I am delighted to report that more than 3,100 people have registered for this year's convention. Despite the economic times and industry cycle that we're all enduring, your attendance once again demonstrates that this meeting is one of your most important business events.

For many years, NAPSLO has been working on ways to improve the regulatory framework we must work under and we have focused on getting the surplus lines reforms in the NonAdmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act enacted into law. With financial services reforms under discussion, the leadership efforts of the our Legislative Committee, NAPSLO staff and B&D Consulting (NAPSLO's Washington D.C. representative) enabled us to use this opportunity to secure inclusion of the NRRA into the bill, which was signed into law this past July and will take effect next July.

The surplus lines modernization provisions will make access for insurance consumers to the surplus lines market quicker, more efficient and the payment of surplus lines premium taxes to the states less burdensome for the consumer and broker. The legislation also establishes that only one state, the home state of the insured, can regulate a multistate surplus lines transaction.