Attendees get inside look at NAPSLO at Mid-Year

Mid-Year attendees got an inside look at the Association as NAPSLO Board members reviewed the activities of the Association during the Town Hall meeting at the recent Mid-Year Leadership Forum in Scottsdale.

 

All of the activities, from education to legislative, and from meetings to communications and technology, were reviewed, both from what the Association has done in the past to the current and future projects.

 

Copies of the NAPSLO annual report were distributed to attendees and copies also may be downloaded from the NAPSLO website, under the Publications section.

 

Bob Sargent, Chair of the Budget, Audit, Finance and Investment Committee, said the committee’s responsibilities, which involve the budgeting, financial reporting, and investments for the Association, had kept them very busy with the economic events of the past year.

 

Activities undertaken to attract new people to the industry were reviewed by Steve Gross and Gary Tiepelman, Co-Chairs of the Career Awareness & Internship Committee. They noted that the two committees recently merged as many of the activities are related in bringing new people into the industry. Mr. Gross noted that the committee had worked on the formation of the Job Portal and the Next Generation group. Mr. Tiepelman reviewed the goals of the Internship program in attracting college juniors and senior students to the industry. Since 1990 he noted that 146 students have participated in program and 65% are still industry, and 72% of those are in the surplus lines industry.

 

Communications & Technology Committee Chair Matt Nichols reviewed the communications and technology goals of the committee, including sponsoring the keynote address at the AAMGA Automation Conference, working with ACORD on the London reporting bordereau, and keeping members up to date on technology options available. On the communications side the group has worked on promotion of the wholesale brokerage system. Much of the promotional campaign had been performed by an outside consultant but going forward NAPSLO is working towards adding an in-house staff member to handle the responsibilities.

 

Convention Committee Chair Tim Makowski noted the committee works to provide a forum for members to network and for the Association to conduct annual business. Sites are chosen several years in advance and he said that the meeting would rotate between Atlanta and San Diego over the next four years, with the 2010 meeting in Atlanta.

 

Education Committee Co-Chair Dave Leonard noted that education, along with networking and legislation activities are the major focuses of the Association. Education Coordinator Marcus Payne noted that more than 1,500 students have gone through the E&S School, designed for people new to the E&S industry, since it was established in 1990 and that nearly 1,000 people have gone through the Advanced School since it was founded in the mid-1990s. The newest program is the Executive Leadership School, formed in 2009, which takes place at the University of Virginia under the direction of the Darden School of Business.

 

In addition every other year NAPSLO works with the NAIC to offer a school for regulators and NAPSLO, in conjunction with the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation, also supplies speakers for insurance symposiums at Troy University and Olivet College.

 

Co-Chair Gil Hine noted that following an educational survey the Committee is now offering members CE courses online and CE credits are available through the E&S and Advanced schools. In order to not to compete with other industry educational programs the committee looks at unique areas of unmet educational needs. Mr.  Leonard noted that all of the instructors are volunteers and thanked speakers and firms for their time. President Marshall Kath noted that Mr. Payne had been working with the schools for over 20 years.

 

Mr. Nichols, who also serves as Chair of the International Committee, said that he tries to visit with London and Bermuda leaders each year to review industry and legislative issues and also current NAPSLO activities. He said the committee put together an international panel at the NAPSLO Advanced School and worked to help establish an internship hosted by Bermuda member firms.

 

Legislative Co-Chair Tom Mulligan talked about the committee’s advocacy role, which is assisted by Executive Director Dick Bouhan and Director of Government Relations Steve Stephan, regarding regulation of surplus lines. He also reviewed the guiding principles the Association established regarding legislation.  He said over the past few years NAPSLO has increased its activity at the federal level, in addition to the state level, with the hiring of a government relations staff person; engaging B&D Consulting in Washington D.C. as a lobbying firm; and using Westlaw to track changes in regulation.  He noted that NAPSLO now leads the coalition promoting the NonAdmitted Reinsurance and Reform Act and that it has passed the House three times and is also included in a pending Senate bill.   On this bill and others, he noted that NAPSLO is sought after for its input at the federal level. Additionally, each year NAPSLO hosts a Legislative Day in Washington D.C. to bring members in to promote the industry’s views.

 

Membership & Ethics Chair Greg Crouse reviewed the committee and the application process. He discussed how the Board reviews applications and noted that 51 applications were reviewed in 2009 and 39 new members were approved.

 

Kevin Westrope, former PAC Committee Chair and current Co-Chair of the Communications & Technology Committee, reviewed the importance of the PAC Committees and its role. Last year he noted that 120 contributions were made to the PAC, raising around $50,000 and that the funds were important in promoting the views of the industry.  He noted that contributions must be from personal funds; an individual may give no more than $5,000 per year; and PAC contributions are not tax deductible. Mr. Kath said that in this election cycle the PAC will play a large role and that contributions of all levels are needed.

 

Past President John Wood noted that members of the Past Presidents’ Council use their experience as leaders of the organization to provide input to the Board and work on special project when needed.

 

During the question and answer session, Executive Director Richard Bouhan noted that NAPSLO had been more involved legislatively as the growth in the industry has meant the industry has come under additional scrutiny. In addition, NAPSLO has taken on a greater role in Washington as the Association, and others in the industry have been promoting the NRRA, which has passed the full House and the Senate Banking Committee.

 

Funding and expenses related to the PAC were also brought up and Mr. Westrope noted that based on the size of the industry the amount that has been contributed was disappointing and part of that was due to the current economic situation and part was due to the rules limiting solicitations for the PAC.

 

Since its founding the PAC has raised approximately $250,000 and currently has approximately $100,000 on hand but Mr. Westrope said that in order to be effective the PAC needed to raise approximately $250,000 per year.  Ms. Heaton noted that while there are a number of people who can contribute the maximum annual amount, donations at all levels are needed and a large number of smaller contributions can be very effective.

 

Mr. Westrope said it was important for higher-ranking people in organizations to share with their employees the value of the PAC and encourage contributions to the PAC.