick Shares Her Insurance Story

Clare McCarrick thought she'd be a journalist, but after an internship in insurance, she switched gears and the rest was history.

By: Maura Keller | November 16, 2020

When Clare McCarrick, senior associate at Willis Towers Watson, graduated with a degree in English literature from Georgetown University, she had envisioned pursuing a career in journalism. But after experiencing her first internship in insurance, McCarrick decided to switch gears — and the rest, as they say, is history.

“My father is an attorney who works in the insurance space, so I had vaguely known about the industry growing up,” McCarrick said.

“However, after interning, I realized how dynamic a career in insurance could be, with many multi-faceted roles that required a unique combination of analytical and social skills.”

Getting a Start in a New Industry

McCarrick, who was named a 2020 Risk & Insurance Power Broker® in the Financial Services category, began her career as an underwriter at Arch Insurance Group, spending a little over four years working on management liability placements for large commercial risks.

She joined Willis Towers Watson in 2017 with the goal of expanding her skillset and trying the brokerage side of the business.

Currently serving as associate director at Willis Towers Watson (WTW), McCarrick is a broker on the large accounts portion of the Financial Institutions Team within the financial and executive (FINEX) practice. As a member of this team, McCarrick exclusively works with large financial institutions on their management liability lines of coverage.

“Because of the specialized focus of my team, I’m charged with serving as an expert for a diverse range of financial institutions and their bespoke insurance needs,” McCarrick said.

“I serve as both an advisory and placement contact for a portfolio of diverse financial institutions clients, placing insurance programs for D&O, E&O, employment practices liability, and fiduciary lines of coverage.”

She also co-lead the real estate industry vertical within the broader FINEX practice.

Within her role at WTW, McCarrick is motivated to get the best results for her clients each day and to continue to develop her knowledge in the space.

“One of my favorite parts of the job is coming up with solutions for emerging or complex issues. Each new placement or renewal presents a new opportunity — expanding coverage and evaluating program structures with innovation at the forefront,” McCarrick said.

A Go-Getter Approach

McCarrick’s personal approach to client service is largely holistic.

She is quick to point out that the hard D&O marketplace presented some really tough placement challenges this year, and she’s incredibly proud of her whole team for the combined effort and remote collaboration to get deals done for Willis Towers Watson clients.

Recently, McCarrick designed and executed a D&O POSI (public offerings of securities insurance) policy for a global transactional risk exposure that was a first domestic placement of its type with a U.S.-led insurance carrier.

After the WTW team was approached by client’s outside counsel, McCarrick was involved in both the design and placement execution of a custom solution for a global parent company involved in an IPO for a U.S. subsidiary of its business.

The manuscript policy placed was an incredibly broad wording that ring-fenced the liability for the IPO, debt offering, and all follow-on offerings.

“Our team was intimately involved in the drafting and adjustment of the contract so that it responded to the unique transaction triggers,” McCarrick said.

“The policy went through several evolutions, until it was finally approved by the various stakeholders at the client, their outside counsel, and the primary and excess insurers after an exhaustive process.”

A Deep Understanding

For McCarrick’s clients, she serves as a year-round advisor rather than placement at renewal: “I seek to animate the Jesuit concept of ‘cura personalis,’ which translates as ‘care for the whole person,’ ” McCarrick said.

“By committing to a deep understanding of my clients’ businesses, including their motivations and risk priorities, I’m able to provide solutions that serve the entire business rather than restricted to my specialized segment of financial lines.”

“Anyone with a successful insurance career is a perpetual student of the industry. Keeping learning at the forefront, staying informed and asking questions has definitely been helpful in career progression.” — Clare McCarrick, senior associate, Willis Towers Watson

Rather than accepting “this is the way things are done,” McCarrick strives to push boundaries on risk transfer — something she said can only be accomplished once you’ve gained the trust of your clients and established a relationship.

“My client-base consists of large financial institutions [that] are incredibly complex, and our clients are sophisticated buyers with a keen grasp of their and their companies’ risk appetites,” McCarrick said.

“By adapting the ‘cura personalis’ suggestion of individual needs of the other and applying a critical lens to their industry and unique risk exposures, I work to build tailored program options that align with their risk tolerance and challenge the market beyond the status quo,” she said.

Overcoming the Hurdles of Pandemic

For McCarrick, the combination of a hard financial lines marketplace and the remote working environment has been incredibly challenging and required significant adjustment in the way of working.

“The level of uncertainty around the pandemic and the resulting macro-economic and claims implications has upended our industry,” McCarrick said.

“We’ve had to change the way we work with clients and markets. We approach each placement differently, with a firm strategy in place to combat the hard market. We rely on technological platforms like video conferencing to replace traditional in-person meetings. I’ve been overall impressed with the adaptability, but I definitely miss the personal interactions.”

An Intellectual Curiosity That Shines

One of McCarrick’s core strengths is her intellectual curiosity, which exists outside the contours of any actual deal.

“This intellectual curiosity has led me to develop a broad range of relationships outside WTW, including transactional lawyers, defense lawyers, plaintiff lawyers, mediators, coverage lawyers, investment bankers, entrepreneurs and others through which I’ve assembled a knowledge and thought leadership base far beyond the confines of my own underwriting and broking experience,” McCarrick said.

