Major Industry Events No Insurance Pro Should Miss

On June 6, the Long Island Insurance Division of the UJAFederation of New York’s 2013 Annual Dinner will take place at Shelter Rock Jewish Center in Rosyln, N.Y. I’m very excited about this event, not just because I co-chair it with my good friend, Justin Fries, who also sits on the PIANY board, but because this year, we will honor two very well-known and illustrious individuals who represent our industry and state with distinction: Amy Feller, senior vice president of the Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. and Benjamin Lawsky, the first superintendent of financial services in New York state.

I can’t think of two more worthy and reputable individuals to honor. Over two decades, Feller has become a respected leader for Chubb, where she started her career as a Personal Lines Underwriter and moved up through the ranks of that company to her now leadership position. She graduated from University of Albany with a degree in Business Administration and then earned her MBA from Fordham. Her substantial charitable work includes previous service as co-chair of the UJAFederation.

In 2009, PIANY recognized her as Industry Professional of the Year at MetroRap, and the National Association of Insurance Women named her Outstanding Achiever in 2007. Lawsky, a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law School, will also be honored with the UJA Humanitarian award. Without doubt, he has one of the most visible and challenging positions in our industry. New York is one of the financial capitals of the world and the comingling of the former banking and insurance departments, despite their seemingly similar fields, is fraught with discrepancies that might not be obvious to the general public. His career is equally impressive; starting as chief counsel to Sen. Charles Schumer on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lawsky went on to serve as deputy counselor and special assistant to then-Attorney General Cuomo. Prior to that, he spent more than five years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted white collar crime, organized crime, and terrorism cases.

I am very proud to be a part of UJA, which has always worked to improve our community through charitable donations, volunteerism and economic development. Most recently, we made some $13 million available to our network of agencies, synagogues and day schools to provide financial assistance, temporary housing, food and more to New Yorkers struggling after Hurricane Sandy. And, we helped mobilize thousands of volunteers in the recovery efforts. I’m looking forward to the event and hope to see more friends and colleagues from this industry than ever.

This must be conference season, because less than a week after the UJA dinner, PIA of New Jersey and New York hold the 2013 Joint Annual Conference in Atlantic City, June 9-11. With more than 2,000 expected to attend, this event is the Northeast’s biggest conference in our industry. The show gets bigger and better every year—participants have fun on the shore, network, meet new markets and vendors, and they can earn up to 24 CE credits, including bridge credits, if they take advantage of the self-study course beforehand with the on-site exam.

The PIA conference concludes with one of the industry’s most heartwarming events—the Fun Run on the boardwalk, to benefit Special Olympics of New Jersey. Appropriately this year, PIA will focus the conference on Superstorm Sandy. It will be good to see old friends and hear from so many professionals who learned hard lessons about disaster preparedness. While times of crisis build bonds and bring out the best in people, I am proud to say our industry has not forgotten or left unattended those still in need or rebuilding after the storm. Both of these events will give us more opportunity to do the right thing.

I know I say this often, but it’s true— ours is a relationship business. Events like the UJA Dinner and the PIANJ/PIANY Joint Annual Conference are great places to nurture important professional relationships as well as true friendships. I’m looking forward to seeing you at both!