American Association of Managing General Agents officials said they are working to form closer ties with other insurance industry associations in an expansion of national lobbying efforts.

The comments came during a press conference held here by AAMGA President Thomas A. Albrecht, also president of Southern Insurance Underwriters, Montgomery, Ala., at AAMGA's 82nd annual meeting.

With Mr. Albrecht on a panel were Euclid Black, AAMGA incoming president and president of Black/White Associates in Henderson, Nev.; Curtis Anderson, AAMGA president-elect and president of Risk Placement Services in Scottsdale; and Bernard G. Heinze, director of King of Prussia, Pa.-based AAMGA.

A few years ago the membership of the AAMGA expressed the view that the association needed greater involvement in government affairs, said Mr. Albrecht.

Individual MGAs are involved at the state level, he said, but with insurance taking a higher profile at the federal level, more involvement was needed by the association.

Recognizing the interconnection of issues, the association decided it would begin meeting with other groups, beginning with the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd. and expanding from there.

He said the executive committee of the AAMGA now meets twice a year with NAPSLO's executive committee to discuss common issues.

The outreach has been extended to the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, the Professional Insurance Agents of America and others, he said.

Of one recent meeting he said, “It was very enlightening to hear someone from outside of our association talking about our strength and weaknesses,” said Mr. Albrecht. “I thought it was very constructive.”

“It is strictly strength in numbers outside of our individual states,” said Mr. Anderson.

Mr. Black noted that all of the associations have “keen interest” in what is happening in the industry and that to have different perspectives on issues gives greater insight to finding solutions. “We are all pretty closely related,” he said.

“There are issues of commonality that pervade horizontally between many of the trade associations,” said Mr. Heinze. “We invite them to come to all of our meetings,” he said, adding the Association of Professional Insurance Woman and the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers to the list of associations to which AAMGA is reaching out.

He said those associations have knowledge and resources so that, together, all can effectively deal with legislative and business issues they all face.

Mr. Heinze noted that the only way to effectively lobby before Congress is by being an advocate and producing facts and figures aimed at persuading legislators to support your stance. He added that while there may be disagreements, the benefits of working together on common goals far outweigh their differences.

One bill currently in the Senate, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (S-929), Mr. Heinze said, may have a hearing in the summer. To improve efficiency, the bill would allow surplus lines carriers to pay taxes to a single state instead of the individual states they operate in.

The House has already passed a similar measure (H.R.-1065).

He said the association has not taken a stand on the reinsurance collateralization demanded of foreign reinsurers, a requirement which does not apply to domestic reinsurers.

Turning to other hot topics, the AAMGA executives said the apparent increase in mergers and acquisitions within the MGA community is driven in part by small firms' realization they don't have the capital to invest in the necessary technology to keep costs down and properly service clients.

However, Mr. Heinze pointed out that while some older MGAs are leaving the business, there is an influx of new MGAs coming in. To keep that influx of new blood coming in, the association is promoting education programs for current and future members.

Mr. Albrecht said the industry needs to do a better job of recruiting new members and that greater focus must be placed on that subject.

On a general question about the state of the market, Mr. Black said the current soft market is no different from others in the past. What differentiates this market is the advent of technology that allows for the faster flow of information and greater efficiency.

The most important aspect of the business, said Mr. Anderson, is the importance of relationships built with agent clients. “No computer can ever replace the relationships we all have,” he said.

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AAMGA Aims At Better Links With Other Trade Groups

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