MHG Spotlight: 25 Years and Counting

Posted November 2 2016


MHG 25 Logo Final In case you haven’t heard, MHG is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! Can you remember when you turned 25? You probably felt like time had flown by, and yet you were still ready to take on the world, which is exactly how we feel! A lot goes into a business achieving and maintaining success, so this year we are toasting to 25 years of excellence. Reaching this milestone is no small feat, so join us for a stroll down memory lane as we remember how MHG first began, where we are today, and the next 25 years. After all, you can’t know where you are going until you recall where you have been.

Company History

MHG was launched in 1991 in Miami, Florida when founders Andrew Dudzinski and John Haagensen saw that due to industry growth and ensuing competitive pressures, cruise lines needed new ways to attract and retain their officers and crew. Andrew, with particular expertise in expatriate insurance programs and John, a former seafarer and practicing insurance agent, saw the solution in creating and providing customized marine employee benefit plans. Andrew and John combined their extensive experience and contacts to convince the industry that marine crew are better motivated, remain more loyal, and work more safely when a benefit plan is provided as part of an employment package. While hesitant at first, the cruise lines listened and soon benefit plans were implemented by many lines and in due course by other marine industry sectors, such as luxury yachts and commercial shipping. As a result, a growing number of marine crew and their families are now able to enjoy the benefits of health, disability and life insurance plans and at the same time, marine industry employers have gained new and valuable attraction and retention incentives.

MHG Insurance Brokers is now recognized in the marine industry as a unique resource for developing innovative crew insurance programs for the world’s leading cruise lines, prestigious luxury yachts and other shipping and marine businesses around the globe. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, MHG has offices and representation in the Isle of Man, London, Hamburg, Monaco and Houston to better serve clients and support the continued development, acquisition and servicing of marine clients on both sides of the Atlantic.

Throughout the years, MHG has seen fit to expand its portfolio of products outside the marine industry but has always remained focused on its core business in providing crew insurance advice and solutions for vessel owners, operators, management companies, captains and crew worldwide. Today, MHG counts as its clients a total of 18 cruise lines, representing some 40% of the most prominent lines and more than 450 luxury yachts, including 20% of the world’s 200 largest yachts.

The Next 25 Years

While MHG has successfully introduced and encouraged the industry to adopt customized benefits for people working at sea, our work is not done. MHG will continue to be at the forefront of developing and implementing a full range of innovative benefit and welfare incentives and risk management solutions, all designed specifically for the marine industry and making the industry a better place to work and live.

Let’s raise a glass to the next 25!

Here at MHG Insurance Brokers, we offer a variety of different insurance solutions for many areas of business. From yacht crew insurance, to general liability and marine general liability coverage, individual and group health insurance, even life insurance, we offer a number of products to cover you, your family, or business. To see some advice directly from our team of insurance professionals, read our previous blog, “ If You Could Give One Piece of Advice to Your Clients, What Would It Be? ” If you are interested in learning more about our insurance expertise, please visit mhginsurance.com or call us at +1 954 828 1819 or +44 (0) 1624 678668.