--- title: "Profiles in Risk – E103: How To Create Successful MGAs/Programs With John Willemsen of Arch Re/ Watford - InsNerds.com" description: "Join The Insurance Nerds In Chicago on October 6th for Insurance Nerds Day - go to InsuranceNerdsDay.com for more info! LISTEN HERE: A few weeks ago we interviewed Michael Gay about his career creating and building MGAs/programs. This week, I interviewed John Willemsen of Arch Re. John also has a career in the program space," --- [Insurance Nerds - Insuring Tomorrow ](https://insnerds.com/insights) # [Profiles in Risk – E103: How To Create Successful MGAs/Programs With John Willemsen of Arch Re/ Watford - InsNerds.com](https://insnerds.com/insights/profiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford) Written by [Nicholas Lamparelli](https://insnerds.com/insights/author/nicholas-lamparelli) | Aug 16, 2018 4:00:00 AM # Profiles in Risk – E103: How To Create Successful MGAs/Programs With John Willemsen of Arch Re/ Watford by Nicholas Lamparelli ***Join The Insurance Nerds In Chicago on October 6th for Insurance Nerds Day – go to [InsuranceNerdsDay.com](https://InsuranceNerdsDay.com) for more info!*** LISTEN HERE: Audio Player [https://www.buzzsprout.com/87086/778132-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford.mp3](https://www.buzzsprout.com/87086/778132-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford.mp3) 00:00 00:00 00:00 Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. A few weeks ago we interviewed [Michael Gay about his career creating and building MGAs/programs](https://insnerds.com/profiles-in-risk-e91-michael-gay-of-volvo-financial-on-mgas-specialty-program-business/). This week, I interviewed John Willemsen of Arch Re. John also has a career in the program space, but John is on the other side. Every program needs capacity and John has built a career of providing capacity, paper and back office support for program administrators. In this episode John zeros in on the 5 things he looks for in a program: 1. Reputation 2. Quality of data 3. Underwriting Acumen 4. Premium Size and/or potential of 5 Culture We also discussed how startups, without the benefit of many of these important traits, should think of operating to get the backing of the industry. As a startup myself, I learned a ton from John’s wisdom. **CONNECT WITH JOHN WILLEMSEN: ****LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-j-willemsen-28b60b14/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-j-willemsen-28b60b14/) ** **MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: ****Target Market Association: [http://targetmkts.com/](http://targetmkts.com/) ** **BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY JOHN: Books by Malcolm Gladwell: [https://amzn.to/2OHl8sv](https://amzn.to/2OHl8sv) ****The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fck by Mark Manson: [https://amzn.to/2OEAhuO](https://amzn.to/2OEAhuO) ****The Purple Cow by Seth Godin: [https://amzn.to/2nInHz1](https://amzn.to/2nInHz1) ****The Art of War by Sun Tzu: [https://amzn.to/2vR82SD](https://amzn.to/2vR82SD) ** ** SUBSCRIBE AT: [Buzzsprout RSS: https://goo.gl/5K4X3Q](https://goo.gl/5K4X3Q)**** [Google Play: https://goo.gl/WMAvW4](https://goo.gl/WMAvW4)**** **** [iTunes: https://goo.gl/7SqwvP](https://goo.gl/7SqwvP)**** [Overcast: https://goo.gl/8b4cbD](https://goo.gl/8b4cbD) **** [Spotify: https://goo.gl/niAbGN](https://goo.gl/niAbGN) [Stitcher: https://goo.gl/DmE7Mi](https://goo.gl/DmE7Mi)** ** [YouTube: https://goo.gl/1Turar](https://goo.gl/1Turar)**   ### About Nicholas Lamparelli Nick Lamparelli is a 20+ year veteran of the insurance wars. He has a unique vantage point on the insurance industry. From selling home & auto insurance, helping companies with commercial insurance, to being an underwriter with an excess & surplus lines wholesaler to catastrophe modeling Nick has wide experience in the industry. Over past 10 years, Nick has been focused on the insurance analytics of natural catastrophes and big data. Nick serves as our Chief Evangelist. - ##### [ Nicholas Lamparelli](https://insnerds.com/author/nick-lamparelli/) + posts Nick Lamparelli is a 20+ year veteran of the insurance wars. He has a unique vantage point on the insurance industry. From selling home & auto insurance, helping companies with commercial insurance, to being an underwriter with an excess & surplus lines wholesaler to catastrophe modeling Nick has wide experience in the industry. Over past 10 years, Nick has been focused on the insurance analytics of natural catastrophes and big data. Nick serves as our Chief Evangelist. - ** [From Teacher to Tech: How SettleStream Cuts Litigation Time and Costs - A Discussion with Chrysa