February 8, 2019, CHICAGO — RT Specialty is pleased to announce that Mark S. Katz, Esq. has joined RT Specialty as an Executive Vice President responsible for developing and enhancing tailored first-party property insurance products, programs and solutions.

Prior to joining RT Specialty, Mark was with boutique law firm Mound Cotton Wollan & Greengrass LLP for 25 years, where he analyzed and litigated complex insurance coverage disputes on the behalf of insurers, with a special emphasis on commercial property litigation. Although Mark has a vast array of experience across nearly every major market sector, he developed a particular focus in the commercial property, heavy manufacturing/petrochemical, energy (renewable and fossil fuel), rail/transit authority, and builder’s risk/construction sectors of the insurance industry.

Mark Katz commented, “I had an incredible 25 years at Mound Cotton working with the best and brightest and now I’m excited for the opportunity to join the extraordinarily talented people of RT Specialty. The platform RT have developed and what they have achieved in just 9 years is nothing short of amazing. I am most looking forward to preventing problems before they develop, which benefits insurers, policyholders and brokers alike. Better policies and programs, more tailored to the unique needs of each insured, will result in a shared understanding of the scope of coverage provided and fewer post-loss difficulties during the claim resolution process. I have seen the problems for decades, and the accompanying economic inefficiencies. My goal now is to be part of the solution.”

Remarking on Mark joining RT Specialty, Brenda (Ballard) Austenfeld, President of RT Specialty’s Property Practice, said, “The addition of someone of Mark Katz’s caliber to the brokerage community is unprecedented and brings to RT Specialty one of the brightest minds in the first-party property insurance business. Moving his vast experience and skills from the court room to the board room will enable RT Specialty to deliver unique expertise and insight to the insurance purchasing and placement process. Our mission is to not simply refine existing products but to create customized solutions from the ground up with the client at the center of everything we do.”

Mark has extensive mediation, arbitration and trial experience throughout the US. He is a frequent lecturer on first-party property insurance topics, having presented at the PLRB, IMUA, Builders Risk & Constriction Symposium, NY PowerCon, AAIS, American Bar Association, LEA and numerous other closed door events. Mark is admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars, as well as being a graduate of Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and of Hofstra Law School (J.D. 1993), where he was an editor of the Hofstra Law Review.

Please contact Mark at Mark.Katz@rtspecialty.com.

About RT Specialty

R-T Specialty, LLC (RT), a subsidiary of Ryan Specialty Group, LLC, provides wholesale brokerage and other services to agents and brokers. RT is a Delaware limited liability company based in Illinois. In California: R-T Specialty Insurance Services, LLC License #0G97516. ©2019 Ryan Specialty Group, LLC. rtspecialty.com