President's Message: NAPSLO planning for future

Every year NAPSLO faces a number of new challenges as the insurance market continues to change, and so too does our membership. 

To keep up with the changes and the needs of our members, the NAPSLO Board of Directors has continued to examine the programs we offer and adjust when needed.

The NAPSLO membership is very diverse, including small local brokers, large national brokers, various size companies and binding and brokerage firms. In addition we have numerous Associate members representing a variety of firms that provide services to other members.

Making sure the programs we offer continue to meet members' needs was the subject of Strategic Planning sessions at the recent NAPSLO Mid-Year Workshop in California.

The Strategic Planning session was a follow-up to meetings the Board started last fall, examining where the organization is today, and where we will be in one, three and five years.

The recent survey by the Membership & Ethics Committee provided the Board a great deal of information, and we were pleased to see that our members rated the AssociationÕs overall reputation as among the best in the industry.

(Additional results of the survey are available on Page 3.)

There are a number of areas that the Board is looking at, including examining how committee members are selected and retained. The Board will continue this discussion during its next meeting in June and will keep membership up-to-date on any changes.

Mid-Year Workshop
While the Strategic Session was a focus of the Board, networking and programs were the focus of the more than 650 attending the Mid-Year Workshop.

Sessions on the current state of reinsurance and how to balance work and life were excellent and informative, the networking areas continue to be greatly used, and the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation Golf Invitational was very successful. Thanks go out to Mid-Year Chair John Wood and his committee for putting together another excellent program.

Legislation
One of the most important issues facing the industry is the legislation under consideration in Washington, D.C. The House and Senate are now both  reviewing the "Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2007."

The bills are similar to the ÒNonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2006Ó that was approved 417-0 by the House last September, but wasnÕt taken up by the Senate. NAPSLO is hoping that this year the legislation will be approved by both the House and the Senate. 

A fully funded NAPSLO PAC will be of tremendous assistance in furthering our legislative interests in Washington.  The PAC has made tremendous financial gains under the leadership of Marshall Kath and Tom Mulligan and continues to seek additional funding.  For more information on the PAC and how you can contribute, please visit the web site, (www.naplsopac.org).

Career Center
As part of our efforts to bring new employees into the industry, NAPSLO has developed a Career Center on our web site which offers a Job Openings Locator feature where members can list their career web site and human resources information.

Previously the job openings locator was part of the Member Locator, but now is a separate section.  If your firm would like to post information, please email info@napslo.org.

Annual Convention
Attendees at the Mid-Year Workshop got a sneak peek at the 2007 Annual Convention, scheduled for October 3-6 in New Orleans, when the Convention Committee, chaired by Mary Ellen Rozzell, handed out a promotional brochure on the meeting and programs.

The theme of the convention is The Big Easy Rising: Rebirth, Rebuild and Renew and a special program has been set for Thursday morning, October 4, featuring a group of Brokers and Carrier representatives to discuss What's Ahead for the E&S Wholesaler?   

In addition, a limited number of tables in the Brokers' Lounge will be available for a fee for member firms to reserve; James Carville and Mary Matalin will be the speakers at the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation Lecture; and NAPSLO is working with Habitat For Humanity to set up a program for attendees to assist on a renovation project, or make a financial contribution.

While convention registration materials won't be sent until June, members can download the promotional brochure from the Annual Convention page in the Meetings section of NAPSLO's web site.

Attendance has continued to increase each year, and we expect another large crowd in New Orleans. We hope to see you there.

Bill Newton