The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) presented Bill Thornton, president of Acadia Insurance Company in Westbrook, Maine, with the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award at the ICT’s 12th Annual Mid-Year Property and Casualty Symposium, held July 15. Thornton is the seventh recipient of the prestigious insurance award.
The ICT presents the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award at its Symposium in Austin each year. It is the Council’s highest honor and is intended to bestow recognition on those whose labor has made a significant difference in the business of insurance.
Thornton rose through the ranks of the insurance industry, starting off as an agent in Denver, Colorado for Mutual Benefit Life. Thornton moved to SAFECO in 1970 and worked his way up to property manager and eventually commercial manager for the SAFECO office in Dallas. In 1982, Thornton joined Trinity where he served as vice president. In 1990, Thornton became president of Union Standard in Dallas, a position he held for ten years. Since 2000, Thornton has served in his current position as president of Acadia.
Thornton is a past chairman of the Insurance Council of Texas, the Association of Fire& Casualty Companies in Texas (AFACT), the Texas Automobile Insurance Service Office (TAISO), the Texas Insurance Advisory Association and the Dallas chapter CPCU. He is currently on the board of trustees at the Maine College of Art and Portland Symphony Orchestra Board as well as president of the Maine Pine Tree Council, Boy Scouts of America. Thornton is married with two children.
About the award
The Raymond Mauk Award honors former Texas Fire Commissioner Raymond Mauk and annually recognizes someone who has made a notable contribution to the Texas property and casualty insurance industry.
Mauk enjoyed a long and distinguished career and held many positions of leadership within his company and industry organizations.
More than 70 years ago, Commissioner Mauk was convinced that fundamental change was needed to protect the insurance buying public and the integrity of the marketplace from the misapplication of rates and forms.
To accomplish his goal, Mauk envisioned the creation of a central checking office that would enforce good business practices and audit the insurance industry’s paperwork for errors and competitive greed. Often facing great opposition and the traditional resistance to change, Mauk labored for two years to build support form both agents and companies.
By February 1935, Mauk’s leadership had led to the successful establishment of the Texas Insurance Checking Office, an institution, which continues to serve the Texas industry today.
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