Declarations

Ryan on Leadership

“Leadership is establishing a vision and getting others to buy into that vision, and when they buy into that vision, it’s establishing trust.”

—Patrick Ryan, chairman and CEO of Chicago, Ill.-based Ryan Specialty Group. Ryan, who led the United States’ bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, was speaking on a panel on developing leadership in the industry at the annual National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) conference in San Diego.

A Changing Sea

“The world has moved on; the world has changed, and I think possibly in the future we’re going to have to look at forms of security that the maritime industry haven’t been used to in the past.”

—Peter Dobbs, of Catlin Group Limited’s Asset Protection unit, comments on the uptick in instances of piracy and the changing nature of such attacks. The growing threat of Somali pirates, who are not necessarily traditional robbers and raiders but will hold a vessel for more significant funds, signals a need for increased protection for maritime risks.

Wait and See

“We’d hate to move down the road with assumptions that aren’t good, make plans, and have to back up and start over.”

—Nebraska Insurance Department Director Bruce Ramge says state lawmakers should wait before introducing a bill to create a state health insurance exchange to comply with the federal health care overhaul. State exchanges are supposed to be self-supporting by 2016; Nebraska would need 83,000 to 100,000 enrollees to comply with that requirement. About 100,000, or 12 percent of Nebraska’s population, are uninsured. Ramge says insurance officials are struggling with unanswered questions about the essential health benefits the federal government will require. AP