Gelia to Chair New York Agents’ Group

Insurance agent David M. Gelia has been elected chairman of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York (IIABNY).

Gelia, executive vice-president of United Insurance Agency in Amherst, has served as chair-elect, secretary-treasurer and regional director representing the nonprofit trade association’s members in the central and western parts of the state.

In his acceptance speech, Gelia vowed to focus on fighting new state regulations that require agents to reveal to clients information about agents commissions.

Other officers elected and re-elected to IIABNY’s executive committee for one-year terms include Chair-Elect Christopher A. Brassard, CIC, executive vice-president and director of Ten Eyck Group in Albany, and Secretary-Treasurer Thomas J. Crowley, vice-president of Maran Corporate Risk Associates in Southampton.

IIABNY members also elected and re-elected the following regional directors to two-year terms:

• James D. Sutton, president of James F. Sutton Agency Ltd. in East Islip, to represent the New York City metro and suburban areas
• Kevin R. Crossley, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Club Agency Insurance Brokerage in Garden City, also to represent New York City metro and suburban areas
• Kevin Delaney, vice president of commercial lines for Brown & Brown Empire State in Syracuse, to represent the central and western areas of the state
• Andrew J. Kaufman, president of Aurora Inc. in Albany, to represent the state’s Capitol District and areas north
• John H. Smith Jr., executive vice president for the William A. Smith & Son agency in Newburgh, also to represent the state’s Capitol District and areas north.

Neal L. Sullivan, vice president of Sullivan Insurance & Financial Services in Mahopac, won a two-year term as an at-large member representative on the Nominating Committee, which evaluates candidates for leadership positions and makes recommendations to the membership.

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