BULLETIN Nat ional Associat ion of Publ ic Insurance Adjusters Spr ing 2 0 1 7

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Diane Swerling, SPPA, Swerling Milton Winnick Public Insurance Adjusters

The 2017 NAPIA Annual Meeting is only a few weeks away, and that means my term as president is drawing to a close. I began my leadership journey many years ago as a director, then as an officer, and will now depart with the knowledge that those succeed-ing me are well prepared to move the association forward. I am pleased with the progress made this year in a number of important areas. Ann Frohman, Esq. has been retained as our liaison with the National Associa-tion of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). She is an experienced and talented individual who will help us improve our relationship with insurance commissioners and their staffs throughout the nation. She is also advocating on behalf of public adjusters at meetings of the NAIC. Through her involvement with the NAIC Public Adjusters Working Group she is bringing to light important matters such as the unauthorized practice of public adjusting and the rights of public adjusters to represent insureds in all states. At her suggestion we created the NAPIA Quick Strike Team concept. The goal of this new program is to promote greater communication with legislators and regulators, and to have volun-teers available to act as a resource

when state or local issues arise. Ten key states have been selected to kick off the Quick Strike Team agenda, and team members have been advised to act and report back to Ann and NAPIA head-quarters of their results. Ann will appear at the upcoming Annual Meeting to present with Brian Goodman on national de-velopments. I encourage you to get to know our new NAIC con-sultant. As a member of NAPIA for many years, I have heard prior leaders express a strong interest in getting committees to be more active and for establishing a library of mater-ials for future reference. We now have a mechanism for that. Start-ing with the Quick Strike Team, pages have been set up on the NAPIA website for access by each committee that will contain historical

documents and serve as a conduit for current information to be posted and discussed. Committee mem-bers will be notified how to access their page and utilize the data. We are also stepping up our social media outreach so that NAPIA can effectively, but pro-perly, grow our presence in this ever changing landscape. Another subtle, but noteworthy action taken this year was a review of administrative and legal opera-tions. Oversight measures are in place to ensure the ongoing fine work by our counsel and head-quarters staff. I would like to express my gra-titude to David Barrack, Brian Goodman, our officers, directors, past presidents, committees and

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La Cantera Resort & Spa, site of the 2017 NAPIA Annual Meeting

2017 WEST COAST SEMINAR FEATURES UMPIRE AND APPRAISER CERTIFICATION

The March 21-22 , 2017 FPCC West Insurance Seminar at the Marina Del Rey Hotel in Marina del Rey, CA presented a three hour umpire and appraiser certi-fication course and examination on the first day. The program, led by representatives of the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association (IAUA) and members of NAPIA, attracted more than forty public adjusters and others interested in obtaining their umpire or apprai-ser certification as well as the three continuing education (CE) credits awarded for the course. Most took the one hour exam required for certification at the conclusion of the course.

Together with the five CE credits awarded for the second day’s sem-inar session, those registered for the entire two day program got a total of eight CE credits.

Responses to the post seminar survey were very complimentary of the hotel, location, education, networking events and planning. With few exceptions, all were

rated excellent or good. The one question that received a unani-mous “yes” was if they liked the two day format, which was new this year. Respondents also said they would recommend that others from their company attend next year’s FPCC West.

Comments included: “Terrific speakers – Marjorie Segale was especially good;” “Great venue,” and “Well organized and great location – food was very good too.” The event was also gener-ously supported with numerous sponsors and exhibitors.

Ivo Labar, Esq. addresses public adjuster ethics at FPCC West

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT Diane Swerling, SPPA

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Jeff Gould, CPA

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Greg Raab

THIRD VICE PRESIDENT Jeff O’Connor, SPPA

FOURTH VICE PRESIDENT Jodie Papa

TREASURER Anita Taff

SECRETARY Clay Morrison, CPPA

DIRECTORS

Chris Aldrich

Pat Cuccaro

R. Scott deLuise, SPPA Karl Denison, CPPA

Ron Harsch Art Jansen, SPPA

Robert Joslin, CPPA

John Marini

Rick Tutwiler, P.C.L.S.

Justin Skipton

Judith Vickers, SPPA

David Young, SPPA

COUNSEL

Brian Goodman, Esq. One South Street, Suite 2600

Baltimore, MD 21202 P 410- 752-6030 F 410- 539-1269

bgoodman@kg-law.com www.kramonandgraham.com

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

David Barrack 21165 Whitfield Place, #105

Potomac Falls, VA 20165 P 703-433-9217 F 703-433-0369 info@napia.com www.napia.com

STAFF

Heidi Renner Membership & Communications

Enid Palazzolo Accounting Services

MANAGEMENT FIRM Barrack Association Management

Potomac Falls, VA

2017 FPCC West in Marina del Rey, California attracts a large audience

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President’s Message from page 1

other NAPIA members for the many positive outcomes we achieved this year. Among these were exceptional attendance at our events (including a banner year for the First Party Claims Conference), holding steady the cost of membership by address-ing budgetary concerns, and a relative calm year in the legal and legislative arena due to the vigil-ance of our counsel and countless members who worked to advance our cause through their advocacy and professionalism. I hope to see you in San Antonio this month so I can personally express my appreciation for allow-ing me to serve as president of this great organization.