“And that allows me to tap into a vast reservoir of talent and experience in aid of creative solutions to thorny broking challenges.”

McCarrick attributes any success she’s had in her career to the people around her and to the opportunities that she’s been provided. She’s had great managers, mentors and teammates alike who’ve pushed her towards her best work product every day.

“I’ve had exposure to excellent technical training, both on the underwriting and broking side. And I’ve had really wonderful opportunities, like participating in the Lloyd’s Broker Academy, or working a three-month secondment in London,” McCarrick said.

“Anyone with a successful insurance career is a perpetual student of the industry. Keeping learning at the forefront, staying informed and asking questions has definitely been helpful in career progression.” &

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Maura Keller is a writer, editor and published book author with more than 20 years of experience. She has written about business, design, marketing, health care, and a wealth of other topics for dozens of regional and national publications. She can be reached at [email protected].

Consistency and Stability

Sandy Bigglestone, Deputy Commissioner for the State of Vermont’s Captive Insurance Division

With the commercial insurance market so unstable, companies are turning to captives to house their exposures. Vermont, a long-time domicile, is getting increased attention because of their strong reputation and their leadership as the top domicile worldwide.

“All stakeholders enjoy the stable political and regulatory environment Vermont has to offer to operate in,” Bigglestone said.

Of course, a lot of consideration goes into deciding whether or not a captive is the right choice for a particular company. Businesses need to assess their exposures and their books to make sure they can adequately operate a captive.

There are significant advantages, however. “For low frequency, high severity risks, captives can access the reinsurance markets directly, so it’s very attractive for businesses to put a captive in place,” Bigglestone said.

And carriers are more accepting of captives as part of a broader insurance program.

“Captives are changing the relationship businesses have with commercial carriers,” Bigglestone said. “Commercial carriers are wanting to see companies with skin in the game; therefore, the relationships have evolved to be less transactional and more strategic.”

Balancing Bureaucracy

With 76 global domiciles, companies have a lot of options when it comes to selecting a captive partner. “Captive insurance domiciles compete globally for the business,” Bigglestone said. “If you were to put all 7,000-plus captive insurance companies around the world, all in New York, it wouldn’t have the same economic impact as 700 captives in Vermont does. The captive insurance industry is very important to our state and we will continue to support it in any way we can.”

Businesses should look for domiciles that balance a need for quality regulations with a process that isn’t overly bureaucratic and is seamless for business owners to navigate.

“Companies are attracted to an environment with quality regulatory standards and a stable regulatory environment,” Bigglestone said. “Vermont sets the regulatory standard in terms of financial analysis and examinations.”

In addition to quality regulations, firms will want to seek out a domicile that is agile enough to license captive insurance companies that fit their unique needs. It is important that a domicile have firm but fair regulation and the experience to consider new ideas and implement them. Companies must consider a variety of factors when choosing a domicile and not everyone will be the right fit for every company.

“You have to consider the captive owner and the industry sector that that owner operates in, as well as the insurance risks that are going into the captive program,” Bigglestone said. “Captive laws and regulations have to have a reasonable degree of flexibility to accommodate all the varying needs of owners and then impose rules based on the merits of each captive program.”

She added that creativity is a critical part of the process: “The ability to vet concepts and ideas with trusted individuals is key to having quality standards,” Bigglestone said. “And it can make captives appealing to insureds who are tired of commercial carriers not meeting the needs of the business, and who desire more control over their insurance programs.”

“When you think about the commercial marketplace, commercial insurers are supposed to operate in each jurisdiction in a competitive manner. Commercial carriers often look the same. They sell auto coverage to anyone with a driver’s license. The rules and regulations imposed upon commercial insurance companies are designed to be more formulaic for that reason,” Bigglestone said.

“Uniform regulatory standards apply to commercial carriers for the protection of the policyholders. These are standards all insurance regulators focus on, and standards captive insurance regulators need to understand, but with a specialized focus.”

A Quality Domicile Built for the Future

A combination of experience, regulatory standards and talent make Vermont a top domicile for companies looking to form a captive. The longevity of licensing captive insurance companies for over forty years is a testament to the quality work they’ve provided in the past and will continue to provide for many years to come.

Vermont’s reputation has helped the state attract and retain top captive talent, ensuring the businesses it serves are in good hands. The state has 32 employees dedicated to captives, and their average employee retention is 15 years. The Vermont Captive Insurance Association, the largest captive insurance trade organization, also helps companies connect with professional services needed to make their captive successful.

“There’s a whole host of service providers with proven expertise right here in Vermont,” Bigglestone said.

Taken together, Vermont’s resources, expertise and talent make it a prime domicile. They’ve been on a growth trajectory over the last few years and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Companies can trust their captive will be in good hands when they choose Vermont.

“Vermont has always competed on quality,” Bigglestone said. “We do have a mission and that hasn’t changed in over 40 years. It’s to maintain a system, or domicile that attracts quality business to Vermont, to promote our reputation in the industry, and to uphold a regulatory framework to protect the solvency of the companies that choose to place their business here.”

To learn more, visit: www.vermontcaptive.com

This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with State of Vermont. The editorial staff of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.

The State of Vermont, known as the “Gold Standard” of captive domiciles, is the leading onshore captive insurance domicile, with over 1,200 licensed captive insurance companies, including 48 of the Fortune 100 and 18 of the companies that make up the Dow 30.