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IFNY Honors Case, McRaith

275 Gather at New York’s Historic Union League Club to Honor Aon Leader and Former FIO Director

Cecilia Norat recognized; IFNY interns applauded

More than 250 insurance leaders joined in the Insurance Federation of New York’s (IFNY) 103nd Annual Award Luncheon honoring Gregory Case, President and CEO, Aon, as he received the Federation’s 2017 Free Enterprise Award.

Former Director of the Federal Insurance Office, U.S. Treasury Deparment, Michael T. McRaith was presented with IFNY’s Public Service Award.  New York Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, the Hon. Maria T. Vullo, addressed the insurance, reinsurance and financial services leaders present for the event, long considered one of New York’s premier industry gatherings.

During the ceremonies, held at the Union League Club in Manhattan, the Federation renewed its support for the IFNY Summer Intern Program.  Working with Boys Hope Girls Hope and Mary Lanning, insurance consultant and head of the charity, Yes!Solutions, IFNY arranges for inner city high school students to visit top corporate offices where they learn the business of insurance and its many segments.  Over thirty high-achieving students have already “graduated” from the program.

During teh event, Cecilia Norat, former Chair of IFNY was named Trustee Emerita, in recognition of her many years of service to teh organization.

The Free Enterprise Award’s distinguished recipients are business leaders who have advanced American business and teh business of insuring, espousing the hoghest ethical principles of free enterprise for which IFNY has stood for since 1913.  Recent past recipients of this prestigious award include Steve Kandarian, Chairman, President and CEO, Metlife, Inc.; Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Chubb Group; Robert Benmosche, former President and CEO of AIG; J. Hyatt Brown, Chairman and CEO of Brown & Brown Insurance; and Donald Kramer, Chairman of ILS Capital LLC.

  In presenting the  award to Mr Case. IFNY President, Nick Pearson cited both his stewardship of AON, a worldwide force in insurance and his socila contributions. Mr Case is President and Chief Executive Officer of Aon, a global provider of risk management, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. He is also a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

As CEO, Mr. Case directs the efforts of more than 50,000 colleagues in more than 120 countries. He has focused the organization on a three-part strategy for building Aon, centered around providing distinctive value for clients, attracting the best talent and achieving operational excellence.

Mr. Case has nearly three decades of experience in the insurance and financial services industries. Before joining on, he served on the Governing Shareholder Council and headed the Global Insurance and Financial Services Practice at McKinsey & Company, a leading international management consultant. Prior to McKinsey, he worked for the investment banking firm of Piper, Jaffray and Hopwood as well as the Federal Reserve Bank.

Mr. Case holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated summa cum laude from Kansas State University. In 2014, he was named by the Harvard Business Review as one of the 100 Best Performing CEOs in the World.

Mr. Case’s remarks  appear elsewhere in this issue.

IFNY’s Public Service award honors an individual who has contributed meaningfully to the public good, either in the public or private sectors.  IFNY, whose members distinguish themselves through community service, determined it is only fitting to honor outstanding leaders who have served New Yorkers selflessly and extraordinarily, in keeping with the ethos of the insurance industry in serving societal needs and offering security to families and businesses.

In his introduction of Mr. Michael T. McRaith, IFNY Board Member James P. Corcoran, Former Superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department, noted that Mr. McRaith was charged with the operation of a most difficult office but managed it successfully, for the benefit of insureds and insurers. Mr. McRaith was appointed by U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to serve as the first Director of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) in June 2011.  Mr. McRaith served as Director of FIO until January 2017.  As Director, Mr. McRaith advised the Secretary on domestic and prudential international insurance matters of importance. FIO monitored all aspects of the insurance sector, including access to affordable insurance for traditionally underserved communities and consumers, minorities and low- and moderate-income persons. Mr. McRaith also served on the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).

FIO served as a source of insurance expertise within the Federal government, including the FSOC, and worked with other federal and state agencies, Congress, and private sector stakeholders in support of the advancement of the U.S. insurance industry and regulatory system.

As FIO Director, Mr. McRaith coordinated Federal efforts and led the development of Federal policy on prudential aspects of international insurance matters. He represented the United States at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and in other bi-lateral and multi-lateral international insurance matters. From 2012 to 2017, he served on the IAIS Executive Committee, and for that same period was selected by his global peers to serve as Chair of the IAIS Financial Stability and Technical Committee.

Mr. McRaith led the effort that resulted in the Covered Agreement between the United States and the EU which, when signed, defines the application of EU and U.S. insurance regulations to industry participants domiciled in the other jurisdiction.  In addition, the Covered Agreement establishes a new regulatory paradigm for oversight of the global reinsurance industry, bolstering consumer protections and removing excessive regulation.

Immediately prior to his appointment as FIO Director, Mr. McRaith served more than six years as the Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. In Illinois, he led numerous legislative and regulatory initiatives, including oversight of the largest supervised insurer run-off in U.S. history. Within the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Mr. McRaith was selected by his national peers to serve in numerous leadership positions, including as an officer.

IFNY Award Remarks

by Greg Case, President & CEO, Aon

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

I want to thank President Nick Pearson; the Insurance Federation of New York Board; Steve Acunto, for nominating me for this prestigious Free Enterprise award; and all members of the Insurance Federation of New York.

I am honored to accept this award on behalf of my 50,000 Aon colleagues who work every day to empower economic and human possibility around the world.

I am proud to be here among so many leaders of industry, superintendents of insurance and regulators. Thank you for all the work you do.

At our core, our firm – and our industry – enable organizations and individuals to take risks and to manage volatility. And because they can confidently take risks – they innovate, they grow, and they create opportunity – which ultimately creates a positive social impact for families and communities around the world.