FUTURE NAPIA EVENT LOCATIONS AND DATES ANNUAL MEETING La Cantera Resort & Spa San Antonio, TX June 21-24, 2017 FIRST PARTY CLAIMS CONFERENCE Crowne Plaza Hotel Warwick, RI October 16-18, 2017 MID-YEAR MEETING Ritz Carlton Hotel New Orleans New Orleans, LA November 30 through December 2, 2017 ANNUAL MEETING The Hotel Hershey Hershey, PA June 13-16, 2018 MID-YEAR MEETING The Westin Savannah Georgia Resort & Spa Savannah, GA November 29 through December 1, 2018

DO YOU HAVE YOUR SPPA?

The NAPIA Certification Program for Certified Professional Public Adjuster (CPPA) and Senior Pro-fessional Pubic Adjuster (SPPA) was established in 1986 to recog-nize professional competency and to promote ongoing awareness by practicing adjusters. A professional designation is awarded to those who complete a rigorous course of study and examination. The SPPA designation program can provide the specific technical

knowledge you need for effective claims handling, leading to power-ful results for you and your clients.

In today’s competitive market-place, the SPPA designation can distinguish you as a highly skilled insurance professional, possess-ing the competence and relevant knowledge necessary to succeed as a qualified public insurance adjuster.

For complete details about the certification program log on to www.TheInstitutes.org/SPPA

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COUNSEL’S CORNER Brian Goodman, Esq., Kramon & Graham, PA

As we prepare for the upcoming Annual Meeting, I am pleased to report that this has been a most positive year so far for NAPIA. We continue to maintain a strong and growing presence at the National Association of Insurance Commis-sioners (NAIC), led by our most accomplished and credible new liaison, Ann Frohman, Esq. Ann has opened many doors for us at the national level and she will be detailing many of these new op-portunities for members during our convention. Ann has also helped to grow our presence within the NAIC Public Adjusters Working Group. Legislatively, we are having a great year. Maryland and New Mexico became the latest states to enact some iteration of the NAIC Model Act, making the states that now have enacted the Model to approach 20 of the 45 states that license public adjusters. We were also able to effectively prevent a bad law from being enacted in another state, thanks in large part to our growing pre-sence at the national level. And, I am pleased to write that within the states where we dealt with some negative issues, the regu-lators are happy to talk to us and address our concerns. This is a most beneficial development, due in large part to our efforts at and presence within the NAIC. We continue to deal with the pervasive problem of the un-authorized practice of public adjusting (UPPA), the related issue of the inherent conflict of interest when a public adjuster also acts as a contractor and the negative publicity that adversely

impacts our profession when we are falsely painted with the same brush as these unlicensed indivi-duals. We are working hard to eradicate this problem, but this will take years of continued efforts to properly eliminate the practice and awaken regulators, legislators and other officials to the value and consumer protect-tion aspect of a licensed, ethical public adjuster. Personally and as counsel, I want to thank NAPIA President Diane Swerling for her professionalism and credible, effective leadership this year as we have navigated many issues. Diane has been committed, organized and effi-cient, and she has been a great leader for this association. I will greatly miss working with her, but I look forward to additional positive developments for NAPIA in the coming years. I hope to see many of you in San Antonio.

NAPIA 2017 ANNUAL MEETING SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS Claimside

ClaimWizard

Continental Machinery Company

Gravely & Pearson

Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association

Kramon & Graham

Lerner, Arnold & Winston

Merlin Law Group

Raizner Slania

Texas Association of Public Insurance Adjusters

The Drying Team

United Policyholders

Wilkofsky, Friedman, Karel & Cummins

Williams & Gumbiner

NEW & PENDING MEMBERS Pending Public Adjusting Firms: Adjuster 1 LLC Lincoln, NE (R) David Fiala Allgood Adjustments, Inc. Kennesaw, GA (R) Mathew Mulholland Atlanta Public Adjuster, Inc. Atlanta, GA (R) Steven Chastain

David A. Lee, Public Adjuster Weatherford, TX (R) David Lee Haden Claims Keller, TX (R) Brian Haden Mark Weeks, Public Adjuster Wichita Falls, TX (R) Mark Weeks Strategic Claims Atlanta, GA (R) Brandon Lewis

YPA Public Adjusters Willow Park, TX (R) Roy Young New Affiliate Member: Todd Lipscomb, Esq. Loree & Lipscomb San Antonio, TX

HAVE YOU VISITED THE NAPIA MEMBERS ONLY PAGE?

Log in to the NAPIA website and take advantage of member benefits anytime with 24/7 online access.

Update your member details

View and pay invoices online

View transaction history

Find member-only information

To log on, go to www.napia.com and enter your username and password in the top right corner.

