NU Online News Service, May 10, 2:32 p.m. EDT
David M. Gelia was named chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc. during its recent 128th annual business meeting.
Mr. Gelia is executive vice-president of United Insurance Agency in Amherst, N.Y., and has served IIABNY as its chair-elect, secretary-treasurer and as a regional director representing the association's members in the central and western parts of the state.
He has held several offices of the Independent Insurance Agents Association of Western New York and served on the advisory boards of insurance companies such as Kemper, Atlantic Mutual and Travelers.
The IIABNY said Mr. Gelia in his acceptance speech vowed to focus on stopping the New York Insurance Department's new Regulation 194, which requires insurance producers to disclose certain information about their compensation to their clients.
He criticized the regulation as "incredibly burdensome and unnecessary" and termed it "a remedy for an illness that simply does not exist."
The association said Mr. Gelia recognized that the association must prepare its members for the possibility of having to comply, but he added, "We will at the same time do everything in our power, utilizing all our constitutional judicial rights, to challenge and defeat or significantly change Regulation 194."
IIABNY and the Council of Insurance Brokers of Greater New York have said they will take joint legal action against the regulation.
Other officers elected and re-elected to IIABNY's executive committee for one-year terms included:
o Christopher A. Brassard, executive vice-president and director of Ten Eyck Group in Albany, N.Y., was elected chair-elect.
o Thomas J. Crowley, vice-president of Maran Corporate Risk Associates in Southampton, N.Y., was elected secretary-treasurer.
The DeWitt, N.Y.-based association also announced the award of several honors to individuals for their work.
Kathleen A. Weinheimer, senior vice-president of industry relations and education for IIABNY, and Mark J. Hagan, president of Perry & Carroll Inc. in Elmira, N.Y., received the Chair's Distinguished Service Award. They were honored for their work on the New York Insurance Department's new regulation on producer compensation transparency.
The association also bestowed the following awards:
o Meghan K. McGarry of Marshall & Sterling Upstate Inc. in Leeds, N.Y., received the American Association of Managing General Agents Award for her work with the association.
o The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Suffolk County received the award for Local Association of the Year for their work to enhance the image of the independent agent.
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