President's Message
NAPSLO is keeping an eye on Washington

One of the reasons the surplus lines industry has been successful over the years is freedom of rate and form regulation and the resulting ability to be able to work with customers to develop the insurance they need.

Watching all the discussions going on in Washington, D.C. and at the state level concerns me, and also the Board of Directors. It is one of the main reasons the Association has been so active the past few years on legislative matters.

As many of you are aware, NAPSLO recently hired Steve Stephan, J.D., CPCU, ASLI, ARe, IR, to be Director of Government Relations. Mr. Stephan previously worked for Employer's Reinsurance Corporation.

 He will assist Executive Director Richard Bouhan on state and federal issues and they are assisted by our Washington, D.C. representative, Maria Berthoud, Senior Vice President of B&D Consulting. 

At the federal level, the State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency (SMART) Act in the House and the National Insurance Act (NIA), an Optional Federal Charting proposal,  in the Senate are important issues and ones that staff and B&D Consulting are following closely.

In addition, at the state level there are a number of bills that can have a major impact on our members and they bear watching and informing members on their progress.

Maintaining an eye on all of the legislation under consideration at the state and federal levels that concerns surplus lines is an involved process. To keep members better informed of these legislative items we are looking at ways to better utilize e-mail, the website, outside resources and our publications to provide updated information to interested members.

In addition to informing members electronically and through publications, we will continue to use our meetings to discuss current and proposed regulations and legislation.

At the upcoming NAPSLO Annual Convention in Chicago we will again host a Legislative Breakfast and this year we will examine the upcoming 2006 mid-term elections, the prospects for change, and how a shift in power could impact our industry.

Registration materials for the convention were sent in late May and also posted online. One change we are implementing this year is the acceptance of credit cards for registration fees.  This is the first in a number of steps we are taking to institute online registration in the future.

The housing and early registration deadline is July 26. Based on comments we expect to see another large attendance in Chicago. Last year more than 3,000 people attended the convention in San Francisco. I urge you to register early. 

The convention will take place September 13-16 at the Hilton Chicago. In addition to the Legislative Breakfast, the featured program this year is the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation Lecture Series presentation by CBS newsman Mike Wallace.

While planning is being finalized for Chicago we are already looking at the 2007 convention in New Orleans. The Board was gratified to hear the response from the membership on our decision to keep the meeting in New Orleans.

The Board is also looking at future meeting sites and NAPSLO recently sent the membership a survey regarding convention locations, dates, and topics to help us plan for future meetings. NAPSLO  received a number of responses and the information will be very beneficial and helpful in planning future meetings.

As part of the mailing for the convention, you may have noticed that the NAPSLO office has moved to a new location as of June 1. The Association had been at the old address for more than 10 years and the growth in staff, association programs, and responsibilities necessitated seeking larger office space. 

This Summer, the NAPSLO Board will be meeting with our London members in June. While the Executive Committee has traveled to London to meet with our members in the past, this will be the first Board trip to London in more than 15 years.

This will be a busy summer and several additional tasks remain; the nominating committee has begun work; membership renewal dues will be sent soon; and members interested in serving on a committee will have an opportunity to do so in July. 

With Annual registration already underway, we look forward to seeing you in  Chicago in September!

Lawrence M. Wesson, Jr.
NAPSLO President