September 1, 2008/For Immediate Release                                                                               
Release No. 06-08

John F. Wood, III nominated as President of NAPSLO

John F. Wood, III of Shreveport, LA, has been nominated as President of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd. (NAPSLO).

Mr. Wood was elected to the NAPSLO Board of Directors in 2002 and currently serves as Vice President and Chair of the Convention Committee. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana Tech University and he holds the professional designations of Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Insurance Wholesaler (CIW).

Mr. Wood is also President of Specialty Risk Associates, Inc. of Shreveport and has held that position since 1985. Previously he was Vice President of a retail agency in Shreveport for eight years and before that a Senior Commercial Lines Underwriter for Commercial Union Insurance Company.

Member firms will vote to approve the slate of Officers and Directors recently announced by the NAPSLO Nominating Committee at the Association’s Annual Business Meeting on Friday, September 12. The business meeting will take place at the 2008 NAPSLO Annual Convention at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

The Nominating Committee proposed the following individuals as NAPSLO officers:

·        President - John F. Wood, III, Specialty Risk Associates, Inc., Shreveport, LA.

·        Vice President - Dale H. Pilkington, Colony Insurance Company, Richmond, VA.

·        Secretary - Marshall P. Kath, Colemont Brokerage Group, Inc., Dallas, TX.

·        Treasurer – Timothy P. Makowski, Benchmark Management  Group, Inc., Naperville, IL.

The Nominating Committee also selected five people for three-year terms on the NAPSLO Board of Directors. Hank Haldeman,  G.J Sullivan E&S Brokers, Anaheim, CA, was nominated for a new three-year term as a director. 

Mr. Wood, Mr. Makowski, Dave Leonard, RSUI Group, Inc., Atlanta, GA, and  Robert T. Sargent, RPLU, CPCU, ARM, Mercator Risk Services, Hartford, CT were renominated to the Board for three-year terms as directors.

BACKGROUND
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 non-admitted, 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 1,600 member offices in the United States, Canada, Germany, and England.