Q: Last year, the record-breaking attendance you had atNAPSLO's annual conference in San Diego seemed to set the tone thatbusiness was gathering steam again, and the sentiment among thosewith whom we spoke seemed to be that “This is a good time to be inExcess & Surplus lines.” How would you characterize the overallmood this year? What are you seeing and hearing, and how would youcharacterize the state of the industry from your ownperspective?

All of the numbers are up: Attendance here has again increasedthis year; A.M. Best's report is out, indicating continued growthin surplus lines premium; we see continued strength in surpluslines ratings … things are on the rise. We see continued growth in2014 surplus lines premiums, and the stats reported by stampingoffices has also been very favorable. I also continue to see theoptimism, hear the positive comments about the industry—and it'sstill a very good business to be in.

Q: It would seem that one of the greatest challenges forthe wholesale/surplus lines industry today is to effectivelycommunicate to the retail community as well as the buyer the valuethe wholesale broker brings to the transaction. How do youaccomplish that, both as an organization and at the brokerlevel?

At the organizational level, we've reinvigorated our wholesalevalue messaging campaign. Last year we changed our logo and weintroduced a new tag line when describing what our members do,“Where complex risk meets innovative solutions.”

We're leveraging all that in editorial stories, in our printadvertising and our online advertising to emphasize that these areexpert brokers. Expert underwriters. Theyinnovate and create new products. They are skilled at creatinghighly tailored solutions to some of the most non-standardinsurance risks. They sell specialty solutions. It's different thanthe standard, off-the-shelf form-approved policy. The people here[at the conference] are coming up with innovative solutions tounique needs. High risks, high-capacity needs—they're the ones whoare solving those problems.

So that's what we're doing organizationally, and the good newsfor our brokers from us is, they can carry that message forwardwhen they're talking with their retailers. Our message is strong,and something our brokers can leverage in telling their story totheir clients.

Q: Another consideration is the abundant amount ofcapacity that exists in the industry, and some suggest that capitalcould conceivably be put to work at a level that satisfies theowners of that capital without marginalizing the business that iscurrently available. I'm curious as to your thoughts onthat.

You've got some people who are concerned with capacity, and manywho aren't. More capital means more opportunity, more opportunityto innovate and create new product, and it certainly doesn't seemto impact our members' ability to operate successfully. It's anexciting thing, not a concerning thing.

Q: NAPSLO's Next Generation initiative is, for my money,the bleeding edge in attracting and cultivating young talent in away that other organizations would envy. How does the E&Sindustry differ in that respect, in attracting young people to sellinsurance solutions that aren't of the standard ilk?

That's the exciting part of it. Telling the story of theinsurance industry to students by people who have been in thisbusiness for years, what opportunities came to light for them,explaining to them how they got into it and sharing with them theexciting things they get to do, it lights them up. It's something[young people] become very interested in doing. The challengingpart is just getting our members into the classroom andcoordinating that. The easy part is, once students get a chance tohear the stories, they're calling and they want to know more.That's the exciting part for us.