International Insurance Society To Honor Tuan, Gonz?lez de Frutos

IIS is also honoring Unespa President Pilar Gonz?lez de Frutos with the Commissioner General Award for her leadership in serving as chairman of the 2010 IIS Seminar organizing committee.

The organization's John S. Bickley Founder's Award Gold Medal for Excellence that is going to Professor Tuan honors individuals who have made "a singular and lasting, innovative contribution to insurance thought, which has been adopted by the industry or society," IIS said.

"Dr. Tuan's vision was instrumental in bringing actuarial science to China, and today thousands of students in Chinese universities are studying insurance, thanks to efforts initiated by Tuan," said IIS Chairman Brian Duperreault.

Mr. Tuan initiated the first and most successful effort to provide the actuarial, managerial and technical education required to develop a thriving insurance industry and a sound social insurance system in the People's Republic of China, said IIS.

In 1979, Mr. Tuan began assisting China's redevelopment by initiating efforts on several fronts, including the establishment of university programs to teach actuarial and insurance knowledge and skills necessary for a modern economy.

In addition, IIS noted that he had played a significant role in the development of programs enhancing contacts and transferring knowledge between officials, academicians, insurance practitioners and others in the West and in China.

Developments in China, it was noted, inspired others in the region and as a consequence, actuarial and insurance education has spread rapidly to other countries. Mr. Tuan, who came to the United States in 1949, holds a doctorate and after early work in the insurance industry has spent most of his career in teaching.

Ms. Gonz?lez de Frutos has served as president of Unespa, the Spanish Insurance Business Association in Madrid, since 2003. Between January 1997 and November 2002, Ms. Gonz?lez de Frutos was director-general for Insurance.

She has also served as operations director at the Insurance Compensation Consortium and as vice-president of the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organizations, the major representative institution for the Spanish business community.

Ms. Gonz?lez de Frutos is also a member of the Advisor Board of the Comisi?n Nacional del Mercado de Valores, which supervises and inspects the Spanish stock markets and the activities of market participants.

New York-based IIS, a nonprofit corporation founded in 1965, claims a membership of 900 leading insurance executives, academicians and other industry professionals, representing 90 countries.

The group facilitates a global exchange of ideas, primarily through its Web site www.IISonline.org and its annual seminar. Seminar registration is available online.