NAPSLO membership valuable all year long

Each summer as preparations for the NAPSLO Annual Convention are being completed, and firms are registering their employees for the meeting, this may be one of the too few times when many firms think about the value of their membership in NAPSLO.

Yet the value of membership in NAPSLO is something that firms and their employees experience year around, from the various meetings, the educational opportunities, and the legislative and regulatory efforts, which help allow our industry to operate freely and fairly.

Since membership in NAPSLO is by firm rather than individual, for many people in our industry the only exposure they may have each year regarding NAPSLO is our annual convention. In 2007 more than 3,200 attended the convention in New Orleans, meaning that many of our 800 member firms sent multiple employees to the meeting. On behalf of NAPSLO I would like to thank all of our firms for their support of the association.

For those employees attending the convention, they benefited from being able to meet with representatives of a number of firms in one location and also get up-to-date on current issues. While the Annual Convention is the largest, and most important, event of the year for the Association, there is a lot more to NAPSLO and a lot more that firms, and their employees, receive from NAPSLO membership.

The major area where people benefit is in the legislative and regulatory arena, both at the state and federal levels. For many of us, we have neither the time or inclination to become heavily involved on issues but those issues can be areas that have a great impact on a daily basis on how we run our business or how we work.

Functioning on those issues behind the scenes is NAPSLO, working with state and federal regulators and legislators. The issues can be as small as ensuring surplus lines is not included on a bulletin or as large as testifying at the state level on an issue but if an issue can have an impact on the fundamentals of our business NAPSLO will get involved.

Over the years one of the biggest issues has been how to handle taxes on multistate transactions and is an issue NAPSLO has been consistently involved on. For many years NAPSLO worked primarily on the state level in hopes that the states could work out a solution. With a solution not forthcoming and a potential solution at the federal level, NAPSLO has focused on that approach over the last few years.

Without our efforts, and those of other organizations such as the AAMGA, PCI, CIAB, the IIABA and PIA one would have to wonder what kind of regulation the industry would face today. Because of the success, many in the industry do not have to worry about those issues and can focus on business of insurance.

But avoiding regulatory and legislative problems is only part of the story. Our members need knowledgeable employees and NAPSLO has worked to help improve the industry. NAPSLO has offered an E&S School for nearly 20 years and our internship program has operated for more than 25 years. Both programs have turned out large number of knowledgeable people who now are taking active roles in the industry.

As a relatively small segment of the insurance industry there has always been a limited amount of education available outside the industry and so NAPSLO has stepped in and provided that education, through the schools, internship and working with the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation to publicize the results of the A.M. Best Annual Report on the industry.

We are also looking at ways to bring more people into the industry and also improve the way the industry works with retailers, both on a communications basis and also working with industry groups on technology issues.

Many of these issues are long-term concerns and in the short term progress can be slow and not always evident, however NAPSLO is working on these issues so members don’t have to. Your membership in NAPSLO is important and helps ensures that these issues will be addressed.

Annual Convention

Registration for the 2008 NAPSLO Annual Convention is underway and we expect another large group in San Diego in September. We have moved to online registration this year and hope you will benefit from the faster confirmations of registration and hotel room bookings.  I look forward  to seeing you in San Diego!