By Robert J. Connor, JD, CIC
Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company

June 10, 2021

You receive a call from your design firm client asking for higher limits for their professional liability insurance policy. And you think…will their current carrier provide the Excess limits? If yes, has the firm reached its limit on the number of Excess endorsements on their policy? If no, what do you do?

For either of those questions, Berkley Design Professional has your answer – BDP Excess. We have an admitted, follow-form Excess Professional Liability policy that can be written over a competitor’s entire policy, on a specific client basis or on a specific job basis.  We offer limits up to $10 million.  In addition, BDP Excess is available to each of our brokers in all states. How is that for flexibility?

At Berkley Design Professional, we recognize that when your clients call with an Excess request, you need to be able to respond quickly to meet their needs. Otherwise, they may start looking for another broker. As a former broker myself, I can relate to that scenario as it happened to me. I lost a considerable account because the incumbent professional liability insurance carrier would not provide a specific-job excess quote and I could not find a viable, cost-effective alternative in sufficient time to meet my client’s needs.

When Berkley Design Professional began eight years ago, we wanted to ensure we could offer an Excess solution to our brokers when they needed it. And, while we cannot guarantee that we can always offer an Excess quote – who can? – we are able to do so in the vast majority of cases.

So, what do you need to send to your Berkley Design Professional underwriter to obtain an Excess quote? Just these few items:

• a completed short BDP Excess application,
• the most recent primary professional liability application,
• the current underlying professional liability policy including the declaration page and
• a currently-valued 5-year loss history.

If the application is for specific job or specific client excess, we also need the underlying contract requiring the additional limits. We also ask to see the underlying policy, any endorsements and the declaration page because our policy is “follow-form”. We need to see the declaration page, because our premium is based upon the underlying premium.

So, the next time you receive that urgent call from your client requesting excess limits – you know who to call – Berkley Design Professional. We have you covered with the excess solutions you need, just another reason we are Better By Design®!

About the Author

Robert J. Connor is senior vice president, chief marketing officer, at Berkley Alliance Managers, a Berkley Company. Bob has more than 25 years of experience in the professional liability segment of the insurance industry, He has worked in a number of roles including underwriter, regional vice president, retail broker, wholesale broker and business development manager. Prior to joining the insurance industry, Bob practiced law. These roles, responsibilities and experiences provide him with a unique perspective. Bob earned his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics Management from Ithaca College. Contact Bob at [email protected].

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