The May 2012 ChapterGram is available for viewing or download. To navigate the new web site format, click on the ChapterGram tab on the top of this page to find a list of chapter years. The current year will always be on the top. Contact ChapterGram Editor Chris Murphy, CPCU with your ideas for articles and features to include in future editions.

The slides from Frank Bigley’s presentation are available for download.   Frank was the speaker at our April chapter meeting  the topic was ”Reinsurance and Catastrophe Losses”.    Right click here, or on the graphic to the right, to download the slides.

Greg LaMair and Mark Lyons --Photo by Duane Tinkey (Business Record)

A recent article about the trend to a harder insurance market was the focus of a recent article in the Business Record.  Greg LaMair, CPCU, president of LaMair-Mulock-Condon Co. (LMC) was featured in the article along with Mark Lyons, CPCU, the chief financial officer at LMC.

Also in the article was Aaron Brandenburg, an economist with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.  Brandenburg was in Des Moines for a presentation at our chapter’s February meeting.

Click here for a link to the article or click on the picture on the right.

The April 2012 ChapterGram is available for viewing or download. To navigate the new web site format, click on the ChapterGram tab on the top of this page to find a list of chapter years. The current year will always be on the top. Contact ChapterGram Editor Chris Murphy, CPCU with your ideas for articles and features to include in future editions.

Grinnell Sub-Chapter officers deliver a “check” to the Montezuma, Iowa Fire Chief. Funds were raised through employee donations at Grinnell Mutual. (left to right) Heather Sisson, Sub-Chapter President; Chris Widmer,  Montezuma Fire Chief; Todd Milburn, Sub-Chapter VP; Adam Moore, Sub-Chapter Secretary/Treasurer.

Each year the Grinnell Sub-Chapter selects an organization in the local area to receive a charitable donation. This year they chose the Montezuma, Iowa, Volunteer Fire Department.  Local fire volunteers spend many hours every year protecting the health and property of their community’s residents. Montezuma is the Poweshiek County seat, located southeast of Grinnell, where several of Grinnell Mutual’s employees reside.

Since all fire and ambulance reports must be submitted online to the State of Iowa it is important to have current technology. The Montezuma Fire Department’s computer was on its last “gig” and had been malfunctioning regularly. The fire department is funded entirely by private donations and fundraising events so when expenses such as this arise, additional assistance is needed. The Sub-Chapter’s donation to the department paid for a new desktop computer (they were able to use their current monitor) and anti-virus license. 

The deadline for submission of scholarships has been extended to Friday, March 16. For more information, interested applicants can visit our scholarships page:   http://cpcu-iowa.org/awards/scholarships/.

If you have questions about the scholarship program please contact:
Doug Nuehring, CPCU, ARe, AIAF | Assistant Secretary  EMC Insurance Companies
717 Mulberry St.| PO Box 712 | Des Moines, IA 50306-0712
Tel: 515.345.2107 | Cell: 515.720.8867 | Fax: 515.345.2716
Doug.W.Nuehring@EMCIns.com

The March 2012 ChapterGram is available for viewing or download. To navigate the new web site format, click on the ChapterGram tab on the top of this page to find a list of chapter years. The current year will always be on the top. Contact ChapterGram Editor Chris Murphy, CPCU with your ideas for articles and features to include in future editions.

As you know, the CPCU Society and The Institutes have formally entered into an affiliation. I know there is a general sense of excitement about what we are doing, so I am pleased to give you an update.

Our first priority is you, the CPCU Society members. We have taken several steps to ensure that our CPCU Society increases capacity to meet your needs.  First, we have examined our vision, mission and strategy to be sure The Institutes are aligned with the CPCU Society’s members and other customers.

This was an important initiative to help us better understand how members see the Society adding value. In conjunction with The Institutes, we have already undertaken several surveys and interviews to help collect member feedback. For example, we recently surveyed members, non-members, chapter and interest group leaders, and employers. Additionally, volunteer CPCU Society leaders have traveled around the country speaking with chapter leaders and members to find out what they need.

