CONFERENCE INFORMATION: Business Sessions

MONDAY, JULY 14, 2008

8:00 am – 8:10 am
Welcome to Oregon

Roger Helbling
Surplus Line of Oregon, President

8:10 am – 9:00 am
"Reaching Your Potential"

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Mark Speckman
Willamette University, Head Coach
Salem, OR

Mark’s talk focuses on the complexities of Motivation and Success. The overall topic speaks to the idea that all people want to achieve Success. His talk shows how Success equals a complex combination of Motivation, Leadership, Attitude, and Potential. Mark shows how all areas are important and how people overcome deficiencies in these areas. As a college athlete, teacher and coach, Mark has a lot of experience with the concept of Motivation and Success. Drawing on his own life experiences of being born without hands, Mark will share anecdotal stories that bring these points to life and make them unforgettable.

—Christina J. Price,
Business Development Specialist,
Washington Mutual Bank

9:30 am – 10:45 am
“Regulator’s Round Table”

Mark Rothert
Moderator

Representatives of the Insurance Division’s of seven western states will participate in a general discussion of what the concerns and plans for insurance regulation in their states’ are. Panel will be moderated by Mark Rothert, President of Ron Rothert and Associates. Each of the representatives will be invited to make a short statement about the state of insurance regulation in their venue and the moderator will guide the discusison to encompass specific issues of interest to the Excess & Surplus Lines Market. Participants are: Commissioner Michie, Utah; Commissioner Morrison, Montana; Commissioner Molasky-Arman, Nevada, California Chief Deputy of Operations, Ward; Oregon Insurance Division Administrator, Scott Kipper; Idaho Supervisor of Consumer Affairs, McBride; Arizona Deputy Director, Marks.

Scott Kipper
Oregon Insurance Division, Administrator
Salem, OR

Scott Kipper has been administrator of the Insurance Division of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services since December 2007. Prior to coming to Oregon, Kipper served as the deputy commissioner in charge of the Office of Health Insurance for the Louisiana Department of Insurance for over two years, where he lead the development and implementation of rules following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Kipper worked as the senior regional director for the Health Insurance Association of America and America’s Health Insurance Plans from January 2001 through August 2005, where he directed legislative and regulatory efforts in a number of states, including Oregon, California, Texas and Colorado. He spent two years on the staff of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in Washington, D.C., as a health analyst, working on senior health insurance issues.

Kipper began his regulatory career at the Wyoming Department of Insurance, serving nearly five years as a life and health insurance standards consultant, including form filing review, consumer liaison and legislative duties. He started his insurance career as an independent life and health agent in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1985.

Kipper graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in Business Administration.

Gerrie L. Marks
Arizona Department of Insurance, Deputy Director
Phoenix, AZ

Ms. Marks was appointed to the position of Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Insurance in November 2003. Prior to her appointment, she served as the Executive Assistant for Regulatory Affairs since 1997. The Department’s various division heads and certain executive staff report to Ms. Marks. She participates in various NAIC committees and related functions as needed. In her capacity as Executive Assistant, Ms. Marks’ responsibilities included advising all agency divisions on regulatory and administrative matters, coordinating the Department’s legal representation by its attorneys at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and overseeing the Department’s interaction with federal and other state governmental agencies. From 1992 to 1997, Ms. Marks was an Assistant Attorney General representing the Department, as well as the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions and the Department of Real Estate.

Ms. Marks is a graduate of the University of Nebraska (B.A.) and the Arizona State University College of Law (J.D.). She is a member of the Thurgood Marshall Inn of Court, volunteers as a career counselor for Fresh Start Women’s Foundation and is an avid Phoenix Coyotes hockey and Nebraska football fan.

Gina McBride
Idaho Department of Insurance, Supervisor of Consumer Affairs
Boise, ID

With over thirty-two years of professional insurance experience, Gina is the Supervisor of the Consumer Affairs Section of the Idaho Department of Insurance. She supervises the six Consumer Affairs Officers that are responsible for consumer complaints and the Department’s outreach program.

