Heather Caudell Pegram is the Global Director of Insurance Risk Management at Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Western Carolina University and holds an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation. She is a former Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Manager (CPHRM). She joined Hanesbrands in 2020 and provides leadership over HBI’s multinational insurance and risk program. Prior to HBI, Heather was Director of Corporate Insurance Operations at Novant Health, Director of Risk Management at S&N Communications and Senior Analyst/Claims Manager at Volvo Trucks North America. She has held positions in brokerage as well as claims/litigation management and has served as an industry mentor, panelist and board member. When not tackling the risk adventure of the day, Heather is a middling equestrian, an avid reader and frequenter of North Carolina’s beautiful coastline.
As the leader of the global insurance risk management function at Hanesbrands Inc., I have the privilege of working with two talented broker teams across various aspects of our program. We have curated these dynamic teams to represent the best in the business to support the needs of HBI. We’ve done this through Trust, Teamwork and Transparency – the Three T Pillars of a successful broker-client partnership.
Trust
Empowering your broker relationship begins with choosing and developing the right brokerage team. Partnering with a broker to strategize potential financial outcomes for your company requires a trusted advocate.
How can you accomplish this? Thoroughly research and vet your broker partners, invest time in building the relationship and course-correct when needed. At HBI, we interview each broker participant on every facet of our program. Along with this, the broker must be a professional who is respected within the broader community of underwriters, claims professionals and other partners to your program. When an inevitable challenging loss occurs, the investment in a trusted partner who is well-networked will save time and money.
By fostering an empowered broker-client relationship, you will create a successful risk mitigation strategy for your organization
Teamwork
What are your company’s goals? How have they changed over the last six to 12 months? How can you best inform and subsequently empower your broker to support these goals? Regular check-ins ensure that both broker and client teams stay aligned as the program evolution. This is not simply time to go through a rote checklist of to-dos for your broker but to hold yourself and your team accountable for the deliverables and the partnership. Everyone should be contributing to the program’s success equally.
The teamwork aspect also involves being an ideal client. What does this mean? It means maintaining high standards while remaining collaborative and fair. Be willing to listen to alternative perspectives. And when clients celebrate the broker’s wins, it goes a long way in strengthening the partnership, whether it’s achieving targeted results for an insurance placement, implementing a new solution or stepping up to address an emerging risk or project.
In our current multinational program, we have an incredible broker partner coordinating the process. This team member embodies everything that a good partner should: thorough, prompt, extremely knowledgeable and simply a great human being to work with. These exemplary relationships foster collaboration that enables HBI to receive the highest priority when there is an urgent issue or need— while also making work more enjoyable.
We endured a challenging cyber incident a few years ago. In situations like these, achieving the right outcome within a compressed timeframe is critical, with a lot at stake. Our executive leadership team remained focused on a thorough and rapid recovery. Our broker team accepted the challenge and partnered with us through all aspects of the incredibly complex claim, as well as the subsequent post-loss renewals. Despite the many twists and turns along the way, the relationship built with our cyber broker has grown and enabled us to arrive at a very positive point in the journey of our cyber risk program.
Personalities and work styles matter within a team. I’ve worked with C-suite leaders who emphasized the social aspect of the broker-company relationship, valuing it as highly as performance. . I have also worked with leaders who prioritize efficiency and speed in achieving the ideal outcome.
Understanding your C-suite culture and your company’s priorities as they exist today— not 5 years ago or even 5 months ago will help you select, build up and retain the best broker talent to help your risk team meet and often exceed your goals.
Transparency
Being transparent and fostering open communication is key to an empowered broker-client relationship. Part of this means holding your team and the broker accountable to the same standards and level of excellence. Challenge your broker to bring new and innovative solutions to the table and engage in healthy debate for growth. Continually ask why and welcome the same question in return from the broker.
When necessary, be prepared to make tough calls. Recently, we made the difficult decision to move a line of business from one broker partner to another. A shift like this is never easy and takes careful consideration. The current team wasn’t hitting the mark after attempts to rehabilitate and we had to deliver the hard news that we were making a change. Our approach brought clarity, which in the end made us and our partner feel good about the outcome. By employing the Three T Pillars, the overall partnership has grown and strengthened.
By fostering an empowered broker-client relationship, you will create a successful risk mitigation strategy for your organization.
