Some day someone is going to build a doghouse on the moon, and Joe Charczenko is going to insure it.

Last week was the 3rd annual Business Insurance 40 Under 40 Broker Awards. The purpose of the event is to honor the men & women who are the future leaders of the insurance industry.

Charczenko and 8 of his colleagues from the Northeast Region were recognized at the Langham Place Hotel in midtown Manhattan. 3 similar events occurred in 3 other regions throughout the country.

What makes this award unique is that it's not a popularity contest or a last second event that's quickly thrown together. The vetting process takes months.

Gavin Souter, Editor of Business Insurance Magazine, explained the process and that there cannot be multiple nominees from the same agency in the same region.

"Each nominee must produce 6 work references and 3 client references. Then we interview these references to determine who makes it to the final 40", Souter said. "Submitting a flood claim is easier."

I talked to some of the awardees about what it takes to get ahead in this industry and put yourself in a position for future success. Their answers were all the same: Be different.

Andy Stergiou of Alliant Insurance Services Inc. didn't always have a unique market cornered with his specialty program he built.

"I started out cold calling and picking up business that way." Stergiou went on, "Then I got involved in the associations." This is where his career took off.

"I found an industry association that didn't have an insurance broker in it." What did he do? He found a massive gap in the coverage and then worked with another carrier to build a specialty program. 10 years later he has saturated that industry. "The rest is history."

Brian Courtney has been at The Safeguard Group Inc. for over 10 years. He uses a different strategy to get in front of his prospects.

"LinkedIn", he said. "It's a great first impression and it gives you a lot of credibility." Courtney's niche is Cyber Liability.

"Everyday there is a new story in the paper about a data breach. There's always something to talk about." I asked him if the biggest threat was 'hacking'.

"The biggest threat is actually employees. They open an email with an attachment from someone they don't know. And that's it."

The advice from everyone was very consistent. If you can be different and specialize you not only gain more knowledge than a generalist but also gain credibility. The insurer of the "Doghouse on the moon" put it best.

"You can fake success, but you can't fake significance."

-R