Gina was born and raised in Alaska. She attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. In 1976, she started her insurance career as a claims secretary at a large insurance company. She has held various positions in the industry including:

• Commercial Lines Producer
• Commercial Lines Underwriter
• Surplus Lines Underwriter
• Agency Principal

Gina joined the Idaho Department of Insurance in 2000 as a Consumer Affairs Officer.

Gina holds the industry designations of LUTC Fellow, Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter and Certified Insurance Examiner. She has completed a three-year management program offered by the State of Idaho through Boise State University, and obtained her Certified Public Manager (CPM) designation.

Kent Michie
State of Utah Insurance Commissioner
Salt Lake, UT

On January 5, 2005, Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. appointed Mr. D. Kent Michie as Insurance Commissioner in the Utah Insurance Department.

Mr. Michie is a native of Utah and was educated in Salt Lake City. He graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. in Banking and Finance. He has 35 years experience in Utah business, specifically in the investment banking industry with the last sixteen years as Vice President of Zions Bank Public Finance. His investment banking career has given him deep experience and understanding of the Utah economy, local governments’ capital projects and budgets, as well as the state’s capital budget and infrastructure development program.

Mr. Michie served as State Financial Advisor from 1984 to 2005. He provided the creative concept for the development of the Utah School Bond Guaranty Program, which provides the state’s AAA bond guaranty to the bonds of Utah’s 40 school districts saving Utah property taxpayers millions of dollars. Mr. Michie served a four-year term as a member of the Salt Lake City Board of Education. He is past President of the Wasatch Front Economic Forum.

Commissioner Michie is an active member of the NAIC, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners where is serves as a member of the Executive Committee. He is also Vice Chairman of the Financial Accreditation Committee and a member of the Health and Managed Care Committee.

He is married to the former Barbara Gruman of Schenectady, New York. The Michies have four children and six grandchildren, all living in Utah.

Alice A. Molasky-Arman
State of Nevada, Commissioner of Insurance
Carson City, NV

Alice A. Molasky-Arman has served longer than any Insurance Commissioner in Nevada history. She was appointed Commissioner of Insurance on January 6, 1995. Her tenure began during the Governor Bob Miller administration, continued through that of Kenny Guinn and continues through Jim Gibbons’.

Alice has provided guidance for innovative programs, including legislation establishing a reinsurance program for health insurers -- a first for Nevada, as well as taking a leading role in Nevada’s transition toward a three-way workers’ compensation environment.

Substantial changes along with concomitant challenges have evolved in the insurance market since her appointment. The consequences of the terrorist attacks on September 11 threw Nevada’s already hard market into an insurance crisis in medical professional and contractor liability insurance. Under the direction of Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn, Alice tackled the unavailability of medical professional insurance by establishing the Medical Liability Association of Nevada (MLAN), an essential insurance association. MLAN was in operation within six weeks after its formation and quickly became a viable source for doctors seeking medical malpractice insurance.

Nevada, once thinly populated, has been the fastest-growing state in the nation for ten straight years, adding 900,000 new residents. A healthy residential construction industry is vital for Nevada’s continued growth. Costs for general liability insurance skyrocketed, and many insurers ceased writing this type of coverage. Alice responded by establishing an insurance clearinghouse, and established a Task Force to find long-range solutions for the construction industry’s insurance needs.

Alice was also instrumental in instituting a captive insurance program for Nevada by her full support of the enabling legislation in 1999. Most recently, she proposed legislation which was passed by the 2005 Legislature and signed into law by the Governor that allows a wider range of captives that can be formed and caps annual premium taxes paid by individual captives at $175,000. Taxes and registration fees for risk retention groups were also reduced by the legislation she proposed to foster the growth of captives in Nevada.

She has significantly enhanced the Division’s enforcement section by building a legal team to crack down on insurance fraud and other illegal insurance activity. Additionally, she has strengthened the financial oversight of insurers and imposed greater solvency requirements for HMO’s.

