SLA Boosts Its Advocacy Outreach Efforts

During my many years in Washington, D.C., I learned a valuable lesson early on: it is far better to build relationships with legislators and regulators before you need their cooperation than to wait until you need it.

As an insurance lobbyist in the nation’s capital, I found myself in the unenviable situation of having to approach a powerful U.S. Senator, whom I previously had never met, to discuss a problem he had with the industry. His insurer (not one of my association’s member companies) recently had denied his claim after a hurricane had blown away his home, and he was in no mood for friendly conversation.

“I know who you are,” the Senator said curtly as I introduced myself, and he pointedly declined my proferred handshake. “You’ve got a lot of nerve. I’ve got my stinger out for you, boy.”

In addition to being disinclined toward basic pleasantries at that moment, the Senator also had no interest in hearing that my association did not represent the insurer that had denied his claim. Clearly, the better time for him to have learned that information would have been prior to the hurricane blowing his house away—or washing it away, depending on whether you were the Senator or his insurer.

Since that memorable moment, I have always followed the maxim that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And that is why the SLA, during my tenure, has begun making a concerted effort toward building relationships with legislators and regulators, both in Sacramento and in Washington, D.C.

As part of this ramping up of our advocacy outreach efforts, we recently expanded the SLA’s newest department, the Communications Department, to include government relations, and hired an assistant vice president in that department to give us added capacity. Both Vice President Cliston Brown and Assistant Vice President Kelly Hogan have prior experience working for members of Congress and for large, influential member associations in Washington, D.C. While neither of them are lobbyists, they do bring to the SLA a deep knowledge and understanding of how to communicate and interact effectively with government officials and their staff members.

Cliston accompanied me earlier this year to a meeting in Sacramento with Assembly Insurance Chair Tom Daly, and he also met with State Senator Robert Hertzberg. Both were pleased that we made the effort to come see them and to inform them about the surplus line industry, our members, and their value to California’s consumers and its economy. I also met Assembly Member Matt Dababneh and had a productive meeting with him.

Additionally, Cliston, Kelly and other members of the SLA team helped prepare testimony and supporting materials for a State Senate Insurance Committee hearing on homeowners insurance on March 9. I was called by committee staff to testify at that hearing regarding the increase in surplus lines activity in the homeowners’ market due to wildfires.

Due to our staff’s efforts, my testimony during that hearing was favorably received by committee members and staff, and we established good relationships with them, which will be to our benefit the next time a surplus lines issue comes before that committee.

In addition to the expansion of the role of SLA staff, we are also fortunate to have a Legislative Committee that helps guide and support our efforts. Led by Hank Haldeman, this committee is spearheading an active role for our association and its members in introducing ourselves to key decision makers in our state and national capitals.

By building these relationships now, we are likely to find ourselves in a far better position to inform and educate decision makers on future legislation that may affect our industry. Being a trusted source of information is a far better place to be than heading into the beehive and finding one or more very powerful adversaries waiting for us—with their stingers out.