HWG INSURANCE

Advisor

Gracie Martinez is an Insurance Advisor at HWG and works on setting clients up for success and providing exceptional service with every interaction. Before joining the team, Ms. Martinez worked with an affiliate company to coordinate events and implement marketing strategies. She is a member on the SMSD district advisory committee, and President of M4M, a nonprofit that provides support and scholarships to the baseball and softball programs at her alma mater. She is a Terry Scholar and graduated valedictorian with a BA in public relations from the University of Houston.

Advisor

Dulce Lee Madlangbayan is an Insurance Advisor at HWG where she provides years of experience as a risk consultant and loves what she does especially when it comes to finding the right fit for clients. Before joining the team, Ms. Madlangbayan worked side by side with dentists at an independent agency where she became an insurance guru. She spends most of her free time with family including her sweet toddler Marlee.

President

David Clifford is President of HWG and serves as Chief Strategy Officer of affiliate Tectonic Advisors. In this role he is focused on product platform development, particularly of marketing and technologies that will assist in helping Tectonic Advisors continue delivering exceptional client service. From 2004 through 2011, Mr. Clifford served as the Director of Marketing and Intermediary Services at Salient Partners, LP and was responsible for retail sales and distribution efforts. He also served as the Head of Salient’s Sales and Distribution Platform. Mr. Clifford assisted in the development and marketing of alternative investment programs. Prior thereto, he worked as an Associate and Consultant in the Helsinki office at McKinsey & Company. While at McKinsey, Mr. Clifford focused on serving high technology and telecommunications companies in the Nordic region. He is also a Director of Endowment Advisers LP-Adviser at Endowment Fund, Inc. Mr. Clifford was the salutatorian of his Helsinki School of Economics MBA program (Finance/Information Technology, 2002) and holds a BBA in finance from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a National Merit Scholar.

Co-Founder

George L. Ball is Co-Founder of HWG and serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the parent company Sanders Morris Harris. Mr. Ball has been a Director of Sanders Morris Harris since 1992, and has held a number of executive positions since then with Sanders Morris Harris and its affiliates. He helped build Sanders Morris Harris (and then The Edelman Financial Group) into a company worth nearly $1 billion. He began his career as a stockbroker at E.F. Hutton & Co., one of the nation’s leading securities firms. He rose to become Regional Vice President, Director of Research and then National Sales Manager before being named President at age 39. Mr. Ball left E.F. Hutton to become Chief Executive Officer of Bache & Co. (later Prudential Securities), which had been purchased by Prudential Insurance Company of America where he served as a member of the Executive Office. Mr. Ball has been a director of numerous public/private companies and charitable organizations. He has appeared frequently on financial news programs and is a former Governor of the American Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, and served on the Executive Committee of the Securities Industries Association. Mr. Ball holds a degree in economics from Brown University and served in the U.S. Navy.

By now you’ve heard just how important disability income insurance is, so get it while you’re the youngest you’ll ever be (now!). This policy is the best way to protect your most valuable asset: your earning power. Rates are ultimately based on your finances and medical history. 

Professional liability insurance, also known as Malpractice or Errors & Omissions, is protection for you and/or your business should claims of negligence related to a professional service arise. Regardless of whether a claim against you/your business is determined to be frivolous or not, this coverage is defense against a lawsuit claiming your professional neglect.  

As a small/medium sized business owner, your liability can range from the damage of your physical property to the likelihood someone is hurt while in your office. BOPs are a special type of policy designed to package the basic coverages required for a business owner. A BOP can also be customized to combine protection from property and liability risks beyond the basics, like data breach/cyber liability or employer practices liability. 

Workers’ compensation is an insurance policy paid by employers to benefit their employees. If an employee has an accident on the job or acquires a work-related illness, then this policy will pay for medical expenses and any lost wages. In most states, workers comp is required but even in states where it’s optional, the liability still exists and is generally inexpensive coverage for potentially devastating losses.   

A business can be responsible for sensitive information like payment or medical information. In most modern offices, this data is saved using electronic storage methods. While technology is a great tool for running an efficient and successful business, it can leave an office more susceptible to cyber-attacks. Identity theft, legal fees, hacking, cybercrime, and harassment are just some risks a data breach and cyber liability policy can help fight against.  

Your practice records and retains sensitive information about your patients. For most doctors, that information is now mostly stored in electronic form. There are laws in addition to HIPAA that specifically define your duties to protect those records. Studies have shown that the cost of just the obligatory notification and credit monitoring can cost upwards of $250 per record. 

Employment Practices Liability (EPLI) policies defend an employer from employment-related lawsuits; e.g. charges of breach of contract, discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and other work-related issues that can be made by an employee, former employee, or job applicant.