PBN 2021 Leaders & Achievers Awards
Michael Falvey | CEO and president, Falvey Insurance Group
In 1995, Michael Falvey started Falvey Cargo Underwriting as a two-person operation. Today, his North Kingstown-based company, now called Falvey Insurance Group, has grown to become one of the top five providers for cargo insurance in the United States. It is also the largest vessel pollution insurance provider for commercial vessels in the U.S. and a leading company for small-business transactional cargo insurance.
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The company – an insurance managing general agent with underwriting authority – employs about 100 people in offices throughout the U.S., and as far as London.
What has been the secret to the company’s success?
“We’re so specialized and focused on our niche areas,” said Falvey, CEO and president.
At least 50% of the insurance group’s business relates to the water. This includes providing coverage for shipping cargo by vessel and pollution, such as oil spills.
Falvey’s strong background in maritime affairs has helped him develop this niche. After graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1978, he spent about a year as a cargo underwriter at Affiliated FM Insurance, before spending several years at sea with various shipping companies and eventually joining the U.S. Military Sealift Command, where he provided fleet support for the U.S. Navy.
Falvey’s success goes beyond his quantitative strengths to his people skills. For instance, he meets and has lunch with every new employee to ask them about their views and answer questions they have. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, during a company “Zoom happy hour” he provided all his employees with at least $100 and the instructions to use it to benefit someone in need. A few months later, he gave everyone $250 to donate to a social justice cause of their choice.
“What Mike did with charitable giving during the pandemic was inspiring and brought the company together even closer than we had been prior. … It was an extraordinary example of leadership,” said Falvey’s colleague Eric Newman, senior vice president, ProTecht Risk Solutions.
