MESSAGE FROM THE EARLIEST ADOPTER
THOMAS EDISON WAS RIGHT!
M
y two favorite Thomas Edison quotes have a lot in common with each other:
1. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” 2. “Just because something does not do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless” The idea of creating the Cover Holders And Risk Takers (CHART) Exchange was birthed in late 2014 but could not be executed until 2015 due to a non-compete clause from our sale of the Target Markets Program Administrator’s Association (TMPAA) in December 2009 to a more well-funded perpetuation partner. Since only four London operations with domestic paper were permitted to join TMPAA we saw an opportunity for the other 89 syndicates to be able to enjoy a more direct dialogue with U.S. Program Administrators. INAUGURAL EVENT Our team embarked on a strategy
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of holding an event in Philadelphia called “The Declaration of Interdependence” in October 2015. Some of the essential elements of our first meeting follows: 1. Limit attendance to 300 and test the concept. 2. Decision-makers only and direct dialogue 3. 100+ program administrators that possessed current books of business. 4. Representatives from at least 15 syndicates 5. Limited number of specialized vendor partners with distinct London strategies 6. The theme of “Interdependence” – we all need each other in order to prosper. 7. Limited London Broker participation (3 firms) to promote new business only. No attempt to proselytize the movement of any existing London business to a different Broker. 8. Workshops and activities on the central theme of new business to London. This included a “Shark Tank” contest with
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Glenn W. Clark, CPCU Publisher & Earliest Adopter a $1,000 prize for best new program idea. 9. Guarantee at least 10 pre-set appointments for every London underwriter in attendance. 10. Survey every attendee postevent to see what transpired, what could be improved, and ensure the “new business only” theme was respected. Some of the major obstacles to pulling off our first event include: 1. Expenses. The entire expense burden was borne by our agency and TPA partner Wilson Elser. 2. The London Brokerage community was not very keen on not being invited as we were viewed as disrupters. “CHART is trying to take our business”.
www.chart-exchange.com
