Monday, November 21, 2011

NAPSLO Notes Passing of Samuel Bergerman

Samuel Bergerman, 74, of Livingston, N.J., died Friday morning, Nov. 18, as the result of a tragic accident. The funeral was scheduled for the Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapels, 68 Old Short Hills Rd., Livingston, N.J., on Monday, Nov. 21.
Mr. Bergerman was the owner of Anglo-American, Ltd., in Verona, N.J., for over 35 years and was a member of NAPSLO, as well as a member of P.I.A. (Professional Insurance Agents).

A lifelong New Jersey resident, Mr. Bergerman was born in Newark, N.J., on June 19, 1937 and was graduated from Rutgers University. He lived in Livingston for almost 42 years. He was a member of Maplewood Country Club, Maplewood, N.J., and Wycliffe Golf and Country Club, Wellington, Fla.

He was also a member of Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, N.J. Sam is survived by his loving wife of almost 47 years, Hermine Bergerman of Livingston, as well as his three children, Jill Wishnew of Livingston, Matthew Bergerman of Westfield, N.J., and Adam Bergerman of Livingston, and seven grandchildren.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Randall Jones Named NAPSLO's Education Director; NAPSLO Advanced School Renamed to Honor Retiring Education Coordinator

Randall D. Jones has assumed the position of Education Director for NAPSLO and is responsible for exploring and developing new educational programs along with the oversight of existing programs, including the highly successful NAPSLO schools.

"I am excited to join NAPSLO and work with our new surplus lines compliance course, which has been approved for CE credits in 48 states to date," said Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones has assumed this role due to the retirement of Marcus Payne as the NAPSLO Education Coordinator. Mr. Payne was instrumental in establishing the outstanding reputation and success of the existing NAPSLO schools.

NAPSLO announced that the NAPSLO Advanced School, which takes place each fall in St. Louis, has been renamed the Marcus Payne NAPSLO Advanced School in honor of Mr. Payne, who retired this year as NAPSLO’s Education Coordinator. Mr. Payne was part of the E&S School since it was founded in 1990 and the Advanced School since it started in 1995. He served as an instructor and panelist and then, beginning in 2000, as Education Coordinator.

Mr. Jones began working with NAPSLO in 2010 as a planning facilitator to help the Education Committee in the drafting of a new strategic plan. Based upon member feedback, obtained during the planning process, Mr. Jones has been directing the development of several new educational offerings that will include the newly released on-line course for excess and surplus lines regulatory compliance.

“The NAPSLO schools are a great foundational source of education and unique peer networking experience for members in the industry and will continue to provide this significant benefit to NAPSLO members," said Mr. Jones. “We also want to explore additional alternative curriculum delivery and learning opportunities that supplement these excellent schools.”

NAPSLO currently offers the E&S School for individuals with two to five years experience in the surplus lines industry; the Advanced School for those with more than five years experience; and the Executive Leadership School for senior level employees. In addition NAPSLO works with Success CE to offer on line continuing education courses and has worked with the AAMGA and PLUS to make their educational programs and courses available to NAPSLO members.

Mr. Jones has been involved with NAPSLO’s educational efforts since 1995 when he was an instructor at the first NAPSLO Advanced School and has led reinsurance and alternative market courses each year since.

Prior to accepting the position he was providing strategic consulting and executive coaching for a select number of clients in the specialty insurance industry. He also serves as a director on several boards for privately held companies through Strategic Advisors Group LLC.

Mr. Jones has been in the insurance business for 35 years, including serving as President/CEO of Northland Insurance Companies and President/CEO of Maxum Indemnity. Mr. Jones has also served on the NAPSLO Board of Directors as a co-chair of the Education Committee, the NAPSLO Education Board of Trustees, the NAII Specialty Lines Committee and the Minnesota Insurance Federation of Executives.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Southern Illinois University and has completed the Wharton School Insurance Executive Program, among other insurance specific programs and is scheduled to graduate from Central Michigan University with a Master’s degree in Education, focusing on adult learning and curriculum.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Lunsford, Flowers Selected As London, Bermuda Scholarships Recipients

Allyson Lunsford of Appalachian State University was selected as the 2012 Joseph H. Blades Memorial Scholarship recipient. Andy Flowers of Troy University was selected as the 2012 Bermuda Internship recipient.  Ms. Lunsford will receive a 3-week internship in London with a NAPSLO member firm and Mr. Flowers will receive a 3-week internship in Bermuda with a NAPSLO member firm.

Emily Crow, Brandon Dennis, Benjamin Delinski, Amanda Woods, Ms. Lunsford and Mr. Flowers were the six interns selected to attend the convention and were interviewed by the Internship Committee to determine the Bermuda and London scholars.

Intern Resumes
Intern resumes are available on the NAPSLO Web site at www.napslo.org, under the Internship section. NAPSLO member firm login and password are required. Interns participate in a comprehensive nine week program to gain experience working in various departments of both company and broker areas of business.

2012 Internship
The application deadline for the 2012 program is December 1. For more details and to apply online, visit: http://www.napslonextgen.org/Internship.html

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

NAPSLO Introduces Online Surplus Lines Compliance Course

NAPSLO is introducing the first truly online learning experience offered by the Association, the NAPSLO Surplus Lines Compliance Course. This course, offered through NAPSLO and Success CE at http://napslo.successce.com is available in both CE credit and no CE credit versions.

"NAPSLO developed the online course to provide industry professionals the background to assist them in dealing with the complex surplus lines regulatory issues," said Randall Jones, NAPSLO's new Director of Education as of Nov. 15. "NAPSLO saw the need for the course because there was limited educational courses on surplus lines compliance and we believe this will greatly benefit the industry."

Benefits
The course offers substantial benefits to organizations and professionals who operate within and navigate through complex excess and surplus lines regulatory issues. The course is targeted to professionals with less than two years of surplus lines compliance experience, and other professionals who deal less frequently with compliance issues.

Examples of learners who will benefit from this course include regulatory staff, brokers and their support teams, and others who place business in the non-admitted market.

Course Sections
The course includes four sections, and eight lessons, with learning objectives within each lesson. The course provides an overview of the E&S Industry and Surplus Lines Brokers and Insurers and teaches students the basics of Surplus Lines Broker Licensing and Record Keeping, Insurer Eligibility, Non-Admitted Compliance: Process and Procedures, Diligent Search, Tax Remittance, Policy Disclosure and Delivery, and Independent Procurement/Industrial Insured Exemption.

The course also covers the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) and discusses NRRA/Exempt Commercial Policyholder (ECP) Laws.

The course contains an interactive glossary, links to excellent outside resources, sample state requirements, key general information for filings and reports, and lesson specific self-mastery tools, all packaged in an easy and fun to read format. Learners can also send specific course questions to education@napslo.org.

Students taking the course also may take exams for CE Credits and the course has been approved for 3 hours credit in most states, except for 2 hours in the State of Washington. When registering for the course students should check on the availability of CE credits in their state.

Cost & Registration
The cost of the course is $14.95 for the course and CE exams and credits, or $7.00 for the course only, no CE exams and credits. For a limited time, NAPSLO is providing a subsidy for all course costs. Please check for availability of this limited subsidy when registering for the course at http://napslo.successce.com. For more information on the course, download a flyer.