AT THIS month's Annual Meeting & Seminars of the CPCUSociety, in Nashville, Tenn., Betsey L. Brewer, CPCU, will begin aone-year term as the Society's president. Ms. Brewer, who hasworked in insurance brokerage since the 1970s, is senior vicepresident and a partner in The Rule Company, in Pasadena, Calif.She also has been active in the Insurance Brokers and Agents of theWest and the Los Angeles chapter of the Independent InsuranceAgents & Brokers of America.

Recently we spoke with Ms. Brewer about her involvement with theSociety, and how her background as a broker might be reflected inher year at its helm. Following is an edited transcript of ourconversation.

AA&B: How did you become involved with theCPCU program?

Brewer: It was quite by accident. I started outin the industry as an accounts receivable clerk in a cardealership's insurance office. Then I worked for an insuranceagency that had a couple of producers who were CPCUs, whichacquainted me with the designation. After I moved to anotheragency, I met a woman who had started her CPCU studies and wasenthusiastic about the program. “This is the one you do,” she toldme. “This is one that people recognize as an accomplishment.” So Istarted with the management, accounting and finance class, since Iwas familiar with those subjects from college. This was back whenthe CPCU program had five parts. I received my designation in1981.

AA&B: What did you find most beneficialabout the program?

Brewer: Everything. First, I've always workedon the agency side and never for a carrier, so I learned a lot whenI took the company operations class. The insurance law class alsowas helpful. In each job I've had, I've found the information Ilearned to be useful.

AA&B: How has being a member of the CPCUSociety benefited you?

Brewer: Oh, that's very important. The Societyhas been my “Rolodex.”

AA&B: Could you explain?

Brewer: You get to know a lot of people in yourlocal chapter-not only your competitors, but also underwriters andclaims people, and they can be great resources. Our Los Angeleschapter is blessed to have a CPA and an attorney who are CPCUs, whoI've called upon for information. At the national level, if youstart attending the annual meetings and different regionalseminars, you start meeting another group of people with whom tonetwork.

These contacts can be extremely useful. For instance, a fewyears ago, I had a large account that obtained worker compensationinsurance from Legion Insurance Co., which filed for bankruptcy.The client was having problems getting information from variousstate guaranty funds. Through my involvement in the Society, I knewthe head of the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance GuarantyAssociation. I e-mailed him some questions and had answers for myclient within 24 hours.

AA&B: Does The Rule Company encourage itsemployees to pursue the CPCU designation?

Brewer: Yes. We consider continuing educationto be very important. All our account managers-and even our accountassistants, whenever possible-attend continuing education classes,which we conduct in the office. We also encourage employees topursue outside designations, like the CPCU, because doing sobenefits them. The designation is something they can take with themthroughout their careers.

AA&B: Does The Rule Company pay expensesfor employees pursuing the CPCU designation?

Brewer: Yes. Because people sometimes drop aCPCU class and not tell anyone-which gets a little expensive-we askemployees taking classes to sign “promissory notes.” If theycomplete the class-not necessarily pass the national exam-the noteis forgiven. But if they drop out, they have to reimburse us. Wedon't make passing the national exam a requirement, because if youfail it on your first try, you can sit for it again. Some peopledon't do well on tests, so we give them a couple ofopportunities.

Employees have to study on their own time, but as we get closeto the end of a semester, if we have a couple of people in classes,we offer to take lunch together and go through questions andproblems. Or we might take a half-hour or an hour at the end of aworkday and go over material. We want them to succeed.

AA&B: Is there a theme for your presidency,or for the year coming up?

Brewer: Yes. It's called “CPCU: Destination ofChoice.” Next year's annual meeting, at which my term will end,will be held in Honolulu, obviously a “destination of choice.” Butmore to the point, the theme conveys that we choose to be CPCUs. Wechoose to give up our time to study, to take the tests and toparticipate in the Society. So being a CPCU is a “chosen”thing.

AA&B: As the Society's new president, whatare your chief objectives?

Brewer: As a broker, I'm concerned about thequality of personnel we have available to hire, both for operationsand perpetuation. We don't have a lot of people getting insurancedegrees. There are not even that many universities offering them,especially on the West Coast. I'm concerned about having peopleproperly educated and trained, so they will buy into and be part ofthe insurance business. It's a great business, after all. The worldcan't move without insurance.

So my main emphasis will be on candidate development, andencouraging people to start the CPCU program. We're telling peoplethat obtaining the designation is not as hard as it looks. It'smainly a matter of deciding to devote the necessary time to it. Youhave to want to do that. I know an awful lot of people who havetime for a game of golf, but they tell me they don't have time tostudy for the CPCU. Obviously golf is more fun, but maybe the CPCUprogram would be more valuable.

AA&B: How has the Society's membership beentrending?

Brewer: The Society's membership is about26,000, which is down slightly from its peak. We expect it to goback up next year, however.

AA&B: From people working for companiesthat send their employees to the annual meeting in the year theyget their designations?

Brewer: Right. Everybody wants to go to Hawaii,so we'll have a lot of people finishing their programs nextyear.

AA&B: Does The Rule Company send its newCPCU designees to the annual convention?

Brewer: Yes, we pay for the trip to the annualmeeting, for new designees and their spouses/significantothers.

AA&B: As a broker, do you think you bring adifferent perspective to the job of CPCU president than somebodywho works for an insurance company or other type oforganization?

Brewer: Definitely. Agents and brokers have tokeep pretty tight schedules. Our lives are connected to expirationlists and new-business goals. My employer loves me, but if I don'trenew my accounts and bring in new business, there's a little lovelost there. So I have a tight rein on my schedule, and I'm fairlywell-organized. I don't like to waste people's time-mine or theirs.If I have something important to share with people, I like to do soquickly and succinctly, and not give them a novel.

AA&B: Are you going to be speaking todifferent groups, trying to encourage people outside of the CPCUSociety to pursue the designation?

Brewer: Absolutely. I've already spoken to theLatin-American Agents Association at their June convention in LongBeach. We're also going to have people at the African-AmericanAgents Association's national convention and are coordinating withthe National Association of Insurance Women and agents'associations.

AA&B: Are you a member of one of theSociety's interest sections?

Brewer: I am a member of both the Agent &Broker and Risk Management interest sections.

AA&B: Do you or the Society have any plansfor these interest sections?

Brewer: We have a task force that's lookinginto the sections. They're assessing their value and determininghow they might be opened up to other people within the Society-andpossibly to people outside the Society. The sections have evolved agreat deal in the last 15 years, and it's time to take another lookat them. About 25% to 30% of the Society's members are members ofsections.

AA&B: What do you like most about the CPCUSociety? What do you see as its strengths?

Brewer: The people. I'm pretty much a peopleperson, and I've met some absolutely brilliant people I would neverhave had the opportunity to meet without the Society. There are alot of things you learn by interacting with people around thecountry that make you a better broker for your clients.

AA&B: How can the Society be improved?

Brewer: Sometimes the Society, like anyorganization, gets a bit rigid. I think sometimes the localchapters feel that. So one thing we've been working on is givingthe chapters more leeway to do what is best for their members andto earn “points” toward various awards and recognition.