In early 2020, Bozzuto formed a new insurance brokerage business named Wye River Insurance that provides services to real estate and construction professionals in the multifamily industry. Katie Santarelli joined as President of Wye River to lead day-to-day operations of the company and provides strategic brokering and consulting services to our portfolio of clients. With 15 years of experience, Santarelli brings extensive knowledge of the real estate industry paired with in-depth insurance expertise to inform clients as they make decisions regarding risk retention, risk transfer and risk avoidance.
Recently, she was recognized as a 2021 Real Estate Power Broker by Risk & Insurance® Magazine. Read the article below or view the original here.
Risk & Insurance® Magazine
Katherine Santarelli, President, Wye River Insurance
Leaders at the real estate firm Bozzuto & Associates were so impressed by Katherine Santarelli’s brokerage work that they asked her to start a new company with them. Thus was born Wye River Insurance, a new brokerage that serves Bozzuto as well as other clients.
“I don’t know if I could ever find anybody better. She’s first class,” said Richard Mostyn, vice chairman of Bozzuto and the chief executive officer of Wye River.
Over the last year, Santarelli spearheaded development of a subcontract default insurance program and a workers’ compensation program for Bozzuto’s construction operations, using the company’s single parent captive.
“It’s a huge deal,” said Mostyn. The new arrangement led to lower costs and better coverage, making the company more competitive on bids, though it wasn’t an automatic sell. “All of this is new turf,” Mostyn said.
“When you start implementing something like that, you’ve got to get buy-in, and she was very good at coordinating people in the office and explaining the process.”
Santarelli also dug into a complicated situation for SHK Management Inc. SHK owns commercial and hotel space in a Manhattan condominium that it shares with residential users who were concerned they were being overcharged for insurance, said Rob Grossman, executive vice president of SHK.
“She was willing to roll up her sleeves and get in there and work with condo owners,” Grossman said.
What is a Power Broker?
A Risk & Insurance Power Broker® is an individual who stands out among their peers for the exceptional client work they delivered over the past year. While brokers play many key roles in the insurance industry and risk profession, a Power Broker® award recognizes problem solving, customer service and industry knowledge.
Our goal is to broadly recognize and promote outstanding risk management and customer service among the brokerage community.
Who selects the winners?
Power Brokers are selected by risk managers based on the strength of the testimonials they provide to a team of 15 Risk & Insurance editors and writers.