Member Spotlight: Hylant
Name
Michael Baumgartner
Job Title
Vice President, Risk Management
Company Name
Hylant
What does your company do?
Hylant offers a full range of risk management consulting and insurance brokerage services. Our Construction and Surety practice blends risk management, insurance, safety and surety strategies to help companies achieve their business goals and protect their assets. We offer the following:
- Safety and risk control
- Workers’ compensation and regulatory compliance guidance
- Contract review for compliance
- Surety capacity management
- Certificate issuance, tracking and monitoring
- Claims management and advocacy
- Owner/contractor–controlled insurance program, including design, implementation and maintenance
- Environmental risk management
- Captives and alternative risk financing consultation
- Employee benefits
Our construction and surety experts are well-versed in the intricacies of specialized coverages and risk management strategies for the construction industry, such as designing and implementing methods that help protect companies from claims resulting from the activities of others. This expertise can lead to lower, more predictable costs, increased safety; enhanced contract compliance; and overall improvement of their risk management programs.
What's your favorite part of your job and why?
What drives me is working with my clients. I love becoming part of their team, getting to know people and their businesses, and tangibly contributing to their success stories. It’s extremely rewarding to find creative ways to not only reduce their risks but also to help them create growth opportunities.
What is the key to your company's success?
Our culture. Hylant is one of the largest independently owned insurance brokerages in the U.S. Our mission is to treat each client like family—with honesty, empathy and respect. Because we are family-owned, we don’t report to shareholders or have quotas to meet. That gives us absolute freedom to make recommendations based solely on each client’s best interests, tailored to their unique circumstances and needs. A second key is our executive leadership team. They are very accessible and always willing to step in and advocate on behalf of our clients. Our clients like that added level of support.
What important changes/initiatives are you working on now?
Hylant has a dedicated construction and surety practice that is growing quickly. We recently hired several seasoned employees with significant expertise in assisting contractors. Hylant is also focused on developing areas that are increasingly important to our clients, including cyber risk, captives and alternative risk financing, safety and loss control, executive risk and data analytics.
How does your company find and retain talent?
Our “client first” culture is part of why we have been able to attract and retain many of the industry’s most talented professionals and why our employees have voted us as a “Best Places to Work in Insurance” company for 14 consecutive years.
What advice would you give to somebody just starting their career in construction?
First, if you want to positively impact communities through your work, there is no better industry than construction—although I could make a strong argument for risk management and insurance, too. Both industries also offer excellent career paths. Second, learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Construction and insurance are both complex industries. Never be afraid to ask questions. Third, be a patient, life-long learner.
What CEA initiatives have you been involved with?
I currently sit on the Future Executives board and participate in as many learning and social events as I can. Other members from Hylant regularly attended the monthly safety council training and use resources via the CEA website.