Chairman’s Report

When I became Chairman of PAMIC I had no doubt it would be a memorable year and one that would be filled with interesting and exciting events.  It probably goes without saying my term exceeded my expectations on many levels!

While we attempt to grasp the “New Normal”, this year has created unique circumstances for all of us in so many ways.  Remote working, business meetings via Zoom, board meetings virtually, social distancing, sheltering in place, virtual happy hours and then there is the “masquerade” as what could be mistaken for bandits wearing a mask when in public.  It’s easy to say we will all remember, maybe not so fondly, the year our Convention was cancelled.

It’s sad actually that convention could not go forward with all the hard work that had been completed from the incoming Chairman David Gautsche, the PAMIC Staff and the Convention Planning Committee.  They had pulled together a tremendous program and it was sure to be a great convention.  Maybe, just maybe, some of the hard work from this year can be carried over to next year’s convention.  Hopefully, that will be the case!

Many first have been created as a result of the pandemic and I’m sure we have all experienced those.  Leading up to the end of my Chairmanship with PAMIC I had envisioned various means of how I would pass the gavel to incoming Chairman David Gautsche but I have to admit, doing it virtually was not on my list.  I’m sure David will do a tremendous job as Chairman and he will no doubt make many memories of his own but I truly hope his term as Chairman is not filled with as many surprises and unusual events as what mine has been.

Serving as Chairman of PAMIC during the 2019 – 2020 term has been a true pleasure and I am honored that the membership would allow me to be “that person”.  With Convention cancelled, my exit will be completed with much less drama and I truly will miss not having the opportunity to thank the membership for allowing me to serve.  It is also with great pleasure that I extend a huge “Thank You” to the PAMIC staff for their guidance, assistance and support.  Without their help this would have been a much greater task.

Some of you may know that I plan to retire from my company in April 2021 and I’m not sure how involved I will be in the future with attending events.  It was my hope that I could have personally extend my appreciation during convention for the support and fellowship during my years of being involved in PAMIC.  But, like many other things the best laid plans don’t always work out as we would like.  I suspect, with how things are going, we will at least cross paths, albeit possibly virtually, at some point but until then I wish all of you a happy and prosperous future!

Thank you!
Art Meadows

President’s Report

On Friday the 13th (March 13, 2020, you can’t make this up), lives and businesses in the United States, and the MidAtlantic region pivoted down paths never traveled before. While we do not yet have the full benefit of retrospect, I do know that under the toughest circumstances we fulfilled our industry’s promise to policyholders to be there in times of trouble. To a member, the first concern in the early days of the pandemic was not the financial health of our companies, but how to deliver on that promise. 

With the financial health of customers at stake, the first order of business was to change Governor Tom Wolf’s mind related to his executive order. Insurance companies were initially declared to be “non-life essential.” That meant insurance companies were included as part of the business shut down, despite our clear role in meeting the needs of customers during the emergency. Within days, an educational campaign was mobilized to address the “wrong” we fundamentally understood. Thanks to the incredible engagement of our members, Governor Wolf was convinced to change course and declare insurers “life-essential” - confirming our role in helping people recover.

Using sound business judgment, our fellow members and the industry as a whole, took things from there, making decisions to benefit policyholders over the bottom-line. Our members:

• created premium holidays to help financially struggling policyholders keep their insurance,

• reviewed policy underwriting criteria looking for premium savings,

• developed innovative claims protocols that allowed for swift claims payments without jeopardizing the health and safety of our policyholders, and front line claims people, 

• continued our industry’s long tradition of supporting our local not-for-profit helping struggling community members in their time of need,

• adapted to rapidly changing regulatory requirements,

• created “remote” work environments keeping employees fully engaged so that policyholders are served in their time of greatest need.

PAMIC was also busy creating its new  “Normal.”  During this time, our focus was to provide you the latest developments on emerging regulatory, statutory, technological, and educational issues.  Highlights include:

• Established the members-only “How Goes IT” calls every Friday through May 2020.

• Created the live “Call-in” with the PID every Monday afternoon through May 2020

• With the financial health of customers at stake, the first order of business was to change Governor Tom Wolf’s mind related to his executive order. Insurance companies were initially declared to be “non-life essential.”Thanks to the incredible engagement of our members, Governor Wolf was convinced to change course and declare insurers “life-essential” - confirming our role in helping people recover.

• Worked along with other industry groups to thwart the General Assembly’s desire to create insurance mandates requiring insurers to cover business interruption claims

• Rescheduling all events from April through August 2020.  PAMIC staff renegotiated all our venue and event contracts with a positive outcome that we did not have to pay and cancellation penalties.

• Mobilized over 30 webinars since March 13, 2020, focusing on emerging issues with over 3,000 attendees taking advantage of these programs.

• Developed the PAMIC COVID-19 web portal to keep you informed of the latest guidance from our regulators.

Using a quote from the Summer 2020 Pulse, Novelist Paul Coelho once said, “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” It is clear to me that our industry and members have risen to the challenge and as a result are better today than ever before! 

Thank you for all you have done this past year and will continue to do on behalf of the policyholders who count on us. We may not know for certain what the next several months will bring, but what I do know is that our industry will continue to respond with agility, professionalism, and compassion and PAMIC will continue to educate, advocate and facilitate relationships on your behalf.

Proudly Serving You,
Ron Gallagher, President, PAMIC