Flip a switch and your lights come on, your TV screen leaps to life, and your microwave starts to reheat your Szechuan leftovers.

For most Americans, electricity is an unseen yet vital force that we take completely for granted until an ice storm leaves us shivering in the dark or an August heat wave shuts down the local power grid. The people who design, build, maintain, and repair power generating facilities, however, take nothing for granted as they work to keep electricity flowing to our homes, stores, offices, schools, hospitals, and factories.

And if you think generating and distributing electricity is challenging, consider the complexity of arranging insurance coverage for the myriad of exposures faced by these facilities.

History of Hurtado & Associates

Bringing both industry experience and underwriting expertise to the table is Hurtado & Associates, Inc. (HA), a finite niche insurance brokerage based in Sandy, Utah, that specializes in placing insurance for power distribution facilities throughout the United States.

Jess Hurtado, founder and managing director, has 30 years of insurance experience that includes broking, underwriting, alternative risk, claims analysis, risk management, and program management. He began his career in 1978 with Stevenson, Collinsworth & Nielson, an independent agency based in Miami. Jess has subsequently held positions with Bayley, Martin & Fay and Rollins Burdick Hunter, major brokerages that ultimately became part of Aon. Since 1996, Mr. Hurtado has worked exclusively in the insurance marketplace for power distribution facilities, focusing on arranging coverage for rural electric cooperatives. In 2005 he left Aon to form Nielson, Hurtado and Associates, which is now Hurtado and Associates, Inc.

“What is now HA’s electric utility program,” Hurtado says, “is over 30 years old and has been operating continuously through a variety of company names. We are proud to be part of this ongoing tradition.

“Since the formation of HA, we have expanded our business to include not only electric cooperatives but also municipal power distribution facilities, public utility districts, generation facilities, and cogeneration facilities,” Hurtado explains. “We have grown from what was essentially a one-carrier market to a retail operation with multiple markets within each segment of the insurance marketplace.”

A one-stop shop

HA’s mission, Hurtado says, is “to provide one-stop shopping for power distribution facilities; to coordinate, through our market knowledge and relationships, the most comprehensive coverage and competitive pricing available. We currently place business throughout the United States, and we are licensed in all 50 states.

The HA staff brings focus and commitment to meeting the insurance needs of electric utility risks. Each staff member was involved with the electric utility program prior to the formation of HA. Serving as administrative manager is Tonya Hill, who has worked on the electric utility program since 1999. She works closely with the firm’s brokers and insureds on all aspects of account placement and management. Will Potter has been part of the utility team since 2002 and is HA’s key account manager, working with brokers and underwriters in the analysis, underwriting, and placement of accounts.

Hurtado’s son, Jared, has been working with the utility program for six years. He is the President of HA and is the lead producer for marketing and new business production.