New surplus lines group honors predecessors’ leaders

San Diego

SAN DIEGO — The newly created Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association honored the former presidents of its predecessor organizations at the closing general session of its first Annual Marketplace Wednesday in San Diego.

Kansas City, Missouri-based WSIA was created Aug. 1 with the merger of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices Ltd. and the American Association of Managing General Agents.

Corinne Jones, executive vice president of Redondo Beach, California-based AmWINS Access, a division of the AmWINS Group Inc., is the new organization’s first president.

“Maybe there have been some bumps, but they’re not evident,” Hank Haldeman, president of Anaheim, California-based excess and surplus lines broker G.J. Sullivan Co. and former NAPSLO president said, discussing the merger.

“The conference as our first WSIA event seems to be running flawlessly,” he said. “I’m not hearing anybody expressing any problems or issues that have arisen as a result of the merger.”

“We like the idea of having the industry speak with one voice,” said John G. Clarke, senior vice president of marketing for Richmond, Virginia-based James River Insurance Co. “It makes sense” for the two leading organizations in the excess and surplus lines market to come together, he said.

The keynote speaker at the closing general session was television personality Randi Zuckerberg, who is sister of Facebook Inc. founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

There were 4,300 registered attendees at the San Diego meeting. Next year’s conference is scheduled for Sept. 23-26 in Atlanta.