IRES - Member News

Member News

To let your peers know of an honor you have received, or anything else in which you feel other IRES members would be interested, please E-mail the information to ireshq@swbell.net and we'll post it on this page.

We would be delighted to publicize any honor or award – academic degrees, professional designations, promotions, whatever (although we'd probably skip gallon blood donor, we might go for your 300 game or hole-in-one). Obituaries and other important milestones also are appropriate, as are meetings of state chapters or pretty much anything else in which you feel other IRES members would be interested.

If you have a scanner, please attach a photo of the award presentation or other appropriate artwork. (We automatically list the names of IRES members who have received their AIE or CIE designation over the past few months, as well as new sustaining members of the Society.)

The Nebraska State Chapter of IRES will hold its April meeting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the Terminal Building basement at 10th and O Streets in Lincoln (941 O St.). Our speaker will be Steve Hawkins, assistant vice president of Marketing and Policyholder Service with Lincoln Direct Life Insurance Company. Steve will give the presentation on "Turning Your Customer Service Center into a Profit Center" that he's giving at the LOMA Customer Service Conference in Tampa. Its focus is on cross-selling to current customers.

This meeting will be worth at least one hour of CE credit for CIEs, AIEs and those who need credit for other purposes besides IRES. Regulators and insurance-related folks are always welcome – come and bring a friend or colleague. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Dyke.

The Colorado State Chapter continues to provide continuing education classes for its members and interested DOI staff. A class on enforcement was presented last April by Erin Toll, director of consumer affairs compliance, and in May, Susan Gambrill gave a class on HIPAA and Cover Colorado.

Coming up next will be an in-depth review of all activity on passed, pending, postponed and defeated insurance-related bills in the legislature, courtesy of Christel Szczesniak, special assistant to the commissioner.

The Missouri Chapter held its first educational workshop last May, in coordination with the market conduct division of the department – in all, 37 IRES members attended the two-day workshop, which was also open to nonmembers in the department.

Toppics included third-party vendors, prompt pay, automated exam techniques, market conduct surveillance, '02 legislative update, anti-fraud, report writing and using the MDI's Web site.

Oregon – IRES members and other DOI employees gather on the third Friday of each month for an afternoon of continuing education, including David M. Kahn of the U.S. Depaprtment of Labor on outreach programs and federal-state cooperation, NAIC updates and administrator Joel Ario on the Future of Market Regulation.

Other presentations have included new ERISA rules, heatlh care charge accounting, the surplus lines marketplace, kidnap and ransom protection, the state's new market analysis program and recent experiences with SERFF and CARFR.

Virginia IRES members have voted unanimously to organize their own state chapter to provide certain training and educational sessions for its 45 members – especially to those who need CE to maintain their designations. In addition, the chapter's meetings will provide training for new examiners from all areas of market regulation, training/education on new statutes and education information regarding the NAIC and industry news.

The new Virginia chapter is planning quarterly meetings at its offices that will include pre-planned training and educational sessions approved for CE credit. Members representing both the L&H and P&C Divisions of our BOI will share the responsibility for the sessions. Future plans may include other states participating in the sessions. Weldon Hazlewood was elected to be the chairperson of the chapter.

Charles C. Elgin, one of IRES's founding fathers and a former officer and board member of the Society, passed away Sept. 24 at the age of 73.

Charlie went to work for the Missouri Division of Insurance in 1972 as a rate examiner. Before that he had been a loan officer, bail bondsman and insurance agent. Although fluent in most types of insurance, his specialties were those insurance products that were out of the mainstream and posed harm to consumers, including credit-related coverages, mobile home policies, bail bonds and non-standard auto coverage. Charlie served in various positions while with the Missouri department, including market conduct examiner, examiner in charge and supervisor.
He also worked for the Oklahoma Insurance Department and later the Kentucky Insurance Department.
Charlie was involved in IRES from its initial organizational meetings and served on its first board of directors, including a term as secretary. In 1999, he received the SocietyÕs Al Greer Achievement Award.


