NU Online News Service, July 27, 3:12 p.m. EDT
Minneapolis, Minn.-based Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) and Kansas City, Mo.-based National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) said today they are joining forces to make benefits of each organization available to members of both.
PLUS, a nonprofit organization, said it was established to support and enrich the careers of people involved in professional liability insurance underwriting. NAPSLO is a national trade association representing the surplus lines industry and the wholesale insurance marketing system.
Mike Ardis, NAPSLO director of communications and technology, told National Underwriter that the two groups are "joining forces to offer existing programs to members," but that the two groups would remain separate entities. He added that the collaboration would not affect staff of either group. He also said attendance to the NAPSLO schools is open to both groups, but attendance to the NAPSLO annual conference is open only to NAPSLO members. The PLUS conference is open to PLUS members and nonmembers.
Mr. Ardis said the goal of the initiative was to offer the educational programs each association currently offers to members of the other group. Also under the agreement, he said "NAPSLO members and their employees can take advantage of membership offers to join PLUS."
Through the partnership, NAPSLO member companies and their employees will gain access to the PLUS Curriculum, a 23-module collection of professional liability training modules designed for adult learners, and other education opportunities at its conference and seminars.
Concurrently, PLUS will gain the benefit of NAPSLO's surplus lines expertise through shared presentations, regulatory information and access to NAPSLO's educational schools. The 2009 PLUS Annual International Conference, to take place Nov. 11-13 in Chicago, will host a panel presentation featuring a number of experts in the excess and surplus lines industry.
PLUS said it has more than 6,000 members. NAPSLO said it has 800 regular members and a total of 1,600, including branch offices.
"PLUS and NAPSLO are two of the most highly respected associations in the insurance industry--both with unique missions and membership--and we have a common interest in providing education and information to our members," PLUS's president, David Bell, chief operating and administrative officer of Allied World Assurance Company, Ltd., said in a statement. "This new initiative is designed to enhance both organizations and the value we bring to our members. It once again demonstrates how our industry responds to challenges with the type of innovation that leads to a brighter, more successful future."
NAPSLO's president, John F. Wood III, president of Specialty Risk Associates, said, "NAPSLO is known as the authoritative voice of the surplus lines industry. We are always looking for relationships with other segments of the insurance industry, particularly when it comes to providing educational information, promoting the professionalism of our members, and sharing information about the vital role of the excess and surplus lines insurance industry."
He added, "Our partnership with PLUS will allow for new ways to accomplish our mission and provide value to our members."
Visit www.plusweb.org or www.napslo.org for more information about efforts to better each organization's sector of the insurance industry.
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