To address the growing problem of fraudulent insurance, Alice launched a statewide media campaign warning consumers about the dangers of unauthorized insurance. On a national level, she chairs the subcommittee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners which was formed for the development of a national “fake insurance” awareness campaign.”

John Morrison
Commissioner of Insurance and Securities State of Montana, State Auditor
Helena, MT

John Morrison was elected Montana State Auditor, the Commissioner of Insurance and Securities in November 2000 and re-elected in 2004. As State Auditor, John’s top priorities have been consumer protection and job creation. John and his staff have successfully prosecuted Montana’s largest securities and insurance cases, recovering millions for consumers and investors. He has worked to prevent harm to consumers and investors, especially seniors, through new programs like Invest Smart Montana. In December 2007, Commissioner Morrison was appointed to Chair the NAIC Market Conduct and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee. He also serves as a member of the Healthcare Access & Financing Steering Committee for the National Academy for State Health Policy, a term that ends in December 2010.

John has also been working to reduce the number of uninsured Montanans since taking office. The 2005 Montana Legislature approved John’s Insure Montana program that uses tax credits and pooling to make health insurance more affordable for Montana’s small businesses. John has been a leader in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. As chair of the NAIC’s Health Insurance and Managed Care Committee, John testified in the United States Senate on small business health insurance solutions. As chair of the Consumer Protection Working Group, John led the roll-out of a national internet portal for consumers (www.naic.org/cis). He also chaired the task force addressing legal issues arising from the terrorist attacks on September 11.

Prior to his election, John practiced law in Montana for thirteen years. He holds an AV rating with Martindale Hubbell, the highest mark for legal skills and professional ethics. As a member of the State Bar Association Ethics Committee, he co-authored dozens of opinions on ethical issues. He is also a past president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. He represented Montana in the state’s tobacco case, represented the New York Times and other media organizations in the “Unabomber” case, and handled many complex insurance cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts. He previously worked as a legislative aide and legal counsel in the U.S. Senate.

John received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and politics from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and a law degree from the University of Denver where he was a winner of the national trial competition and a law review editor. He has written numerous legal articles and a book, “Mavericks, The Lives and Battles of Montana Political Legends.”

John and his wife Cathy have two daughters, Allison 14, and Amanda 11.

Dennis C. Ward
California Department of Insurance, Chief Deputy of Operations
San Francisco, CA

A recent retiree, Dennis C. Ward most recently served as the Chief Deputy of Operations for the California Department of Insurance beginning in March 2007. Mr. Ward directed the day to day activities of the Department’s administration, licensing, rate regulation, consumer services, market conduct, financial surveillance and enforcement operations. As a member of Commissioner Poizner’s executive staff, Mr. Ward provided advice on all policy matters related to the Department’s operations.

Mr. Ward began his career with the California Department of Insurance in 1974 as an investigator and was appointed Chief Investigator in 1982. In 1991 he was appointed Chief of the Enforcement Division with responsibility for overseeing statewide law enforcement activities involving violations of California insurance laws by producers, insurers, and others connected with the insurance industry. In May, 2003 Mr. Ward was appointed Deputy Insurance Commissioner to oversee all administrative operations in the Department including financial management, human resources, business services, and information technology.

Prior to his employment with the Department, Mr. Ward attended the University of California at Riverside where he received his B.S. in economics in 1973 and performed post-graduate work in public administration.

10:45 am – 11:30 am
“SLIMPACT & the NRRA - Has Their Time Come?”

Excess Lines Association of New York Executive director, Daniel Mahre; Surplus Line Stamping Office of Texas executive director, Philip Ballinger and California Surplus Line Association Executive Director Ted Pierce will introduce and explain the “Surplus Lines Insurance Multi-State Compliance Compact” which has been developed by a 60 person task force consisting of insurers, regulators, legislators, insurance producers and stamping office representatives. The 50 page compact will govern the placement of Surplus lines business written with coverage applying to exposures in more than one jurisdiction on a single policy. The briefing will cover the history and development of the compact as well as the specific details of how the plan will work. Also discussed will be the related pending federal “ Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2007” currently being considered by Congress.

