Earlier this month, Bernie Heinze, executive director of AAMGA, briefed A.M. BestTV’s John Weber about his recent visit to Lloyd’s to discuss the role of MGAs in transfers, audits and more. Watch the interview here.
Bernie Heinze of AAMGA speaks with John Weber of A.M. BestTV.
Eight months after the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Act (NARAB II) was signed into law, the federal government still has not appointed board to oversee its provisions.
In a conversation with A.M. BestTV’s John Weber, AAMGA president Bernie Heinze discusses this issue and the steps the AAMGA is taking to address this problem. Watch the interview here.
Association introduces its inaugural specialty programs track
Current estimates are that more than $5 billion in insurance premium was written during the course of the American Association of Managing General Agents’ (AAMGA) 89th Annual Meeting in Maryland between May 17 to May 20. In addition to welcoming 1,120 attendees, the meeting also introduced AAMGA’s inaugural specialty programs track. AAMGA leadership also welcomed a number of newly installed members and prospective members from across the U.S. and Canada, including many of the premier Canadian managing general agents (MGAs) from the provinces of Manitoba, the Maritimes, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
“This was an incredibly successful and productive annual meeting,” explained AAMGA’s new president, Roger Ware of Genesee General in Alpharetta, Ga. “Our members were fortunate to gain a first-hand, global insurance market perspective from our Annual Business Meeting speaker, Chairman John Nelson of Lloyd’s. In addition to Chairman Nelson, we discussed a number of the emerging issues in the industry that our Emerging Issues & Trends Committee continues to monitor as well as welcoming our specialty program members to a number of dedicated break-out sessions focused on their needs. The debate on current political issues between Karl Rove and David Axelrod also gave our members an insight behind the scenes of how our current and prospective leaders are looking at the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”
According to AAMGA Executive Director Bernd G. Heinze, attendance surpassed expectations with additional walk-ins showing up to take part in the meeting.
“I could point to our packed Agents & Brokers Lounge or our need to bring in additional seating and tables to demonstrate the sheer volume of interest in this year’s Annual Meeting,” noted Heinze. “However, I think the ability of all our members to have access to the entire wholesale and program insurance market, and to network and conduct business with global leaders in our industry, resulting in more than $5 billion in business being written in just four days speaks for itself.”
Brian Molusis, president of Vital Insurance Partners in Glastonbury, CT, who attended the Annual Meeting last week for the first time in nearly 8 years said he was impressed.
“Eight years ago, AAMGA wasn’t catering to the specialty program marketplace. But there has been a sea-change in the association in the last two years to better adapt to the insurance market as a whole,” explained Molusis. “And because there isn’t another not-for-profit out there focusing on the needs of the specialty program market, this is a very welcome change.”
In particular, Molusis pointed to commitments from insurance carriers and other program professionals who attended the 89th Annual Meeting as a sign of good things to come.
“By next year’s [Annual Meeting], this will be one of the biggest specialty program conferences in the program space,” said Molusis.
The AAMGA’s Under Forty Organization comprised of young emerging professionals also welcomed a record number of its members to the Annual Meeting and raised more than $12,000 at the meeting to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic.
AAMGA will host its 90th Annual Meeting on May 22, 2016 at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.
At the AAMGA Annual Meeting May 17 to 20, John Weber of A.M. Best discussed the U.S. wholesale insurance market with an expert panels of AAMGA members, including Hank Watkins, president of Lloyd’s America, Rodger Ware, incoming president of AAMGA, Nona McCreedy, COO of Aurora Underwriting, Matt Letson, president of AAMGA. View the discussion here.
John also spoke with leaders from the AAMGA’s Under Forty Organization (UFO) about how their membership helps them build alliances and advance the careers of young professionals. Check out the video at A.M. Best.
Members vote to amend bylaws, broadening representation of the wholesale insurance market
AUG. 27, 2013 – King of Prussia, Pa. – The American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) announced today its members have voted to amend the association’s bylaws and expand membership to include all wholesale insurance professionals who have underwriting or binding authority and meet other minimum standards of the association.
Balloting occurred between July 26 and Aug. 26 with more than 63 percent of eligible members voting. The proposed bylaw amendments passed with an overwhelming majority.
