THANK YOU—Last Friday, we dispatched an abbreviated notice to FAIA's entire mailing list (close to 12,000) announcing the Florida Legislature had approved the massive 150-page property bill (CS/CS/SB 2860), sending it to the governor for his review and likely signature. While both the industry and at least one consumer group (FIRM) were solidly against preventing Citizens from selling a "wind-only" policy like it has done for the last 40 years, we are convinced FAIA's members' grassroots kept the ill-thought provision out of the final bill. In response to efforts by others to influence lawmakers and the media with Op Ed pieces and letters to the editor, we asked agents to also write letters to local papers and to copy members of the House of Representatives. They did so, in remarkable numbers, and are owed a debt of gratitude for investing such time and effort on behalf of their fellow agents. Papers all over the state in Pensacola, Miami, Key West, Ft. Myers, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, and other cities, ran articles or published agent letters. After publishing an opinion from the other side, The Daytona Beach News Journal published two letters from local agents setting the record straight. You can read both by clicking here.

SHOP AND COMPARE—Similar kudos to the 50 or so agencies who took time to develop rate comparisons between Citizens and private carriers. FAIA lobbyists carried a portfolio containing the dec. pages and quote comparisons all over the Capitol—to senators' offices, house members, and industry lobbyists—proving the point that, if there is no Citizens wind-only policy available, many consumers pay more for less coverage. Of course, other policyholders might not pay more and we were careful to say our rate comparisons didn't apply to everyone. Nonetheless, since the multi-peril option is already available to existing policyholders, eliminating the wind-only policy only served to reduce options—hurting some without benefiting anyone else except, perhaps, Citizens.

CONSUMERS WIN—Of course, the rationale for such a proposal was, in part, to force companies to write more wind in coastal areas. One published quote said "…the time has come for insurers to step up to the plate…by writing policies, including wind coverage, on our coast." But, this fails to recognize that private companies write hundreds of thousands of such policies already. And…many would write more if they had the rates, surplus, and capacity to do so, and didn't have to compete with a state insurer with artificially suppressed premiums backed by assessments on everybody else. While it's true private carriers make a profit on "non-wind" perils, what's troubling is that if Citizens gets that profit instead, private companies will have less capacity to absorb the coastal wind that some want them to begin writing. All in all, the defeat of this proposal was a big win for consumers!

SPECIAL THANKS—FAIA would like to express special thanks to several lawmakers who helped us on several important issues, namely: Senators JD Alexander (R–Winter Haven) and Ted Deutch (D–Delray Beach), and Representatives Ellyn Bogdanoff (R–Ft. Lauderdale), Don Brown (R–DeFuniak Springs), Bryan Nelson (R–Apopka), and Dennis Ross (R–Lakeland).

AGENTS CONTINUING EDUCATION—FAIA's bill on agent continuing education, preventing carriers from terminating appointments solely because you didn't want to take CE courses of the carrier, also passed and is on its way to the governor. For such a simple concept there was immense confusion on this issue and the sponsors, Rep. Bryan Nelson and Sen. Ted Deutch, deserve admiration for their patience and skill in shepherding it through the process. FAIA's bill did not "prevent" any company (or Citizens) from teaching CE-approved training. It did not keep any company (or Citizens) from terminating agents who didn't take non-CE training on company processing and procedures. Nor did it apply to direct writers, either employee or exclusive independent contractor agents. It applies only to independent agent companies (and Citizens) and merely prohibits them from forcing you to take any particular CE-approved training program of the type necessary to maintain a license and appointment with "other" companies, period! For a summary of this legislation, review the 300 Worder by clicking here.

SPEAKING OF CE—Citizens will be presenting its Agent Certification program during FAIA's June Convention. Designed to cover its rules and submission process, this course will ultimately help your agency by assisting those who deal with Citizens in how to accurately and completely submit applications and to do it right the first time. The Citizens' Agent Certification Program is mandatory to maintain a Citizens appointment and includes four modules—Agent/Agency Compliance, Personal Residential, Commercial Residential, and Commercial Nonresidential. The classroom version covers all four topics in one 3 1/2 hour session. It is relevant to note that the effective date of the CE bill above isn't until July 1 and a portion of this Citizens course has been approved for one (1) hour of intermediate CE credit.

