IFNY Annual Free Enterprise Luncheon Honors Dave North, Andrew Mais

Intern program highlighted as 220 applaud current and future leaders

The Insurance Federation of New York held its 109th Annual Award Luncheon on November 14, 2024. IFNY honored two individuals. The Free Enterprise Award, which is at the heart of the Luncheon and numbers among recipients Henry Ford, Hank Greenberg, and Donald Trump, was presented to Dave North, Executive Chairman Emeritus, Sedgwick for his lifetime achievement and industry leadership. In addition, the recipient of the Mary Lanning Public Service Award was Andrew N. Mais, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Insurance and President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

IFNY’s Annual Luncheon is one of our industry’s top events. According to IFNY President, Hon Howard Mills, “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. Also, our industry exists to protect the health and welfare of our insureds and those who depend upon them. The Insurance Federation of New York’s Public Service award is gratefully given in recognition of outstanding achievement in the public interest. Our 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,” he stated.

Dave North received the Free Enterprise Award. Mr. North is an industry icon, having served Sedgwick as chief executive officer—a position he has held since 1995—and then Executive Chairman since 2020, until retiring from the company in June 2024. Dave now serves on the company’s Board of Directors. During the period of his leadership, Sedgwick experienced meteoric growth and expansion.

When he joined Sedgwick, the company had fewer than 500 staff with $50 million in annual revenue. Under Dave’s leadership, Sedgwick grew from a boutique, regional third-party claims administrator to the premier global provider of innovative solutions in the areas of workers’ compensation, disability and absence management, property loss adjusting, and other specialty services. Today, Sedgwick has more than 33,000 colleagues across 80 countries, earns more than $5 billion in revenue each year, and is the largest third-party administrator in the world.

In his more than two decades leading Sedgwick, Dave introduced a customer-focused approach to managing claims and fostered a creative environment where innovative solutions for clients are created. At the helm of Sedgwick, Dave steered a dynamic new shift, making it one of the first companies in the insurance industry to leverage a successful growth strategy through a private equity model of expansion and acquisition. In 2024, Dave received the Business Insurance Magazine’s Insurance Hall of Fame/Lifetime Achievement award. In September 2019, Dave was recognized and honored at the 40th Anniversary Gala of the Spencer Foundation for his commitment and support of risk management and insurance education for students. In March of 2018, Dave received the CLM Lifetime Achievement Award for his profound impact on the claims profession. Dave is well known for his generosity and commitment to bettering the community, as a leading ally of Folds of Honor, the Spencer Foundation, and the University of Memphis Foundation Board and its President’s Innovation Board, along with building community assets for the common good. Dave previously developed and taught the American Management Association course on Advanced Risk Management Strategies: Managing the Total Cost of Risk. He co-authored the book The Art of Self-Insurance. Dave has served on the board of the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute and is past chairman of the board of the Integrated Benefits Institute. He served as director for The Institutes and a member of the Business Insurance Women to Watch Advisory Board. In 2016, Dave was appointed by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam to serve on The University of Memphis’ newly chartered Board of Trustees as chairman. Dave was born in Detroit, Michigan, the eldest of five brothers. He served as a volunteer firefighter in the local community and later became a professional firefighter. Dave served our country in the U.S. Air Force before starting his career in insurance. These experiences along with his background in safety led him to the claims industry as a way to serve others during a time of loss and recovery. Dave was graduated from the College of the Air Force, the Wharton School Executive Education Program, and University of Michigan Executive Leadership Program.

Hon Andrew Mais received the Mary Lanning Public Service Award. Andrew N. Mais is Connecticut’s 33rd Insurance Commissioner and is President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for 2024, and he has served on the NAIC’s Executive Committee since 2021. Mais currently serves on the NAIC’s International Relations, Property & Casualty, and Financial Regulation Standards Committees. In addition to his NAIC leadership roles, Mais is a member of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Executive Committee (ExCo) and was elected as ExCo Vice Chair in May 2024.

He also continues to serve on IAIS Insurance Capital Standards Task Force and was a member of the IAIS Macroprudential Committee from April 2020 to April 2024. The IAIS is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the supervision of the insurance sector. Mais has led discussions in several forums on race, diversity, and inclusion at the state level and within the insurance industry and in insurance practices. He has also joined the efforts led by Governor Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz to address social inequities in Connecticut, including the Council on Women and Girls and other cultural competency initiatives. Mais is also Co-Chair of the NAIC’s Special Executive Committee on Race and Insurance, which is the NAIC’s coordinating body charged with conducting research and analyzing issues relating to race, diversity, and inclusion within the insurance sector. Prior to joining the State of Connecticut, Mais held both private and public sector leadership roles. Mais was a member of Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services, providing industry-leading thought leadership and insight on US and international regulatory affairs, and prior to that, he served as a Director at the New York State Insurance Department. As part of the Department’s senior leadership team, he served four governors and led the Department through several significant events, including the 2008 financial crisis and major state and federal changes in health insurance regulations and laws.

Since 2012, the Insurance Federation of New York, Inc. has sponsored the IFNY Interns Program through generous financial contributions from the IFNY Board, IFNY members and friends, with additional support through the hosting of our interns. The IFNY internship is an opportunity to introduce motivated scholars to the New York area’s insurance, legal, and financial services sectors. IFNY — in partnership with Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York — sponsors a group of high school scholars to take part in the IFNY Internship.

Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York (BHGHNY) is an academic achievement and scholarship non-profit program based in Brooklyn, NY. The scholars from Boys Hope Girls Hope are known as the IFNY Interns. IFNY Interns is a summer program that introduces deserving, high-performing scholars to the New York area’s insurance and financial services sector. The Interns spend a day with each sponsoring member company or firm, who learn about the industry business operations from the ground up. The interns discover opportunities that the global insurance and financial services sector provides. Exposure to the industry through participation in IFNY Interns offers a strong and timely incentive to these young scholars as they pursue their academic & career goals. IFNY Interns is administered in cooperation with Boys Hope Girls Hope (www.bhghny.org). Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York helps motivated high school students rise above disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal is to graduate young people who are physically, emotionally, and academically prepared for post-secondary education and productive life, breaking barriers so they can become community-minded leaders.

The IFNY Annual Event drew 220 to the Union League Club’s Main Ballroom in NYC.