Just before its annual convention this month, the InternshipCommittee of the National Association of Professional Surplus LinesOffices, Ltd. selected two scholarship winners among 15 Americancollege students who interned with members this summer.

Later in the year, the committee will announce its choices–oneto work next summer in London, the other in Bermuda.

While the annual London scholarship reflects the decades-longrelationship between the American and London markets, the Bermudascholarship is new this year.

That's a sign of growing interest in the potential of theBermuda market, according to International Committee Chair MatthewNichols, president of All-Risks Ltd. in Hunt Valley, Md., andCommittee Member Alan Waring, president of Hamilton, Bermuda-basedCrump International, Ltd.

NAPSLO established the International Committee almost two yearsago because “almost every NAPSLO member does some part of his orher business in the London or the Bermuda marketplace,” said Mr.Nichols. The committee's purpose “is to promote an exchange forideas, business perspectives, regulatory issues,” he said.

As one of a small group of wholesalers in the booming Bermudainsurance marketplace, Mr. Waring pushed for the Bermudascholarship, and a Bermuda visit from NAPSLO's Executive DirectorRichard Bouhan and Mary Ellen Rozzell, outgoing president, duringher tenure as NAPSLO president this past year.

The NAPSLO visit was “timely because a couple of U.S. carriershad started to focus on wholesale producer business here,” and theNAPSLO group was able to meet with lawyers and with markets todiscuss this, Mr. Waring said, noting that the NAPSLO executivesmade a trip to London as well.

Commenting on the inception of a Bermuda scholarship, Mr. Waringsaid he values international internships, adding that thescholarship is important because the Bermuda market operatesdifferently from the London market.

“For many brokers and underwriters, doing businessinternationally is something they are not used to. If they don't doit everyday, they don't understand the nuances,” he said. “But oncethey've experienced working in that market, they are morecomfortable, more effective and more able to be a reference fortheir colleagues.”

Regarding the differences, Mr. Waring said that London, from anAmerican perspective, is based on Lloyd's' market–a historicsubscription market where a lead underwriter sets the terms writinga “slip” that the broker takes to other firms until he finds enoughwho are willing to opt in. In London, capacity depends mainly onthe reinsurance that's in place.

In Bermuda, however, the market is driven by individual carrierswhose huge capitalization enables them to offer limits of $25million or $50 million or even $100 million without reinsurance.The broker's approach, therefore, is different.

Mr. Waring's perspective comes from a retail and wholesaleinsurance career that has included five years in Ireland, 11 inLondon and 13 in Bermuda.

Given Bermuda's position as the leading captive domicile, Mr.Waring said part of his mission at Crump International involves“developing an awareness in the wholesale broker community of howcaptives can form an integral part of solving problems forclients.”

During the business meeting at the annual convention, Mr. Waringwas presented with the Dana Roehrig (Past President's) Award torecognize his efforts to make Crump the first host of a Bermudaintern in 2009 and to introduce NAPSLO executives to Bermudaassociation officials, markets and leaders during their visit.

Letha Heaton and Robert Sargent, co-chairs of the Communications& Technology Committee were also honored–receiving thePresidents Award to recognize their efforts to launch an educationcampaign to build awareness of the value of wholesale brokers.

The education campaign, scaled down from a more ambitiousadvertising effort being considered earlier this the year, willreach out to retail brokers and corporate risk managers. The effortwill illustrate the ways in which wholesale brokers bring value byproviding both the expertise and markets needed to place specialtyrisks.

The campaign follows a NAPSLO January 2008 survey of retailagents and brokers that showed an overall positive attitude towardworking with wholesale brokers.

“There was a misperception that market trending reflected a lackof confidence in wholesalers,” rather than the soft market, saidLetha Heaton, senior vice president of marketing for Markel Corp.in Deerfield, Ill.

Effectively campaigning to improve on the unexpectedly highsatisfaction numbers–82 percent of agents were satisfied and 78percent of agents ranked the brokers as above average–required ashift in the committee's approach.

A broad advertising campaign, Ms. Heaton said, could have costas much as $1 million, noting that the committee ultimately decidedto opt for a targeted marketing/public relations campaign “with aprice tag in excess of $100,000.”

The high satisfaction levels mean the committee is now seekingincremental, rather than dramatic, changes in customersatisfaction. “Moving the needle a little bit” can be even morechallenging, she said. “If it's not really broken, you have to becareful not to fix it the wrong way.”

After several months of research and planning, the committeelaunched the campaign in mid-July, bringing on Gary Kimball ofKimball Communications in Easton, Pa., to help flesh out andimplement the plan. It includes speaking engagements, bylinedarticles, news releases and media interviews, all aimed atincreasing the flow of business to wholesalers, Heaton said.

In addition to Ms. Heaton and Mr. Sargent of Mercator RiskServices in Hartford, several other NAPSLO members were honored ata business meeting during the annual convention on Sept. 12.

Thomas Mulligan of Western World Insurance in Franklin Lakes,N.J., who is chair of NAPSLO's Legislative Committee received theRichard M. Bouhan Legislative Advocacy Award.

Marshall Kath, chairman of Dallas-based Colemont, received theCharles A. McAlear/NAPSLO Industry Award for his contributions tothe industry.

Mr. Kath, whose NAPSLO efforts have included a stint as chair ofthe Legislative Committee, teaching at the NAPSLO Advanced School,serving on the board of the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO EducationalFoundation, and serving this past year as NAPSLO treasurer, alsobecame secretary at the annual meeting.

John Wood of Specialty Risk Associates in Shreveport, La. becameNAPSLO's president, and Dale Pilkington of Colony Insurance inRichmond, Va. became vice president.

The efforts of NAPSLO's Career Awareness Committee were alsovisible at the annual meeting, with the committee sponsoring thefirst-ever Under 40 Reception for younger members.

The committee, which was spun off last year from theCommunications & Technology Committee, is charged not just withthe task of attracting young people to various disciplines in thesurplus lines industry, but with championing with careeradvancement for younger NAPSLO members.

More than 200 young E&S professionals attended the UnderForty reception, according to Event Co-chair Kristen Taylor.

“We're looking to poll the group to see if there's an interestin a permanent under-40 group,” said Ms. Taylor, national marketingdirector at USG Insurance Services in Pittsburgh, before theevent.

She distributed a questionnaire to learn what young attendeeswant from NAPSLO in the way of activities, regional events, aseparate Web site and networking opportunities with peers.

In addition, the Career Awareness Committee worked on campusrecruiting, a recruiting video and a job portal, this yearaccording to the committee's chairman, Steven Gross, who is alsoCEO of Metro Insurance Services in Springfield, N.J.

Focusing on the ongoing education of participants in the surpluslines segment of the industry, the NAPSLO schools are making somechanges as well, according to Ms. Rozzell, NAPSLO's outgoingpresident.

Ms. Rozzell said NAPSLO's education committee, collaboratingwith the American Association of Managing General Agents this year,has worked to introduce continuing education credits for the NAPSLOE&S and Advanced Schools.

In addition, NAPSLO is also working on a senior symposium whichis slated for February 2009, she said.

The symposium will be geared to potential “C-levels” identifiedby companies, she said, adding that the symposium is set to takeplace at the University of Virginia.

(Additional reporting by Susanne Sclafane and CarolineMcDonald.)