2014 40 Under 40 Broker Awards: Allen W. Hudson

Allen W. Hudson

Vice president of commercial lines

Sahouri Insurance & Financial

Age: 31

For Allen Hudson, it's all about responsibility.

As head of McLean, Virginia-based Sahouri Insurance & Financial's commercial property/casualty department, Mr. Hudson said he enjoys his work because “you will never see the same thing twice. It's a people business, the clients are different, their insurance needs are very different, and risk profiles are really different.”

“Responsibility is a big thing for me,” he said. “In the P/C world, your clients look to you for reassurance, and there's accountability involved.”

“He brings a ton to our organization,” said Michael Sahouri, the vice president and chief operating officer of Sahouri to whom Mr. Hudson reports. “He was definitely born for the business.”

Mr. Sahouri said Mr. Hudson has “a keen eye for risk management” and is always putting clients and associates first — and always protecting the client.

“He's very knowledgeable and educates us on an ever-changing landscape of insurance,” said Pat Ward, managing director of human resources at McLean Asset Management Corp. in McLean, Virginia. “Allen was immediately our person. He proved he understood the whole landscape.”

Since Mr. Hudson took over the department in 2010, the department's revenue has quadrupled and continues to grow. “We're developing our market around niche industries,” he said.

Perhaps the biggest industry challenge is recruiting talent. He has to find people who, “whether they fell into the insurance business or they found it, they want to grab it by the horns and ride it.”

As part of the effort, Mr. Hudson has recruited fraternity brothers from the Kappa Alpha chapter at the University of Maryland to work as interns at Sahouri to experience what “insurance really is,” he said. “Introducing young professional people to the real insurance universe is an absolute must for the future of the industry.”