We have an especially jam-packed issue for you this month covering a wide range of insurance topics from surplus lines to property to workers' compensation to health care reform to office technology. Think of it as our summer reading gift.

We are pleased to present an opinion piece by Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. Florida is frequently seen as a bellwether state on critical insurance issues, thanks in no small part to Commissioner McCarty's standing among his colleagues. He is president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and holds leadership positions on several of its committees and task forces. Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet announced McCarty as the state's first appointed insurance commissioner in January 2003. His popularity within the insurance industry has fluctuated over the years, but none have ever doubted his acumen and work ethic.

In his opinion piece, “Why Florida Chose NIMA,” the commissioner succinctly outlines the advantages and disadvantages of NIMA and its counterpart, SLIMPACT. The programs were developed to address requirements of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act relating to premium tax collections and multistate risks. Florida, Louisiana, California, Texas, and New York collectively account for 55.4 percent of the nation's nonadmitted revenues. Florida and Louisiana have signed NIMA; as of this writing, the other major states are uncommitted.