NYIA Wrap up: Property & Casualty Industry Gears Up for 2014 as NYIA sets Priorities
NYIA Wrap up: Property & Casualty Industry Gears Up for 2014 as NYIA sets Priorities
The New York Insurance Association (NYIA) held its 2013 Annual Meeting on November 14 in Latham, New York. The meeting included a Legislation and Regulation Committee Meeting, two informative presentations and a business meeting. The highlight of the event was the election of the 2014 officers and directors.
NYIA’s Legislation and Regulation Committee meeting kicked off the day. The membership developed the association’s 2014 legislative and regulatory agenda. Priority issues for next year include holding the line on industry taxes, assessments and fees, introducing comparative negligence to scaffold cases, restricting lawsuit lending, auto insurance fraud reform, allowing for insurance company redomestication, and modifying the interest rate applied to judgments from 9 percent to the prevailing market rate.
The committee meeting was followed by two presentations. Supervising Investigator Todd J. Putorti, facial recognition project manager, first provided an overview of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) facial recognition program. In his presentation, Identity Theft’s Foe: Facial recognition, he talked about the success DMV has had in combating identity theft. The Facial Recognition System (FRS) is part of DMV’s One Driver = One Record initiative. Since 2010, DMV has investigated more than 14,000 people with two or more licenses. These investigations have resulted in the arrest of more than 3,000 individuals and administrative action against more than 7,500 people. FRS allows for enhanced enforcement of attempted fraud against DMV and detects potential traffic safety risks. The presentation addressed the effects of the implementation of facial recognition on DMV records, why the detection and prevention of multiple driving records is important and the impact on the insurance industry.
Deena Coffman, CEO of IDT911 Consulting, next presented on the ever important topic of Cyber Trends and Risk Management Strategies. You wouldn’t fight a war today with a musket, and you shouldn’t use yesterday’s strategy for dealing with today’s cyber threats. Deena made it clear why, more than ever, it’s critical that companies protect themselves from cyber risks, financial loss, regulatory sanctions and reputational damage. The session identified current threats, from simple to advanced, and discussed what companies are (or should be) doing to counter these new threats.
NYIA’s 2014 officers and directors were elected by the membership at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting. The following officers were elected for a one-year term ending Dec. 31, 2014:
• Chair: Bernard Turi, senior vice president, Utica Mutual Insurance Company
• First vice chair: Steven Coffey, president and chief executive officer, Broome Co-operative Insurance Company
• Second vice chair: Elizabeth Heck, president and chief operating officer, Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company
• Treasurer: Marlene Benton- Sherwood, president, Fulmont Mutual Insurance Company
The following directors were elected for a three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2016:
• Steven Coffey, president and chief executive officer, Broome Co-operative Insurance Company
• Charles Makey, senior vice president, insurance operations, Merchants Insurance Group
• Nicholas Masi, government and industry affairs manager, Farmers Group, Inc.
• Norman Orlowski, president, Erie and Niagara Insurance Association The following individuals were elected in previous years and will continue in their capacity as directors:
• Mark Prechtl, executive vice president and chief executive officer, Chautauqua Patrons Insurance Company
• Elizabeth Heck, president and chief operating officer, Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company
• Craig MacCormac, vice president, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
• Donald Tucker, regional assistant general counsel, Nationwide Insurance
• Martin Doto, senior vice president, Preferred Mutual Insurance Company
• Patrick O’Malley, product manager, Progressive Northern Insurance Company
• Thomas Ruane, president, Security Mutual Insurance Company
• Bernard Turi, senior vice president, Utica Mutual Insurance Company
• Jeffrey Rice, president and chief executive officer, Wayne Cooperative Insurance Company
NYIA congratulates these officers and directors. With their guidance, the association is set to make a great impact in the New York insurance marketplace in 2014 and aim to improve the business environment in the state for the property and casualty insurance industry.
