John K. Latham elected new President of NAPSLO

September 16, 2000 - John K. Latham of Richmond, VA, was elected President of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd. (NAPSLO) on September 16 at the Association's annual convention in Chicago.

Mr. Latham was elected to the NAPSLO Board of Directors in 1993 and was elected an officer in 1997. He has served as Treasurer, Secretary and Vice President.

Mr. Latham is president of Colony Insurance Co., Front Royal Insurance Co., Preferred National Insurance Co., and Colony Management Services, Inc., all known as the Colony Group, a subsidiary of Front Royal, Inc., an insurance holding company.

Mr. Latham began his insurance career in 1966 with Cravens, Dargan Insurance Managers after attending Stephen F. Austin University. He was with George F. Brown from 1971 to 1973 and then served as Vice President and Branch Manager in the Casualty Facultative Division of General Reinsurance

Corporation from 1973 until 1986, in Dallas and Atlanta. He moved to their corporate offices in Stamford, Connecticut as Vice President overseeing Program Business for the Facultative Department and served there until 1987.

Prior to joining Colony in 1991 he was Executive Vice President and COO of Markel Service, Inc., the brokerage subsidiary of the Markel Corporation.

Mr. Latham becomes president at the Association's Annual Business Meeting on September 16 when NAPSLO members approved the slate of officers and directors that was submitted by the NAPSLO Nominating Committee. The following individuals were elected officers:

• President - John K. Latham, President, Colony Insurance Company, Richmond, Virginia.

•Vice President - Tapley O. Johnson, Jr., CPCU, CIC, President of TAPCO Underwriters, Inc., Charleston, South Carolina.

•Secretary - Nicholas D. Cortezi, Executive Vice President, All Risks, Ltd., Timonium, Maryland.

•Treasurer - H. James Griffith, President & CEO, Princeton Risk Managers, Inc.

G. Stephen Allen, CPCU, ASLI, Executive Vice President of Burns & Wilcox Ltd., Farmington Hills, Mich., and L.M. (Mac) Wesson, Jr., President and COO of U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Dallas., were elected to new three year terms as directors.

Reelected for new three year terms as directors were: Mr. Griffth; E.G. Lassiter, CPCU, Atlanta, President & CEO of Royal Specialty Underwriting, Inc.; and Gene Keating, Scottsdale, Ariz., President of Northland Company and President/CEO of Northland Insurance Co. and American Equity Insurance Co.

Officers serve one year terms and are selected from the current directors, who serve three year terms.

NAPSLO is a national trade association representing the surplus lines insurance industry. Surplus lines is a specialized segment of the insurance business that is also referred to as nonadmitted, specialty and/or excess lines. Risks are placed with the surplus lines market when they cannot be placed in the admitted/licensed market.

NAPSLO represents surplus lines insurance agents/brokers and surplus lines insurance companies. NAPSLO has over 1,200 member offices in the United States, Canada and England.