ANALYSIS—FAIA staff is already working on a line-by-line analysis of the entire property package and other relevant legislation, which will be posted on our website soon. For those who would like a brief overview of the property bill prepared by the House of Representatives, click here. Please stay tuned for more updates via the Agents Confidential bulletins, our line-by-line summary, and our sixteen Legislative Roundup classes (approved for four hours of CE, one hour in mitigation). The classes will be held from May 19 through July 10 in the following cities—Tampa, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, Key West, Miami, West Palm Beach, Deerfield Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Lake Mary, Daytona Beach, Pensacola, Destin, Tallahassee, Ocala, and Jacksonville. Click here for more information about the Legislative Roundup class and to register for the location of your choice.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT—FAIA's Nominating Committee proposes the following recommendations as the 2008–2009 slate of officers and directors. For chairman-elect, the committee recommends William D. (Bill) Gunter, Jr., of Rogers, Gunter, Vaughn Insurance, Inc., in Tallahassee; for vice chairman, the committee recommends Arturo F. Hoyo of Coastal Insurance Group, Inc., in Miami Springs. Braden Kirk Ball, CPCU, of Fisher-Brown, Inc., in Pensacola will automatically ascend to the position of chairman. For the three open director positions, the committee recommends Robert S. Ludwig, AIC, of Ludwig-Walpole Company, Inc., in Sarasota; John M. Pollock, CIC, of Oswald Trippe and Company, Inc., in Ft. Myers; and Jeffrey M. Schlitt, CPCU, CFP, of Schlitt Insurance Services, Inc., in Vero Beach. Congratulations to these individuals on their nominations to FAIA's Board of Directors. Much gratitude is due the members of the Nominating Committee for their tremendous work and the presentation of such an outstanding slate. The election and installation will be held at FAIA's Convention during the Business and Awards Luncheon on Saturday, June 14.

FAIA CONVENTION HOTEL—We recently notified you that the Orlando World Center Marriott had sold out of its block of rooms for FAIA's Convention. The hotel just informed us that they have released a few more rooms into our block and they are now available to our attendees. So, don't delay; call 1-800-228-9290 to book your room at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Additionally, we've secured rooms at two other relatively nearby hotels if you've not yet made your reservations. Click here for more information about rooms at the Caribe Royale or the Marriott Village at Lake Buena Vista.

THURSDAY NIGHT PARTY—Priority seating will once again be available for the Thursday Night Opening Party, featuring Legends. Tables may be purchased for $250 each (sorry, individual seats may not be reserved). Of course, there will be plenty of seats available for all ticket holders—they just won't have the same view of the stage. And you won't want to miss the show by Legends.

Legends In Concert is known as the pioneer of live tribute shows and possesses the greatest collection of celebrity tribute artists in the industry, and it is the original and largest live celebrity tribute spectacular in the world. What started in 1983 as a limited six-week engagement at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, now celebrates 25 years of entertaining millions of people from around the world. They are known for their elaborate theatrical sets, magnificent costumes, and full array of incredible special effects, including three dimensional multimedia and multimillion dollar, state-of-the-art lighting, laser, and sound systems. An outstanding cast of talented singers and dancers, and a live orchestra, support each Legends In Concert production.

Click here to view the seating chart; contact Cindy Molnar with questions. Click here to register for FAIA's 104th Anniversary Convention and Education Symposium.

INSURPAC 2008 UPDATE—FAIA members have had another outstanding month, bringing InsurPac contributions for the year to $44,175. We are within sight of achieving IIABA's fundraising goal of $51,550. FAIA's young agents have contributed $4,350 to date. However, we have a long way to go if we want to raise $100,000 this year. As of April 30, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Vermont have achieved and/or surpassed their goal for the year. See the Florida contributor list or the state totals by clicking on the appropriate link.

On a related note, FAIA recently mailed out nearly 1,400 InsurPac Corporate Approval forms to those agencies whose forms are expired, will expire next year, or who haven't ever signed one. We took the liberty of filling out most of the information for you; please take a couple of minutes and sign it in all five places and mail or fax it back to FAIA. Federal law prohibits InsurPac (and, by extension, FAIA) from soliciting your contribution without one of these on file. Help us help you during this election year.

Safeco Insurance—Pending regulatory and shareholder approval, to be acquired by the Liberty Mutual Group.

FAIA's 104th Anniversary Convention—June 12–14, 2008; Orlando World Center Marriott Resort, Orlando.

FAIA's Planning Session—August 21–23, 2008; Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, Destin.

Bearman Insurance & Investments, LLC – Navarre Cooke & Gagnon, Inc. – Destin