Celebrating 25 Years of Florida Underwriter

Longtime readers of Florida Underwriter may experience a sense of d?j? vu as they look at this month's cover. Yes, you have seen it before — or at least something very similar. The alligator-and-orange design graced our very first issue in May 1984. The concept was reprised for our 10th anniversary in 1994, and now once again for our 25th. We considered changing the alligator to reflect our industry today, but thought if we “grew” the gator to reflect the industry's current size, it wouldn't fit on the page. We also thought about morphing it into a chameleon, to illustrate how carriers and agents have struggled to adapt to consumers' changing needs. But in the end, we left our alligator pretty much intact from its birth of 25 years ago — although our 2009 incarnation does have a bit more “attitude” than its younger version.

I fondly remember that first cover. I was the public relations manager for Gil Waters and the FCCI Fund at the time and we had an ad in that inaugural issue, thanks to the gentle prodding of salesman extraordinaire David Weidinger. (For a look back at those very early days, see Weidinger's article on page 18.)