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Aon Risk Services

Aon Risk Services of R.I. has been operating in Rhode Island for more than 100 years and is now the largest insurance brokerage in the state, but Rhode Islanders can be forgiven if they aren't familiar with the name. ARS-RI is the new name of what used to be Rollins Hudig Hall-RI.

While ARS-RI has a storied past, its future may look even more interesting. It is a subsidiary of Aon Group -- the fastest growing international insurance brokerage in the world.

The name was changed in early 1996 to reflect the parent group's strategic focus. As Aon chairman and CEO Patrick G. Ryan said, "The time has come to identify the future of our insurance brokerage and consulting businesses more closely with the Aon name, a name that represents the highest commitment to creativity and quality."

SIZE HAS ADVANTAGES

As a company ARS-RI and its 60 employees are totally client-driven. They are mindful that, if an insurance agent works for a company, an insurance broker works for the client. "We can go anywhere in the world, if need be, to find to find insurance companies for our clients," says Thomas H. Quill, Jr., ARS-RI's chief financial officer.

The company concentrates on helping clients identify which exposures should be maintained and which should be transferred to the insurance company. Aon professionals then design a program to meet those needs and protect the company's assets.

Of course, size has its advantages. Being large means that ARS can bring its tremendous resources to bear for the client. Each subsidiary stands ready to help the other.

In fact, Aon's aim is to make all of its subsidiaries--across geographic and industry lines--interdependent. That interdependence is what distinguishes Aon from the competition. It means that, although the Rhode Island office is an independent operating subsidiary of the Aon Group, it can and often does draw on the resources of the entire Aon global network.

It can also bring in professionals from other ARS offices to create specialized packages for corporations. In one case, ARS-RI brought in teams of specialists from Chicago, Minneapolis, and New York to help it set up an offshore captive for Fleet Financial Group. While the outside teams were from other cities, the local ARS-RI office pulled them together and tailored the program to meet Fleet's needs.

ARS-RI is equally capable of providing comprehensive insurance services to multinational firms doing business anywhere in the world, as well as to smaller, growth-oriented local companies that look to ARS-RI to protect their assets and profitability.

While size is one of its greatest assets, the company strives to stay dynamic and in touch with its clients' needs. Its vision statement notes that the company culture "is characterized by caring, entrepreneurialism, integrity, professional accountability, openness, localness, and teamwork."

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

"If a construction company is going to do large projects they will need bonding," says Quill. "Right now, we're probably the largest bond broker in the state. We handle the bonds of some of Rhode Island's biggest construction companies."

Most of ARS-RI's business comes from the construction industry, but another major segment is the contract surety field.

Another industry specialty for ARS-RI is the health care field. "Eight of the state's major hospitals are our clients," says Quill. In fact, the Rhode Island subsidiary is one of six national "centers of excellence" in the health care field, and advises other Aon subsidiaries on the industry.

ARS-RI is also involved in helping companies self-insure. It organized the first group self-insured program in Rhode Island and today provides all of the services required for self-insured workers' compensation packages. Currently, the office serves as program administrator for more than 25 self-insured clients.

GOOD NEIGHBORS

The predecessor company of ARS-RI began operating in the city of Providence in 1888. Today it is the largest brokerage in Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Connecticut. Its customer lists reads like a Who's Who of the state's premier companies.

Yet, while many of ARS-RI's clients are large corporations, its clients also include medium-sized companies -- and even individuals. "Our commitment is to quality service, regardless of size," says Quill.

As a measure of its commitment to quality, ARS initiated Signature Service, a discipline that keeps its professionals focused on providing state-of-the-art insurance and risk management services to clients in hundreds of industries around the world. The company's employees understand that their own success depends on their clients' success.

Finally, as a citizen of Rhode Island, ARS-RI wants to be a good neighbor and shows that desire in a number of ways. "All our executives are involved at the community level," says Quill. "We participate in and sit on the boards of a number of charities, civic organizations, philanthropies and nonprofits. We're very committed to this state."

One way to measure confidence is to see where the employees themselves are putting their own money. In Aon's case, it's into the company. Aon employees own more than 30 percent of the company stock, a clear indication of the confidence they have in their own company and in its operating philosophy.