Philip R. Ballinger, CPCU, ASLI
Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas, Executive Director
Austin, TX 

Phil has worked at the Stamping Office in Austin since 1992, serving as its Executive Director since 2000. Prior to his arrival at the Stamping Office, he was Director of Tax Administration at the Texas Department of Insurance. During the 1980’s, he worked as a mineral and petroleum property appraiser throughout Texas.

Phil holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management and a Master of Arts degree in Energy and Mineral Resources from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a past president of the Central Texas Chapter of CPCU and currently serves on the CPCU Society’s Excess/Surplus/Specialty Lines Interest Group Committee, the national advisory committee for the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI) professional designation, and NAPSLO’s Education Committee. He has been a member of the faculty at NAPSLO’s Advanced School since 2002. Over the past eighteen months, Phil has worked on the committee drafting the proposed Surplus Lines Insurance Multi-State Compliance Compact (SLIMPACT).

Daniel Maher
Excess Line Association of New York, Executive Director and Chief Operating Office
New York, NY

Daniel Maher is the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Excess Line Association of New York (“ELANY”). The association is a statutorily-created industry advisory association responsible for facilitating and encouraging compliance with New York’s excess line law.

Mr. Maher is also an attorney licensed to practice in the states of New Jersey and New York and a number of federal courts. Prior to joining ELANY in 1997, he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel with Lancer Insurance Company for fifteen years.

Mr. Maher is a registered lobbyist in New York State and has influenced a number of changes to the New York insurance law. He holds the professional insurance designation “Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance” (ASLI) and is a frequent speaker on current issues affecting the property and casualty insurance industry.

Ted Pierce
Surplus Line Association of California, Chief Executive Officer

As Executive Director, Ted Pierce is the Chief Executive Officer responsible for carrying out SLA policies and programs, and overseeing all operations. Ted reports to the Chairman and works directly with the thirteen-member Executive Committee and the California Department of Insurance in addition to handling external relations with legislators and insurance industry trade associations. Ted’s other association responsibilities include coordination of the SLA strategic plan and staff liaison to SLA functional committees.

TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008

8:30 am – 9:20 am
“The Essentials of Sustainability”

Jill Sughrue, ARM
Sustain-NW, Professional Consultant & Trainer
Vancouver, WA

Ms. Sughrue will cover recent litigation and settlements, global threats, sustainability and insurer responses to climate changes.

Jill Sughrue, a professional consultant and trainer with Sustain-NW, spent over twenty-seven years in the risk management arena, including sixteen years with Portland General Electric (PGE) as their corporate insurance director from 1990 to 2005. Prior to joining PGE, Jill was an account executive for five years with Alexander & Alexander, Inc., following six years in the corporate insurance department at Evans Products Company.

An active member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) for many years, Jill was a national chapter mentor, the Oregon chapter board president, and an ARM (Associate in Risk Management) instructor. She has conducted workshops on sustainability as it relates to risk management, purchasing, education, and climate change, and is an adjunct instructor at Clark College in Vancouver and a member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP).

Among other projects, Jill is assisting the City of Vancouver with development of their sustainability strategy and metrics, and facilitating a certification workshop for Earth Advantage, Inc. A coach with the Oregon Natural Step Network, and a volunteer with the Northwest Earth Institute, Jill is one of 1,000 presenters with The Climate Project trained by Nobel-laureate and former Vice President Al Gore.

In spring 2007, Jill founded a monthly networking forum for local businesses, educators and government representatives to promote and advance sustainable practices in Clark County. In April 2007, she co-hosted the STEP IT UP Global Warming rally at Esther Short Park in Vancouver as part of the National Day of Climate Action.

