MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES

Those of you who are my age may remember this from an ad that ran many years ago for a major credit card company. As I work my way through this year, I have seen first-hand how NASBP continues to provide many “privileges” or benefits to our membership. Whether your focus is legislation, both federally and locally, education for you and your staff, automation, commercial surety, or one of many other challenges facing us in business every day, NASBP has dedicated Committee members, leadership, and staff working on every one of these things and many more.

But without a doubt, the value I hear more about from both producers and underwriters is the platform NASBP provides to meet with and interact with the best in this industry. Personally, I have said many times, and firmly believe that my success and that of the other producers and staff in our agency are directly tied to the support of, and the access to, the many great professionals involved in NASBP. No one person can succeed in a vacuum, and nowhere else will you find a group, such as ours, willing to help others succeed.

Having said that, we must continue to grow our membership and, specifically, we must all make a strong effort to bring in other surety professionals who, for a variety of reasons, may not currently be Members. My own belief is that there are misperceptions about what NASBP is and does. Simply put, “This ain’t your daddy’s NASBP.” And, while staff can try and try to recruit these folks, NOBODY CAN TELL OUR STORY BETTER THAN YOU! We all need to tell others why we are Members and why we feel NASBP provides a great return on our investment.

Over the past couple of years, endless discussions have taken place over membership dues and the rising costs of providing the many benefits that NASBP offers. Just like in our own business, money is always a consideration, and dues have not been increased for producer Members for seven years and for Affiliates for twelve years. This was done deliberately, as the NASBP leadership agreed that we needed to delay this, given the tough economy our membership had faced in recent years. However, rather than just raise dues, it was decided that we should take a more thoughtful approach and study all the dues categories, keeping in mind that we must be able to attract and to retain new Members. At the end of the day, the Board approved a dues realignment beginning in 2015. I use the term realignment, not to put a Washington “spin” on this subject, but to call to everyone’s attention that we lowered the dues for the smallest of agencies. This was done not only to be fair to our current Members, but to also enable NASBP to attract those newer and/or smaller agencies that are vital to our industry and can be a great part of our future. In addition, the Board approved a new Member incentive program for an agency that has never been a Member or that has not been a Member for at least five years. The simple explanation is that any qualifying new Member that joins by early April of 2015 will receive membership benefits through December 31, 2016, essentially receiving two membership years for remittance of one year’s dues payment.

I know we all realize that there are many reasons why we as producers and underwriters need to grow and perpetuate this great organization. But simply said, WE NEED TO QUIT TALKING ABOUT IT AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. We do have quite a few Members who have been actively recruiting, and we have had some success, but we need everybody to join in. Producer Members, please call someone you know, or don’t know, but think would be a good candidate for NASBP. To our Affiliates, please help us by giving us good referrals of your best agents that are not currently Members. Together, we can MAKE A DIFFERENCE for prospective new Members and for ourselves by adding new Members that want to join the best of the best.

Kimberly and I hope that everyone is getting ready to bring to close a great year and will enjoy the upcoming holiday season with friends and family. We look forward to seeing you all soon. As we close the year, please keep in your hearts and minds, all of our troops and all the others in this world who are not as fortunate as we are.

As always, I thank the membership for allowing me the privilege of leading this great organization this year.

Attendees of the NASBP Mid-Year Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, held earlier this month, enjoyed spectacular sights created by the International Balloon Fiesta held near the Meeting’s hotel. Be sure to read the Winter issue of Surety Bond Quarterly to see more pictures. NASBP extends a special thank you to NASBP Member Francisco Tirado’s wife, Zaidee, and to NASBP Third Vice President Howard Cowan for their photos below.  

Thomas M. Padilla is Senior Vice President of HUB International Insurance Services, Albuquerque, NM. He can be reached at Tom.Padilla@hubinternational.com.