Today's savvy insurance buyers demand a comprehensive and user-friendly product as well as broad, cost-effective protection. They want quality carriers at a low cost and more service and attention than ever. Carriers are in a competitive, consumer-driven market. New providers and alternative means of distribution entice buyers, and insurers must adapt or they will miss the market entirely. Agents and brokers must redefine their roles in order to keep their clients and service them professionally and profitably.

Program Brokerage Corporation (PBC) is a powerful market resource for brokers and agents. We are also a partner for carriers reaching out to the commercial insurance buyer in innovative, cost-effective ways. We've pioneered Purchasing Group Insurance buying, an approach that has won popular acclaim.

We have a strong focus on underwriting and claims handling and legal expertise. This translates to a win for the producer, a win for the carriers, and a win for the insured.

About Maria

As Senior Vice President of Program Brokerage Corporation (PBC), I serve as a wholesale resource for over 1,200 independent agents and 200 offices of HUB International Limited throughout the United States and Canada. I have been working in the insurance industry for over 17 years, holding various positions as both an underwriter and a broker. An employee of PBC since 2003, I am a specialist exclusively on executive protection and professional liability lines.

I hold both a Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) accreditation. Currently, I am the chair of the Eastern Chapter of PLUS, a nonprofit organization established in 1986 to support and enrich the careers of people involved in the field of professional liability underwriting.

Prior to joining PBC, I held an Underwriting Manager position focusing on writing commercial malpractice and financial institution business in the E&O and D&O product areas.  I specifically helped create the EPL product for one carrier, including having participated in writing the policy forms and applications and in negotiations with reinsurers.  I was also a part of AIG's and Chubb's Executive Protection Department concentrating exclusively on writing malpractice, D&O and Employment Practices insurance lines. 

I frequently speak at many industry seminars and events, having presented at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society; at The College of Insurance, my alumnus; and various panel discussions regarding malpractice and the current state of the industry.

Additionally, I have authored a number of articles on professional liability that have been published and featured in some of the world's top insurance trade publications including National Underwriter, The Solicitor, Real Estate Broker's Insider, Red Orbit, The John Liner Review and Insurance Advocate magazines.