Access to high-quality education programs is a valuable benefitof NAPSLO membership. Since 1990, the Association's educationprogram has evolved from just an initial onsite E&S course to afull suite of programs that are designed to meet the ongoingcontinuing education needs of member firms and their employees.

Today the education opportunities include six on-site programsand two online programs that are each geared specifically to thesurplus lines industry.

NAPSLO's original course, Excess and Surplus Lines (E&S), isa three-day program designed as an introductory offering forinsurance professionals with less than five years of surplus linesexperience. E&S program students gain a basic understanding ofhow excess and surplus lines insurance works in the marketplace.NAPSLO Director of Education Randall Jones says E&S studentsanalyze and discuss real-world issues and leave the program with afoundational understanding of the dynamics and relationshipsbetween surplus lines brokers and carriers. The E&S programwill next be offered June 4-7, 2017.

While no program has any prerequisites and each is designed as astandalone career-development tool, the NAPSLO Marcus PayneAdvanced E&S program, offered each fall, is the next step inthe NAPSLO education progression for many NAPSLO members.

“Advanced E&S Program participants learn about industryregulatory issues, marketing, the claims process and reinsuranceimpacts on the specialty insurance industry, in a group setting,”Jones said. “Advanced attendees spend three days learning fromindustry professionals who have extensive experience. They alsohear from a panel of industry executives, who impart real-worldexpertise in a discussion format.” Both E&S and The MarcusPayne Advanced E&S Programs are held in St. Louis, Mo. The nextAdvanced E&S Program will be offered Nov. 6-9, 2016.

Education program expanded in 2015

The NAPSLO education program was expanded in 2015 with theintroduction of Surplus Lines Management, which is offered incollaboration with Emory University's Goizueta Business School inAtlanta by professors from Emory as well as industry professionals.The program has sold out both years and will be offered again inFebruary 2017.

Joel Cavaness, Education Committee Co-Chair and President, RiskPlacement Services Inc., said that Surplus Lines Management was animportant addition to the NAPSLO education program because it helpsmeet a previously undeveloped opportunity to specifically targetprofessionals who have been in the industry for a number of yearsand have extensive industry experience, but are relatively new to amanagement role and can benefit from management training that isspecific to E&S issues.

The Surplus Lines Consultative Selling and Negotiations program– which is offered in a small group environment and is specificallytailored to real-world E&S transaction situations betweenwholesalers and retail agents as well as wholesalers and marketunderwriters, is offered regionally throughout the year.

The Consultative Selling and Negotiations Program is presentedin conjunction with Richardson, a leading global sales training andstrategy execution company. “Participants in this program learn ina very interactive setting and they leave with an improved salesprocess,” said Cavaness. “Attendees develop a customer-focusedapproach and some tools that help them be better prepared for salescalls and they learn how to improve their follow-up and close, aswell as specific negotiating tools that can be used when working onsurplus lines accounts, which is key.”

The capstone experience in NAPSLO's current education program isthe Executive Leadership Summit (ELS). ELS is designed forsenior-level executives with extensive experience in the industryand in managing employees. The program is presented at theUniversity of Virginia by Darden School of Business faculty inCharlottesville, Va. ELS attendees enhance their ability tosuccessfully implement strategic thinking, planning and leadershipand leverage that in change management at the personal, team andorganizational level.

“ELS students are typically experienced and senior-level teammembers,” Jones said. “We sometimes have the misperception thatprofessionals at that level in their careers have it all figuredout, but we hear time and time again that the experience isincredibly impactful for participants and they always report thatthe shift in thinking that results from the program far exceeds thetime investment.” He added that the opportunity to collaborate withother executives during the program also yields great networkingopportunities for attendees.

New class in 2016: Effective Sales Coaching

In late 2016 NAPSLO will introduce Effective Sales Coaching tothe existing programs. The Association has partnered withRichardson to create a custom-tailored program with the objectivethat participants gain the skills and strategies to build acoaching culture in their organizations that drivesperformance.

Harry Johnson, Education Committee Co-Chair and COO, Johnson& Johnson, Inc., said the goal of Effective Sales Coaching isto improve participants' performance around achieving theirbusiness' goals. “We think that members who attend will find thatthey are not only better able to meet their own goals, but alsohave a better ability to help team members become responsible fortheir own development,” he noted. “This program is designed to helppeople assess their current approach to coaching others and thenidentify their own strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas forimprovement.” The first program will be held in Kansas City on Dec.13, 2016.

In addition to the full slate of on-site programs, NAPSLO offerstwo online training courses that can be accessed at the NAPSLOwebsite at any time by members. The Surplus LinesFundamentals course was developed collaboratively by NAPSLO and TheInstitutes. The course is a primer for anyone interested inlearning the basics of how the surplus lines market works. Johnsonsaid that the course is an ideal starting point in training newhires.

The second online course, Surplus Lines Compliance, is designedfor professionals with less than two years of compliance jobtraining or experience and covers a variety of material includingan overview of surplus lines licensing, diligent search, taxremittance and policy disclosure. This program was recentlyreformatted with an interactive HTML format, which Jones saidallows brokers to interact with the content in a way thatreinforces learning while using a modern and fun instructionaldesign.

“NAPSLO subsidizes the cost of these online programs for membersand students can elect to earn CE credits in both courses,” Johnsonadded. “We believe that making these courses easily accessible formembers is an important investment in the future of theindustry.”

For more information about all the NAPSLO education programs,visit www.napslo.org.