News Release
March 18, 2007
Foundation establishes new scholarship in honor of Russell Bond
Kurt Bingeman, a member of the Board Directors of the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation, recently donated $50,000 to the Foundation to establish a new insurance educational scholarship to honor and recognize Russell Bond, the founder of Russell Bond & Co., Inc. of Buffalo, New York.
The new scholarship will provide for the annual financial needs of students enrolled in an Insurance or Risk Management degree program and will be awarded to one student for the 2007-2008 school year and each year thereafter for as long as funds from the donation remain. Scholarship recipients will be selected based upon overall academic performance as well as financial need.
The donation resulted from the Foundation in November 2006 approving a proposal by Mr. Bingeman, CPCU, ASLI (CEO of Russell Bond), to allow individuals, firms, or groups to establish new named scholarships that will operate for as long as the funding is available. A minimum of $25,000 is required to establish the scholarship recognizing an individual.
“I am hopeful that the new program will allow additional scholarships to be established and for the Foundation to be able to help additional students studying insurance,” Mr. Bingeman said.
The new scholarships will be for the same amount as the current scholarships, $4,000 each, and will be awarded annually as long as there is funding available. Any partial moneys left will either be combined with other Foundation assets for a final year or go into the general scholarship fund.
“These additional scholarships will allow the foundation to expand its efforts to help insurance students with their education,” said President Joseph Timmons, ASLI. “We are grateful to Mr. Bingeman for developing this new scholarship program.”
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
In 1998, the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation established the scholarship program for students pursuing an insurance or business related program of study. The purpose of the scholarship program is to further the study of insurance and encourage, support, and reward those exceptional students who have an interest in an insurance career.
In order to be eligible for this Scholarship and other Foundation scholarships, students must:
Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree program, majoring in Actuarial Science, Business, Economics, Finance, Insurance, Management, Risk Management, or Statistics. Majors must be related to a career in insurance.
Have a GPA of 3.0 or above. Entering freshmen must rank in the top 25 percent of their high school class or have a GPA of 3.0 or better.
Complete and submit the scholarship application form, including a personal statement of career objectives, academic accomplishments, and pertinent extracurricular activities, as well as reasons for applying for this scholarship. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Have two scholarship recommendations submitted, one from an academic advisor and one from an employer.
Have an official academic transcript forwarded to the Scholarship Committee.
Financial need will be considered in the awarding of the scholarships.
Previous recipients are eligible to receive the scholarship in subsequent years, but must reapply each year. To receive a scholarship application, students should contact the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation at (816) 741-3910 or download the materials from the Foundation section at www.napslo.org. The application deadline is June 1 each year.
BACKGROUND
The Foundation was established in 1991 by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, a national trade organization representing the surplus lines insurance industry and the wholesale distribution system. NAPSLO has more than 1,500 members in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
In addition to the scholarship program, the Foundation works on a number of educational products related to the excess and surplus lines industry.
Since 1994, the Foundation has commissioned the A.M. Best Company to produce the Annual Review of the Excess & Surplus Lines Industry. A.M. Best’s first report in 1994 found that the surplus lines industry solvency record was as good as, if not better, than that of the overall industry. Reports in subsequent years have come to the same conclusion.
The Foundation also worked with the Insurance Institute of America to establish the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI) designation which provides advanced education about the surplus lines segment of the insurance industry. The first ASLI designations were awarded in 1997 and to date more than 1,000 people have completed the requirements for the designation.
The Foundation has been certified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
