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AAMGA Special Section New president continues to advance AAMGA's core goals Anderson focuses on education, networking and global presence By Phil Zinkewicz
When Francis Johnson, president of the Charleston, South Carolina-based Johnson & Johnson, Inc., took the helm of the AAMGA last year, he had several goals in mind. One was to build on the successes of his predecessor, Joe Hutelmyer, president of the Burlington, North Carolina-based Seaboard Underwriters, Inc., who was determined to increase membership involvement in AAMGA committee activities, give more support to the AAMGA University, educate AAMGA members as to new technologies available and get the message across to insurance companies on both sides of the Atlantic that using “professional” MGAs can help grow their businesses. “My aim was to expand on those goals,” says Johnson, “and then emphasize the marketing needs of the association. The AAMGA leadership has done an excellent job of putting together a strategic plan that is right for these times in the insurance business. In today’s insurance climate, the need is greater than ever for marketing the professionalism of our members—to market that professionalism to our own members, our associate members and to capital providers here and overseas.” Johnson’s history with the AAMGA reaches back even before he was a member of the Under Forty Organization. His parents, he says, were taking him to AAMGA meetings when he was 14 years old. “The AAMGA members became my mentors,” he says. “My grandfather’s cousin and partner was the 14th president of the AAMGA back in 1942-43, so that I think demonstrates my family’s commitment to the association.” Now that the AAMGA is celebrating its 80th anniversary, Johnson says that the industry can look back on years well spent. “Our response in assisting our members affected by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent hurricanes was rapid. We raised $150,000 and distributed that money to AAMGA members who not only lost business because of the storms, but also those whose offices had been wiped out. The insurance industry is in process of re-evaluating how it deals with catastrophes and whether the present models are working.” Johnson also pointed to a number of advances made by the AAMGA in the past year. “I think that Joe (Hutelmyer) did a great job of laying the groundwork for what we accomplished this year. More and more, the industry is recognizing our members for their professionalism. We have become more global. We’ve been to Bermuda three times and to London and conducted classes. We are the only U.S. provider of Lloyd’s certification. I think the board has done a tremendous job of promoting the AAMGA brand, taking positions on issues that affect our members and voicing our concern when necessary. “Our University has taught more courses this year than ever before, not just stand-alone courses, but also courses taught to MGAs at their own places of business,” Johnson continues. “We teach the Lloyd’s course for broker accreditation, so that our members can be more in tune with how the London market operates. We have set up a political action committee, called Insurance Integrity PAC, in case we need to raise funds to deal with a serious political matter. The purpose is to enable MGA professionals, whether AAMGA members or not, to have a vehicle in place to help support candidates, regulators and state legislators to advance the wholesale market and the excess and surplus lines market.” Incoming President Scott Anderson, of Concorde General Insurance Agency in Fargo, North Dakota, says that Johnson’s term of office did indeed bring about “tremendously exciting developments.” And, just as his predecessor did when he took the baton from Joe Hutelmyer, Anderson intends to build on successes to date. “We have increased our visibility in the United States, London and Bermuda, and we intend to forge ahead and continue those relationships,” Anderson said. “We intend to expand the classes offered by our University as well as offering courses that assist our members in obtaining those all important continuing education credits. We offer a commercial lines school, a fundamentals of brokers and underwriting school, and have just started a personal lines school. University Weekend has 26 classes, and we’re including an international school at Corpus Christi College in England.” Most important, according to Anderson, is the reputation that the AAMGA has for providing networking opportunities. “With everything we do—the educational programs, the trips to Bermuda and London, the activities in the political arena—networking remains our most valuable asset.” Anderson agrees with Johnson that last year’s hurricane season took its toll on the insurance industry. “We’re seeing the market as soft today, but predicting what’s going to happen is difficult. Certain parts of the country will find their markets harder than others. Coastal areas certainly will be having a difficult time. The three ‘ladies’ [Hurricanes Wilma, Rita and Katrina] and one ‘gentleman’ [Hurricane Dennis] that visited us last year took a great deal of surplus out of the industry. There are bound to be periods of adjustment. In good times and in difficult times, the value of the AAMGA to its members cannot be overstated.” * |
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