That is why we are all here today, to celebrate this esteemed organization and the work that you do to create and sustain a sound economic environment for the industry, where we can do what we all do best – help people and businesses succeed in an uncertain world.

We are at a moment in history where the stakes are incredibly high. Organizations and individuals around the world are navigating a volatile business landscape:

    • Economics: we are seeing slower global growth, higher global debt and historically low interest rates
    • Demographics: many parts of the world are facing slower population growth, longer lifespans and increasing urbanization
    • Geopolitics: this is driving greater connectivity and quality of life, while at the same time, inflaming isolationist tendencies
    • Technology: the rapid pace of change in the arena is compounding these trends and reshaping the global market

I talk to CEOs around the world about three things – Risk, Retirement and Health. At Aon we are fortunate as we touch $110B in risk premium, $4T in pension assets, and $180B in health premiums.

This scale provides us tremendous opportunity to have an impact on the global economy and to help clients thrive in this volatile landscape.

But that is not good enough. We cannot rest. Times change. Risks we haven’t even imagined will soon be a reality.

As an industry, we must do more to ensure that we remain relevant and accelerate innovation. We need greater diversity of thought, we need to give young talent a seat at the table, and we need to harness the power of analytics to drive new insights.

Think about the collective expertise in this room – literally centuries – of industry insight. Imagine what’s possible if we collectively answer this call.

There is a long and impressive list of people who have received the Free Enterprise award since its inception, so many of whom we consider innovators – visionaries – they have all stepped up and answered the call in their time.

Now it’s our turn, we must work together in new and different ways to address the risks of the future. In 100 years, what will the people sitting in this room say about us, what will be our legacy, our contribution?

New York has always been a center of innovation and growth. Aon is proud to have had a presence in New York for over 100 years. We have over 1,500 colleagues in New York. We are committed to New York – we will soon be moving from our offices at 199 Water Street to a new space at One Liberty Plaza in the Financial District. We are proud to do our part to contribute to the thriving economy and the insurance industry here in New York, and look forward to doing so for many years to come.

Aon’s success would not be possible without our dedicated colleagues and an outstanding leadership team – many of these remarkable colleagues are here today. In the spirit of this Free Enterprise award, which recognizes leadership and growth, there is one colleague I would specifically like to recognize, for her contributions to our firm.

I want to recognize Regina Degnan, who manages relationships with some of our largest New York clients and who is here today. Thank you for everything you do for our clients, our colleagues and for Aon.

Throughout Aon, our focus is on bringing the best of the firm to our clients, but it is also about creating a sustainable firm—one that is positioned to grow, innovate, and inspire—for years to come.

I know many of you are here today, as members of the Insurance Federation, because you share these goals – growth, innovation and long-term sustainability – for our industry. I look forward to working with you to achieve this, together.

Thank you again for this honor.

The Insurance Federation of New York

Since 1913, the Insurance Federation of New York has been a force for communicating ideas among all sectors of the insurance industry, bringing public and private interests together for the benefit of all. The Insurance Federation of New York’s prestigious Free Enterprise Award—presented to some of history’s legendary entrepreneurs—continues to salute risk takers and leaders whose creativity and initiative has enabled the expansion of business throughout New York, across the country and around the world. In the insurance industry, it is the commitment and vision of these leaders that has created and refined the risk transfer mechanism to spur economic growth and contribute to personal financial security for countless millions.

Today, the Insurance Federation of New York’s annual calendar of events brings together the “best and brightest” to ensure that industry intelligence is shared and that support for best practices in insurance business, law and regulation earns the understanding of leaders across the spectrum. This shared goal draws business executives, legislators and regulators to our Annual Luncheon, our “Breakfast with…” programs, professional seminars, and other events. We also note the establishment of the IFNY Intern Summer Program. Federation members have given most generously of their time and finances to support this program that reaches out into the community and gives highly motivated teens, from challenging backgrounds, an in-depth opportunity to learn about the insurance industry in all its facets and to consider a career in insurance.

The Insurance Federation of New York is a not-for-profit New York corporation that does not engage in lobbying activities and is open to all.

The IFNY Board of Directors includes the following distinguished professionals: President Nick Pearson, Insurance Consultant and Attorney; Chairman Lance J. Albright, QBE North America; Financial Vice President, Stephen Boon, Jr., Harold L. Lee & Sons, Inc.; Vice President Michael Fusco, Consultant, FCAS, MAAA, CERA; Vice President Douglas Hayden, Wright Public Entity; Vice President Manfred Ohrenstein, Ohrenstein & Brown, LLP; Vice President David J. Walsh, Amalgamated Life Insurance Company; and Vice President, Managing Director Steve Acunto, CINN.

DIRECTORS: Kermitt Brooks, AXA U.S.; Michael Catina, Zurich North America; Huhnsik Chung, Baker & McKenzie LLP; Maura T. Clancy, Clancy & Clancy Brokerage, Ltd.; James Corcoran, James P. Corcoran, Esq.; Eric R. Dinallo, Debevoise & Plimpton; Amy L. Feller, CHUBB; Donald D. Gabay; Anthony Grippa; Jason Jacogs, Baker Tilly; James W. March, Insurance Consultant; Howard Mills, Deloitte Services LP; Roger M. Moak, Arbitrator; Kevin Rampe, CHUBB; Raul Rivera, National Benefit Life Insurance Company; William M. Savino, Esq., Rivkin Radler, LLP; Francine L. Semaya, Esq., Legal and Insurance Regulatory Consultant; Wendy R. Shapss, FTI Consulting; Richard White, ShelterPoint Insurance Company; Thomas E. Workman, Immediate Past President & CEO, Life Insurance Council of New York, Inc.