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AAMGA Special Section A continuum AAMGA presidencies build on each other By Phil Zinkewicz The American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) has undergone some significant changes in the last decade—changes that have been for the betterment of the association and its members. Moreover, it’s safe to say that those changes have come about, in part, because of the determination on the part of AAMGA leadership to keep its members abreast of real world developments, everything from catastrophic occurrences and their effects on local market fluctuations to the globalization of the insurance industry and how international insurance market trends affect Main Street America. In the past, as part of this section, Rough Notes has interviewed outgoing and incoming AAMGA presidents to get a feel for whether the outgoing president believes his goals were accomplished during his presidency, and to look at what the incoming president’s aims are for the coming year. But that “out with the old, in with the new” mindset no longer seems applicable because the AAMGA appears to have grown beyond any one particular “term of office,” and all signs point to a continuation of that trend. For example, when outgoing AAMGA President Scott Anderson of Concorde General Insurance Agency in Fargo, North Dakota, talks of the past year’s accomplishments, he doesn’t point to a particular goal that he envisioned attaining. “When I took over from Francis Johnson (president of the Charleston, South Carolina-based Johnson & Johnson), my intention was to build upon his successes, just as he built on the successes of his predecessor Joe Hutlemyer,” he says. “Under those two past presidents, and others who came before them, we increased our visibility in the United States, London and Bermuda and we have forged ahead to continue those relationships. We have expanded classes available from the AAMGA University, offering courses that assist our members in obtaining those all-important continuing education credits. “When I took office,” continues Anderson, “we had already established a strong presence in the insurance marketplace and on the legislative front. It was our job to build on what was already there, and I believe we’ve done so. We are an organization that people come to for advice. Last year, our work with NAPSLO, NAIC and NCOIL, among other groups, almost resulted in the passage of proposed legislation to reform the excess surplus lines industry. We hope to have similar legislation reintroduced in this Congress with even better results,” he says. Tom Albrecht, of The Barclay Agency in Montgomery, Alabama, is this year’s incoming president, and his view of AAMGA leadership is also one of cooperation and building on successes of the past. “It’s not one man or one development that brings about changes in the AAMGA,” says Albrecht. “It’s a cooperative effort on the part of AAMGA presidents, past and present, an active board of directors, committees that work diligently to fulfill their assignments—all these things come together to make the AAMGA what it has become. Ten years ago, we polled our membership to find out what they felt was necessary to make the AAMGA stand out. They responded that the AAMGA had to take a proactive approach towards government affairs. Since then, in terms of our legislative activities, we have come light years from what we were. This has all been through the efforts of our leaders, boards, committees and Bernie Heinze and his group as well as Jim Roe, who has chaired the Governmental Affairs Committee.” Albrecht says that the AAMGA is now recognized on Capitol Hill. “We worked diligently to get H.R. 5637, excess and surplus lines reform legislation, passed in the House and were successful by a vote of 417-0. The bill got bogged down in the Senate, but we are pushing to have it reintroduced this year. Our activities in government affairs are important to our members, both on the state and federal levels.” The new “we mean business” AAMGA is being reflected in the association’s annual meeting, according to Albrecht. “The annual meeting is a networking opportunity,” he says. “Our members have a chance to meet with insurers and reinsurers as well as vendors and other MGAs. We still meet at resort hotels and bring our families because we relish the wholesome atmosphere that this suggests, but business is of primary importance. This year, the chairman of Lloyd’s of London will be a guest speaker.” Albrecht said that the AAMGA will also continue to work with NAPSLO on important issues that affect their members. “Many of our members are also members of NAPSLO,” he says. “We want to continue to work together to ensure that commonality of interests.” * |
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