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GIVE TO NAPIA FUNDS THAT PROMOTE PUBLIC ADJUSTING

Named after William Goodman, the first president and founding father of NAPIA, the Will Good-man Foundation was created to serve as a resource for public adjuster education and training. The Paul Cordish Memorial Foundation was established in memory of NAPIA Executive Director and Counsel Paul L. Cordish, Esq. The organization funds an award for students at the University of Maryland School of Law who compete in a writing competition addressing matters related to public adjusting. Contributions made to either fund in the name of a loved one or colleague will be acknowledged with a letter to the deceased’s family. Donations are tax deduc-tible and are restricted for use as noted above. Checks are payable to the Will Goodman Foundation or the Paul Cordish Memorial Foundation and can be mailed to:

NAPIA 21165 Whitfield Place, #105

Potomac Falls, VA 20165

2017 PAUL CORDISH WRITING AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED Topics for this year’s Paul Cordish Writing Award competition were presented to students at the Uni-versity of Maryland Law School in January by NAPIA Counsel Brian Goodman, Esq. Winners of the classroom project were announc-ed May 18 during the University of Maryland’s Carey Law Recogni-tion Ceremony in Baltimore. Recipients of scholarship awards and their papers are as follows:

1st Place ($7,500): Gita Sankano, “Anti-Concurrent Causation and Its Effect on the Efficient Proxi-mate Cause Doctrine in Today’s American Jurisprudence” 2nd Place ($1,500): Zackary Hull “Code of Complex (Coverage):

Recovering Under the Increased Cost of Construction for the Appli-cation of Law and Ordinance Coverage” 3rd Place ($1,000) Joshua Car-back, “Anti-Concurrent Causation Clauses in Insurance Contracts – the State of the Law in 2017” All first place papers are posted on the NAPIA website. To view, visit www.napia.com/pcwapapers. The Paul Cordish Writing Award competition is held in the spring. The NAPIA Past Presidents Com-mittee meets in June to prepare a list of suggested topics related to public adjusting and/or to the first party property insurance claims profession in general. Students are also welcome to write a paper on a topic of their choosing as long as it meets the aforemen-tioned guidelines. Members may submit a topic for consideration by sending an e-mail before June 20 to info@napia.com. Page 6

ARE YOU SIGNED UP FOR THE NAPIA ANNUAL MEETING?

The 2017 NAPIA Annual Meeting takes place June 21-24 at the new La Cantera Resort & Spa in San Antonio, TX. The education pro-gram has been approved by 19 states for 7 CE credits. Just added was a one day registration for local adjusters worth 3 CE credits. Also on the agenda is the association's representative to the NAIC, Ann Frohman, Esq. Reports will be de-livered by NAPIA’s legal counsel, officers, directors and committee chairs at the members only busi-ness session. Elections of the new board will also take place. The four day event includes three receptions, two dinners, breakfast and breaks each morning, two unique spouse/guest programs and the annual golf tournament. Recently renovated, La Cantera Resort & Spa is within view of Six

Flags Fiesta theme park and less than 30 minutes away from San Antonio’s famous Riverwalk and other downtown landmarks. The resort’s amenities include five pools with sweeping views, expanded seating and private cabanas; nine dining options, and assorted re-creational and shopping outlets. The new Loma de Vida Spa & Well-ness center offers a variety of ser-vices and treatments with fifteen treatment rooms, outdoor cowboy tubs, grotto with a saline pool, and the Gathering Place with an out-door fireplace and acoustic music. There is also a fitness studio, bouti-que shop and juice bar. The challenging Palmer Course is open for daily play and will be the site of the NAPIA golf tournament. Full details on the Annual Meeting can be found at www.napia.com (http://www.napia.com/content.asp

?admin=Y&contentid=227).

NAPIA MEMBER CREATES A PUBLIC ADJUSTER SCHOLAR-SHIP ESSAY PROGRAM Dave Young, SPPA, of Brown-O’Haver Public Adjusters in Mesa, AZ, recently worked out a program with his alma mater, Weber State University in Ogden, UT, to sponsor an essay in which the winner is recognized with an award. The title of the essay required from contes-tants is “The Role of the Public Adjuster in the Insurance Industry.” The essay contest will be spon-sored each year with a payment from Mr. Young’s firm. The agree-ment allows him to participate in the judging process and he can use the essay for personal and business promotions. If anyone would like to do some-thing similar, Mr. Young has offer-ed to assist. He can be reached at dave@brown-ohaver.com or 480-424-3933.

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Save the date for FPCC 2017! The annual conference and trade show will take place October 16-18, 2017 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI. Sign up for 1 day for 3 CE credits, 2 days for 12 CE credits or 3 days for 15 CE credits. Also featured are numerous networking events.

A sample of the 29 topics and nearly 40 speakers include:

New Developments in the Engineering Investigation of Wind/Hurricane Damage, by Neil Hall, Ph.D., P.E., AIA, Neil Hall & Associates

Umpire and Appraiser Certification, by Bob Norton and James Angelotti, Insurance Appraisal & Umpire Association, and Jonathan Wilkofsky, Esq., Wilkofsky, Friedman, Karel & Cummins

Cyber Claims - Documentation and How to Identify and Prove the Claim, by Robert Glasser, CPA, CFE, CFF, CIRA, CGMA, FTI Consulting, and Vern Pedro, Esq., Merlin Law Group

Full conference details will be posted soon on www.firstpartyclaims.com