Jones, COO](https://insnerds.com/from-teacher-to-tech-how-settlestream-cuts-litigation-time-and-costs-a-discussion-with-chrysa-jones-coo/) - ** [My Battle With Sleep Demons (and How I Overcame It 🤞)](https://insnerds.com/my-battle-with-sleep-demons-and-how-i-overcame-it-%f0%9f%a4%9e/) - ** [Exploring the History of Citizens Insurance Company of Florida: From Inception to Present - AoB Podcast](https://insnerds.com/20638-2/) - ** [The Importance of Security in Workflow For Insurance Agents & Brokers (AoB Podcast with Taylor Pascoe of ShareFile)](https://insnerds.com/the-importance-of-security-in-workflow-for-insurance-agents-brokers-aob-podcast-with-taylor-pascoe-of-sharefile/) ### Related Posts - [Profiles in Risk - E91: Michael Gay of Volvo Financial on MGAs & Specialty Program Business](https://insnerds.com/profiles-in-risk-e91-michael-gay-of-volvo-financial-on-mgas-specialty-program-business/) This episode is sponsored by IA Path - Unlocking Your Adjusting Superpowers. Go to https://iapath.com Michael Gay has… - [Profiles in Risk - E85: Full Stack Brokerage & Technology With John Prichard Jr., President of Oli Insurance Services](https://insnerds.com/profiles-in-risk-e85-full-stack-brokerage-technology-with-john-prichard-jr-president-of-oli-insurance-services/) This episode is sponsored by IA Path - Unlocking Your Adjusting Superpowers. Go to https://iapath.com We often… - [Profiles in Risk - E41: John Bachmann on How He Makes A Difference In People's Lives, Via Claims](https://insnerds.com/profiles-risk-e41-john-bachmann-makes-difference-lives-using-claims/) Listen here: SUBSCRIBE AT: Buzzsprout RSS: https://goo.gl/5K4X3Q Google Play: https://goo.gl/WMAvW4 iTunes: https://goo.gl/7SqwvP Overcast: https://goo.gl/8b4cbD Spotify: https://goo.gl/niAbGN Stitcher:… [**Share](https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Finsnerds.com%2Fprofiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford%2F%3Futm_source%3Dlinkedin%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3DSocialWarfare) [**Tweet](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Profiles+in+Risk+-+E103%3A+How+To+Create+Successful+MGAs%2FPrograms+With+John+Willemsen+of+Arch+Re%2F+Watford&url=https%3A%2F%2Finsnerds.com%2Fprofiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3DSocialWarfare&via=InsNerds) [**Share](https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Finsnerds.com%2Fprofiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford%2F%3Futm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3DSocialWarfare) [**Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Finsnerds.com%2Fprofiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford%2F%3Futm_source%3Dreddit%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3DSocialWarfare) [**Email](mailto:?subject=Profiles%20in%20Risk%20-%20E103%3A%20How%20To%20Create%20Successful%20MGAs%2FPrograms%20With%20John%20Willemsen%20of%20Arch%20Re%2F%20Watford&body=Join%20The%20Insurance%20Nerds%20In%20Chicago%20on%20October%206th%20for%20Insurance%20Nerds%20Day%20-%20go%20to%20InsuranceNerdsDay.com%20for%20more%20info%21%20LISTEN%20HERE%3A%20A%20few%20weeks%20ago%20we%20interviewed%20Michael%20Gay%20about%20his%20career%20creating%20and%20building%20MGAs%2Fprograms.%20This%20week%2C%20I%20interviewed%20John%20Willemsen%20of%20Arch%20Re.%20John%20also%20has%20a%20career%20in%20the%20program%20space%2C%0D%0A%0D%0ARead%20More%20Here:%20%20https%3A%2F%2Finsnerds.com%2Fprofiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford%2F%3Futm_source%3Demail%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3DSocialWarfare) Categories [Podcast](https://insnerds.com/category/podcast/) [Why Insurance is Failing… And How to Leap The Gap](https://insnerds.com/why-insurance-is-failing-and-how-to-leap-the-gap/) [Reader’s Voice #11](https://insnerds.com/readers-choice-11/) [View full post](https://insnerds.com/insights/profiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Nicholas Lamparelli" }, "dateModified" : "2025-01-03T01:32:26.089Z", "datePublished" : "2018-08-16T04:00:00Z", "headline" : "Profiles in Risk – E103: How To Create Successful MGAs/Programs With John Willemsen of Arch Re/ Watford", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 100, "url" : "https://47532799.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/47532799/Imported_Blog_Media/Lamparelli-100x100-Jan-03-2025-01-31-54-0831-AM.jpg", "width" : 100 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://insnerds.com/insights/profiles-in-risk-e103-how-to-create-successful-mgas-programs-with-john-willemsen-of-arch-re-watford", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60.0, "url" : "https://47532799.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/47532799/logo-horizonatl.jpg", "width" : 139.38907 }, "name" : "Insurance Nerds " } } ```