Clements Worldwide

Washington, D.C.

Founded: 1947

Employees: 120

In the business of “enabling clients to live and operate anywhere in the world," as Tarun Chopra, president and CEO, puts it, Clements Worldwide has been innovating in international insurance for more than 70 years. Clements Worldwide currently has clients in more than 190 countries, meeting property-casualty, life, and health insurance needs with custom solutions in both personal and commercial lines. 

Specializing in high-risk areas and conflict zones, Clements Worldwide is one of the few Lloyd's of London brokers that have a war risk program with full underwriting authority. The brokerage also has 14 different exclusive products, designed from concept to delivery, and Clements often acts as a complimentary broker to domestic brokers by collaborating to cover their domestic clients' international exposures. 
Named a Big “I" Best Practices Agency award for 14 years in a row, Clements Worldwide continues to tackle issues from coronavirus health response to international home insurance. 

Jon Clements, Chairman

We're not big believers in top-down management—it's more of a lateral or horizontal approach to how we conduct ourselves and work together. We tap the expertise of our employees, listening to and respecting them. It's based on a simple philosophy: We need their help. 

In 1947, my mother and father sat down and decided to say “yes" instead of “no" to the significant challenge of insuring government expatriates overseas. We built products, we found the market and we figured out how to deliver policies. Between the aggressiveness of product development, saying “yes" to things and doing the big stuff behind the scenes, we have a huge history of innovation. Our passion for providing customized solutions to our clients working in challenging environments has helped us stay on top of the game. 

Smita Bhargava, Senior Vice President

We have clients who have had a policy with us for more than 40 years from country to country. Our long-standing relationships with partner brokers have been instrumental in our success, as these brokers find our geographical reach and product capabilities exciting and value-adding to their clients. 

We're proud of receiving the Best Practices Agency award 14 years in a row, especially given the emerging areas, and even active war zones, we work in. One of the criteria awarded to us is being in the top 5% bracket of productivity by sales producers. Simple products in the U.S.—protecting houses and other property assets, for example—are actually significant accomplishments, as we provide our programs under a single umbrella in multiple countries, where local infrastructure, compliance and laws are all very different. Those programs have run successfully for decades now. 

We are supporting clients who are providing COVID-19-related medical work in some very tough territories globally. Where our clients go to help, our solutions follow. 

Tarun Chopra, President and CEO

It comes down to long-term relationships. We do the right thing, we value our credibility, and we design innovative solutions. We have fun along the way—coming up with new ideas, solutions, and programs. And we always say “yes" when challenged as we go into situations and truly come up with customized solutions for our clients. 
We are one of the few firms that has a claims concierge. These staff members aren't part of the claims, sales or service team. Their sole job is to assist clients by helping them navigate the process. It's a great service to our clients, because when you're in a global environment running your business, the last thing you want to deal with is claims. 

With COVID-19, our main objective is that our clients are minimally impacted in terms of coverages or solutions while we ensure the health and safety of our employees and organization. As an organization, we aspire to deliver peace of mind. That's our target—the numbers are just an outcome.

AnneMarie McPherson is IA news editor.

Photo by Mark Finkenstaedt and Alex McKnight.