Secondly, we have enhanced our strategies to be more closely aligned with the direction you want the CPCU Society to go. The results of the surveys illustrated that one of the key membership and employer success factors is the desire for more access to updated, practical technical education. This is perfectly aligned with The Institutes and demonstrates one of the many benefits of the affiliation. We will be introducing new initiatives shortly that provide this access. Additional initiatives include enhancing CPCU as the leading designation in the property-casualty insurance industry and developing ways for, and increasing awareness of, the many ways that CPCUs give back to their industry, to the CPCU designation, and to their communities. By anchoring these initiatives in the CPCU Society’s expressed needs, we make sure we are adding the most value to CPCU Society members as possible.

One of the primary affiliation benefits to the CPCU Society is the dramatically increased access the CPCU Society will have to The Institutes’ substantial resources. We are now in the process of designing processes and aligning resources with The Institutes to better deliver on these initiatives.

A part of this alignment is staffing. From the beginning of the affiliation process, both organizations agreed that staffing would be driven by overall strategy; changes in strategy necessitated staffing changes. Based on direct feedback from CPCU Society members, non-member CPCUs, Chapter and Interest Group leadership, and employers, the CPCU Society and The Institutes articulated the overall strategy for the CPCU Society. We then considered the processes needed to support the strategy and, from the processes, we determined the skills required to drive the processes. Those skill needs ultimately guided our staffing decisions, including the positions needed and the competencies each would require. While such decisions are never easy, we are confident that we have the right combination of talents to achieve our goals. We will send out a list of staff contacts shortly, under separate cover.

Finally, we have already begun to realize some affiliation benefits. For example, chapters told us that they would like to access to CPCU students as soon as they start studying, so chapter members can reach out to and help students as they go through their course of study. Through the affiliation, chapters have been provided lists of brand new student names so they can contact, assist, and demonstrate the value of The CPCU Society at the earliest possible time. Many more initiatives are in process as we start to work more closely with The Institutes. As these projects are rolled out, we will continue to keep you informed.

This historic affiliation between our CPCU Society and The Institutes represents a great opportunity for both organizations. We look forward to be better able to serve you, the CPCU Society members, in the future. We thank you for your continued support and seek your continued input to how we can serve you better.

Sincerely,

Steve McElhiney, CPCU, MBA, ARe, AIAF 2011-2012 CPCU Society President and Chairman

Larry Jansen

Larry Jansen, CPCU, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company located in Grinnell, Iowa. For the past 10 years, Jansen has served as the company’s senior vice president of Direct Underwriting and Production.

During Jansen’s 33-year career at Grinnell Mutual he has served in a variety of roles, including personal lines underwriting manager, regional underwriting manager, and regional vice president. He also serves as president of Grinnell Select Insurance Company and Big M Insurance Agency. Prior to Grinnell Mutual, Jansen worked for the Maryland Casualty Insurance Company and Hawkeye Security Insurance Company.

He has served the insurance industry as a past president of the Mutual Insurance Association of Iowa, a trustee of the Iowa Automobile Insurance Plan, and he is currently the chairman of the Iowa Fair Plan.

“We believe that Larry’s experience at Grinnell Mutual and insight with our agents and farm mutual companies will bring a new focus on relationships with those customers,” said Grinnell Mutual Board Chairman Dale Bartelt. “With the challenges of a changing marketplace, we are confident that Larry will provide the leadership Grinnell Mutual needs and we are excited about the possibilities moving forward.”

Jansen is a graduate from the University of Iowa and he holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation from the American Institute for Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters.  He replaces Steve Crawford who retired in December as Grinnell Mutual’s president and CEO due to health concerns.

The February 2012 ChapterGram is available for viewing or download. To navigate the new web site format, click on the ChapterGram tab on the top of this page to find a list of chapter years. The current year will always be on the top. Contact ChapterGram Editor Chris Murphy, CPCU with your ideas for articles and features to include in future editions.