Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Executive Leadership School - Now accepting applications

NAPSLO Executive Leadership School
February 8-11, 2009
University of Virginia
Darden School of Business

Click here to download the brochure.
Click here to download the application.

The NAPSLO Executive Leadership Program is designed for senior-level members who wish to broaden their perspectives on important social, political, and economic issues influencing the insurance industry. Participants will enhance their leadership skills and become more able to effectively manage change at the personal, team, and organizational levels, and will return to their organizations with the tools and mindsets to think and act more strategically. Those who attend will develop the enterprise perspective required to make winning choices about running their businesses in today’s complex environment.Who Should AttendSenior-level NAPSLO members with 15 years or more of industry experience who are at the top or close to the top of their respective organizations’ leadership teams, and those senior-level members with direct responsibility for obtaining superior and sustainable financial and human results.

Alan Beckenstein is Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan. He has taught at the Darden School for thirty-four years in the areas of political economy, global competition, public policy, environmental management, and quantitative analysis.

Alec Horniman is Professor of Business Administration and Senior Fellow, Olsson Center for Applied Ethics, The Darden School, University of Virginia. Mr. Horniman is a consultant to industry in the area of organizational behavior.

Sankaran Venkataraman ("Venkat") is the MasterCard Professor of Business Administration at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia. He is a member of the Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Ethics area at Darden and teaches MBA and executive level courses in strategy, entrepreneurship, and ethics. Hotel AccommodationsSponsors Executive Residence Center provides private, single-room lodging for program participants. Executives will take meals at the Abbott Center Dining Room. The Executive Residence Center is located on the Darden Grounds, and the Abbott Center is adjacent to the classroom building at Darden.

Click here for more information regarding hotel and dining facilities.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Minnesota & Washington Surplus Lines News

Minnesota

The Minnesota Insurance Department issued bulletin 2008-7 which announced the stamping fee for the Minnesota Surplus Lines Association will be .0025 and will be effective as of Jan 1, 2009. The bulletin also announced that Nicholas Schroeder was hired as the Executive Director. He can be contacted at nschroeder@mnsla.com or 320-679-4244. The web site mnsla.com is not yet fully operational and the office phone will not be functioning for a few days.

Washington

The Board of Directors of the surplus line association of Washington announced that Robert Hope will be the new Manager of the association. Mr. Hope is long time member of the surplus lines communities in Washington and Oregon. His first day was Oct 20, 2008.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Audio, Video and Transcripts of NAPSLO-A.M. Best Webinar on Specialty Insurance Market is Available

Audio, video and transcripts of the October 30 sold-out webinar offered jointly by the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd. (www.napslo.org) and the A.M. Best Co. are now available.

The webinar, which drew more than 1,000 registrants, featured a panel of leading wholesaler brokers and E&S carriers who updated producers and others on the state of the specialty insurance market. Video and a transcript of the presentation, including text in mobile-compatible format, is posted to www.ambest.com/multimedia/specialty08.html.

The audio only section is posted to the November 3 page of www.bestdayaudio.com.

The panel featured:
• Anthony F. Markel, Vice Chairman, Markel Corp.;
• Christopher M. Treanor, President and CEO, Mercator Risk Services Inc.;
• E.G. Lassiter, Chairman and CEO, RSUI Group; and
• Daniel Ryan, Vice President in A.M. Best's property/casualty rating division.

The panel examined the changing landscape for specialty insurance, including changing pricing trends and capacity, the continued financial strength of specialty lines compared with standard lines, the impact of AIG on the current market and the important role of wholesale brokers in helping producers find coverage in the current market.

The February 2009 edition of Best's Review magazine will feature full coverage of the event, along with other information on the specialty markets.