“This is a significant moment in AAMGA’s continued evolution and development in line with our 87 year history,” explained Frank Mastowski, CPCU, CIW, president of AAMGA’s Board of Directors. “Our members recognize the wholesale insurance landscape continues to change. The revised strategic focus of the association will broaden members networking access to markets and other industry practitioners. It will support technical underwriting and other professional educational development through the AAMGA University, and further the strength of our advocacy with regulators and legislators domestically and internationally.”
According to the AAMGA Executive Director Bernie Heinze, the board of directors will now take additional steps to implement the new by-law changes. The board will also expand curriculums for AAMGA University, the group’s professional education and training arm.
“These new bylaws were designed to ensure those market professionals working in the wholesale insurance space with binding or underwriting authority have a place to go where peer networking, education and advocacy resources are available,” said Heinze. “By broadening our membership, we’re strengthening and advancing the importance of the entire wholesale insurance marketplace.”
The AAMGA board of directors proposed the by-law changes to members in May 2013 after a two-year strategic review. Without the Association changing its core values, membership will now be open not only to MGAs, but also to MGUs, program administrators, aggregators and other wholesale insurance professionals who meet stringent membership standards. Among the standards are minimums for years in business, annual written premium, and underwriting or binding authority.
ABOUT AAMGA
The American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) is the wholesale insurance community’s international trade association. Founded in 1926, the AAMGA today represents over 500 corporate members and is respected as a leader in and voice of the wholesale and excess and surplus lines insurance industry. Membership in the AAMGA is highly selective and therefore the wholesalers admitted to the ranks are those who annually subscribe to a Code of Ethics and demonstrate the highest standards of excellence, experience, integrity and insurance company representation. Headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, the nonprofit Association and its University Foundation provide substantive benefits and service to its members throughout the year. Learn more at www.aamga.org
The board of directors of the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) today announced it has voted to expand membership to bring all wholesale insurance practitioners who meet membership requirements under a single umbrella. The board made the announcement to members on May 10. Members will vote on bylaw changes that allow for the proposed membership expansion, and include the Association’s new name: the American Association of Wholesale Insurance Professionals.
In addition to managing general agents, national and international insurance companies, business services and state stamping offices, the proposal would add qualifying brokers, managing general underwriters, program administrators, program managers, aggregators and other insurance entities operating on a wholesale basis to the Association.
“We will become a stronger Association that serves as the single, reliable source for the entire wholesale distribution market and, in the process, yield ongoing and long-term benefits and value to existing and future members,” said R.C. Chaffin, AAMGA board president. “The board encourages members to vote in favor of these new opportunities once the bylaw amendments are sent out in June.”
The proposed change follows a two-year strategic review instituted by the board that highlighted opportunities for the Association, and its members, to better adapt to a changing insurance market.
“The wholesale insurance market has undergone dramatic changes in the last decade,” said Bernd G. Heinze, Esq., AAMGA executive director. “We’ve seen an expansion of the wholesale distribution system with new market participants and an increase by those professionals into more specialty lines of business. We want our Association to be ahead of the changes. The Board believes it is better for us to lead rather than follow, a fact that has always been core to our identity.”
Noting three other membership expansions in the Association’s 87-year history, Heinze said the proposed changes will add value to the Association’s membership by better representing the realities of the wholesale insurance market, strengthening the Association with increased membership and expanding business and educational opportunities.
Under the proposed changes, membership standards will include board approval, required minimums for written annual premium, time spent transacting and writing business on a wholesale basis, three recommendations from existing members and compliance with the Code of Ethics. The board proposal will be discussed at the AAMGA annual meeting, May 19-22, 2013 in New Orleans. Balloting on bylaw amendments by the members will follow.
The AAMGA is the international, professional trade Association representing the wholesale insurance marketplace. Currently, members in 50 states write a combined $20.6 billion in admitted and excess and surplus lines annual premium domestically and internationally. Other members include U.S. and international risk bearing and non-risk bearing members (insurance, reinsurance, retrocessional, captive, Lloyd’s and London market brokers), business services members and each of the state surplus and stamping line offices.
Hits and Misses 