	Member News To let your peers know of an honor you have received, or anything else in which you feel other IRES members would be interested, please E-mail the information to ireshq@swbell.net and we'll post it on this page. We would be delighted to publicize any honor or award – academic degrees, professional designations, promotions, whatever (although we'd probably skip gallon blood donor, we might go for your 300 game or hole-in-one). Obituaries and other important milestones also are appropriate, as are meetings of state chapters or pretty much anything else in which you feel other IRES members would be interested. If you have a scanner, please attach a photo of the award presentation or other appropriate artwork. (We automatically list the names of IRES members who have received their AIE or CIE designation over the past few months, as well as new sustaining members of the Society.) The Nebraska State Chapter of IRES will hold its April meeting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the Terminal Building basement at 10th and O Streets in Lincoln (941 O St.). Our speaker will be Steve Hawkins, assistant vice president of Marketing and Policyholder Service with Lincoln Direct Life Insurance Company. Steve will give the presentation on "Turning Your Customer Service Center into a Profit Center" that he's giving at the LOMA Customer Service Conference in Tampa. Its focus is on cross-selling to current customers. This meeting will be worth at least one hour of CE credit for CIEs, AIEs and those who need credit for other purposes besides IRES. Regulators and insurance-related folks are always welcome – come and bring a friend or colleague. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Dyke. The Colorado State Chapter continues to provide continuing education classes for its members and interested DOI staff. A class on enforcement was presented last April by Erin Toll, director of consumer affairs compliance, and in May, Susan Gambrill gave a class on HIPAA and Cover Colorado. Coming up next will be an in-depth review of all activity on passed, pending, postponed and defeated insurance-related bills in the legislature, courtesy of Christel Szczesniak, special assistant to the commissioner. The Missouri Chapter held its first educational workshop last May, in coordination with the market conduct division of the department – in all, 37 IRES members attended the two-day workshop, which was also open to nonmembers in the department. Toppics included third-party vendors, prompt pay, automated exam techniques, market conduct surveillance, '02 legislative update, anti-fraud, report writing and using the MDI's Web site. Oregon – IRES members and other DOI employees gather on the third Friday of each month for an afternoon of continuing education, including David M. Kahn of the U.S. Depaprtment of Labor on outreach programs and federal-state cooperation, NAIC updates and administrator Joel Ario on the Future of Market Regulation. Other presentations have included new ERISA rules, heatlh care charge accounting, the surplus lines marketplace, kidnap and ransom protection, the state's new market analysis program and recent experiences with SERFF and CARFR. Virginia IRES members have voted unanimously to organize their own state chapter to provide certain training and educational sessions for its 45 members – especially to those who need CE to maintain their designations. In addition, the chapter's meetings will provide training for new examiners from all areas of market regulation, training/education on new statutes and education information regarding the NAIC and industry news. The new Virginia chapter is planning quarterly meetings at its offices that will include pre-planned training and educational sessions approved for CE credit. Members representing both the L&H and P&C Divisions of our BOI will share the responsibility for the sessions. Future plans may include other states participating in the sessions. Weldon Hazlewood was elected to be the chairperson of the chapter. Charles C. Elgin, one of IRES's founding fathers and a former officer and board member of the Society, passed away Sept. 24 at the age of 73. Charlie went to work for the Missouri Division of Insurance in 1972 as a rate examiner. Before that he had been a loan officer, bail bondsman and insurance agent. Although fluent in most types of insurance, his specialties were those insurance products that were out of the mainstream and posed harm to consumers, including credit-related coverages, mobile home policies, bail bonds and non-standard auto coverage. Charlie served in various positions while with the Missouri department, including market conduct examiner, examiner in charge and supervisor. He also worked for the Oklahoma Insurance Department and later the Kentucky Insurance Department. Charlie was involved in IRES from its initial organizational meetings and served on its first board of directors, including a term as secretary. In 1999, he received the SocietyÕs Al Greer Achievement Award.