NAIC President Csiszar to Address ICT Symposium

The president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance, Ernst Csiszar, will be the lead-off speaker at the Insurance Council of Texas’ 12th Annual Mid-Year Property and Casualty Mid Year Symposium, to be held in Austin on July 15, 2004.

“This year’s symposium speakers reads like a who’s who of the insurance industry,” said Rick Gentry, executive director of the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT). “Anyone wanting to know what’s happening in both the Texas marketplace and across the country will be well educated after attending this symposium.”

More than 300 people are expected to attend the event that begins at 9 a.m. at Austin’s Marriott at the Capitol, 701 E. 11th Street. ICT’s annual P/C symposium provides property and casualty insurance company representatives an opportunity to hear both state and national insurance leaders discuss the current and future marketplace of the insurance industry.

Csiszar, an advocate of state versus federal regulation, will make a strong case as to why states can do a better job in terms of change and flexibility while maintaining the confidence of cost-conscious consumers and their legislators.

Dr. Robert Hartwig, senior vice president and chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, promises to “show the whole truth and nothing but the truth” about the Texas homeowner’s market. Hartwig plans to focus his rapid-fire delivery on erasing the urban legends of the “price-gouging Texas insurer” and separating some of the more popular myths from reality.

Dr. Daniel Finnegan, president of the Quality Planning Corporation, will review the range of strategic options available to auto insurers for prospering in a soft market. Texas

Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor will serve as the symposium’s luncheon speaker. Commissioner Montemayor will describe the regulatory process of the state’s new file and use system that takes effect Dec. 1, 2004.

In the afternoon a panel of insurance executives will discuss Texas legislative and insurance issues. The participants include Gentry who will serve as moderator, Commissioner Montemayor, State Representative Jack Stick, Lee Ann Alexander, assistant vice president and legislative counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Steve Patterson, counsel for State Farm Insurance Company and Parker Rush, president and CEO of The Republic Group.