2015 40 Under 40 Broker Awards: Charlie King

Charlie King

First vice president

Alliant Insurance Services Inc.

Age: 36

Having grown up around the energy industry, Charlie King, Houston-based first vice president of Alliant Insurance Services Inc., understands his clients' needs so well that he's often thought of as an outsourced risk manager.

Mr. King knew he wanted a career in the energy industry since he was a boy in Bellville, Texas, watching his dad work with oil country piping materials.

“On the energy side of insurance, you're dealing with some of the largest and most complex insurance programs out there,” Mr. King said, adding that working with large numbers daily makes his job even more interesting.

With a growing book of business in excess of $1.4 million in annual revenue, Mr. King leads operations efforts for the Alliant energy and marine group in Houston.

He said the most important functions of his job include listening to what clients want, “knowing the risks these companies are facing, and helping them come up with ... other ways to transfer that risk.”

Rachel Martinez works with Mr. King as the risk manager at Alta Mesa Holdings L.P. in Houston. She said she greatly appreciates his attention to detail.

“He knows a lot about our operations and how our operations and risks are affected by policies that are out there or movements in the insurance market,” Ms. Martinez said.

About 10 months ago, Mr. King began discussing the importance of cyber coverage with Ms. Martinez.

“He knew we were building a new facility that was going to have certain things that get filtered through a computer and a server,” Ms. Martinez said. Mr. King suggested “that maybe cyber crime is something we should look into because if the systems ... were hacked, someone could shut down the whole operation.”

Ms. Martinez prefers working with Mr. King to someone at a larger firm, saying, “as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't have other clients.”