A Northwest native, Jill and her husband, Patrick, designed and self-constructed their super-insulated home in 1998 using many reclaimed materials. They purchase 100% renewable power from the local electric utility, are in the process of hooking up a solar hot-water system, and are working diligently to reduce their ecological-footprint. For fun, Jill enjoys films, gardening, sewing, novels, dancing and a friendly game of poker.

9:30 am – 10:30 am
“The Surplus Line Industry: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”

Gerald J. Sullivan
Gerald J. Sullivan & Associates, Chairman
Los Angeles, CA

The focus of Mr. Sullivan’s presentation will be the metrics of the small sub-set of the insurance industry represented by the contra-cyclical surplus lines industry which account for about 14% for the overall P&C industry.

Jerry is Chairman of Gerald J. Sullivan & Associates, the focus company for all members of The Sullivan Group. With over thirty-five years of in-depth and extensive experience in numerous aspects of the insurance business (regulatory, investment, company, claims, program manager, reinsurance and wholesale intermediary), Jerry brings to the Group unique skills, ability and contacts as leader of this outstanding organization.

Having grown up in an insurance family, Jerry moved to Southern California in the early ‘70’s where he worked with George Walker in the development and expansion of a varied book of property & casualty business including the largest medical professional liability insurance program in the U.S. During this time, Jerry also oversaw a large book of treaty reinsurance business on behalf of the family reinsurance intermediary firm, John F. Sullivan Co. In the early ‘80’s, he established the company that today is the core of The Sullivan Group and, along with various partners, developed a number of new companies and insurance products such as structured settlements.

With heavy emphasis on service to both clients and markets, the Group has grown into one of the largest privately owned brokerages in the country providing services in the wholesale, reinsurance and retail areas of the business.

Education:
• University of Washington – B.A. Business Administration
• University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School – MBA, Insurance

Affiliations/Associations:
• California Department of Insurance: Agents & Brokers Advisory Committee, 1995-Present. Task Force on Affiliated Companies and Transactions, 1995.
• Los Angeles County Risk Management Committee: Member, 1973-1988. Chairman, 1983-1988.
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners: Industry Advisory Committee for Reinsurance, 1979-1992. Industry Advisory Committee for Surplus Lines, 1980-1993.
• Society of Chartered Life Underwriters, Member.
• Society of Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters, Member.
• Surplus Lines Association of California: Chairman, 1979 & 1995. Executive Committee, 1977-1981 & 1989-1996. Chairman, Security Committee 1976-1983. Chairman, Legislative - Committee 1992-1994. Stamping Office Committee, 1997.
• Surplus Lines Coalition: Chairman, 1993-1995.

10:30 am – 11:30 am
“Insurance at a Crossroad: Government, the Capital Markets and the Industry”

Ernst N. Csiszar
MasTec, Inc., Director
Chicago, IL

Drawing on his extensive background as an industry spokesperson and a regulator, Ernst Csiszar will present a no-holds-bared personal analysis of the current state of the insurance marketplace and his predictions and suggestions for the future. The presentation will be tailored to incorporate changes in the marketplace up to July 2008. Mr. Csiszar’s credentials assure an informative and potentially controversial presentation.

His background:
Since October 2005 Mr. Csiszar has been a director of MasTec, a leading specialty contractor for communications companies, utilities and governments throughout the United States and Canada.Prior to that Mr. Csiszar was president and chief executive officer of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, the property and casualty insurance industry’s principal trade association. From 1999 until 2004, Mr. Csiszar served as a two-term director of insurance for the State of South Carolina and as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Mr. Csiszar also was the president and chief executive officer of Seibels Bruce Group, Inc. of Columbia, S.C., from 1995 to 1998. Previously, he was a visiting professor at the School of Business at the University of South Carolina and served as managing co-director of the European investment-banking firm Holborn Holdings Corporation in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Csiszar earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1971 and a bachelor of laws degree in 1974 from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.