Charles McAlear, a founder of NAPSLO, dies

Charles A. McAlear, a founder of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, died Tuesday at age 87 at his home in South Haven, Michigan.

The cause of death was not disclosed. Mr. McAlear was NAPSLO’s first president, serving two one year-terms in 1975 and 1976, according to a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Missouri-based Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association, which was created with NAPSLO’s 2017 merger with the American Association of Managing General Agents.

WSIA’s highest award, the Charles A. McAlear Industry Award, was renamed in his honor in 1994.

Mr. McAlear, who was born in April 22, 1931, in Bay City, Michigan, served as a corporal in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and later earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, according to a statement issued by his funeral home.

Mr. McAlear, who founded McAlear Associates, a wholesale insurance brokerage firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1970, retired in 1987.

He is the author of two books, “The Foundering Ark” and “Reappraising China Redefining Literacy.”

Mr. McAlear is survived by his wife, three children and seven grandchildren.