Industry Events and Networking; A "Shore" Thing!

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate on a panel named Coastal insurance: It’s a shore thing, during the New York Insurance Association convention, at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y. I was able to visit with many well-known industry representatives, as the event was attended by insurance company executives, and key members of the state legislature. It was great to see old friends, and I was surprised when I saw the list of conference attendees: I thought I knew the names of most insurance carriers, yet among the familiar carriers were other New York state companies some agents may not be familiar with—such as Finger Lakes Fire and Casualty Co., Otsego County Mutual Insurance Co., Claverack Cooperative Insurance Co., Leatherstocking Cooperative Insurance Co. … I could go on and on. The breadth of the companies in attendance was quite the reminder of what a vast insurance industry we have domiciled just in New York state.

At the dinner, I had the chance to sit with a gentleman who represents a co-op insurance carrier that specialized in farm coverage, with total premiums of $2.5 million. It was interesting to talk to him about the needs and coverages of farms, versus the coverages for clients in big cities, with which I am more familiar. The entertainment of the night was Eric Känd, a comedy hypnotist. Our good friend Harvey Leff, of Brooks Insurance, was the first on stage, joined by Vivaldi Couto and 10 other industry friends— what a funny evening!

I also enjoyed seeing good friends, including Richard Zick, president and CEO of Utica First and current chair for NYIA and Bob Zak, president and CEO of Merchants Mutual. (Bob, by the way, should be congratulated for his recent editorial in the Buffalo News, defending the industry’s efforts toward auto insurance fraud reform.)

As far as I was concerned, the highlight of the convention was the panel in which I took part. It was moderated by Jeffery Rice, president and CEO of Wayne Insurance Co. and other panelists were Michael O’Malley, senior vice president state government affairs, Chubb & Son; John Reiersen, president & CEO, Kingstone Insurance Co.; Richard Poppa, president & CEO, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York Inc.; and David Durbin, events committee chair, Reinsurance Association of America. It was a well-balanced panel representing the reinsurance market, small and large carriers and of course, independent agents. At the beginning of the session the panelists didn’t seem to perceive a crisis on Long Island with regard to availability of homeowner coverage in coastal areas. And, there was general consensus that the excess-and-surplus market could fill the existing gap. When I brought up the subject of the New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association (NYPIUA) and the Coastal Market Assistance Program (C-MAP), I felt a chill in the room: I don’t think the carriers want to see the residual market expand any more than it has or make the changes they would have to, to make CMAP a program agents can confidently use. My point was that, as an independent agent, sometimes I need insurance for my clients and CMAP fills that need. What would happen, for example, if an agent represented a large company that wrote coastal then suddenly decided to exit the market? How would that agent deal with the pressure to replace that book of business? I still believe we should take steps so the CMAP program can be a viable answer in this scenario.

We also discussed the need for a uniform hurricane deductible trigger. The importance of a common trigger was emphasized strongly by the agency reps on the panel, and I believe that the companies and other panel members were convinced of its importance—we may make some headway on this issue in the future. Richard Zick made an important point to me after the panel discussion: Agents should be aware of revisions to hurricane models, which could create further pricing and availability issues for Long Island coverages. One might think that after such a packed event in an Upstate casino, I’d have had my fill. Not so! I am headed this week to Atlantic City, where PIA of New York and New Jersey will host their joint annual conference (June 12-14). That event has been the place to be for the past 10 years. Readers can look forward to reports about it in my next column.