Thompson Honored with Insurance Council of Texas’ Raymond Mauk Award

Jay Thompson, a partner with the law firm of Thompson, Coe, Cousins and Irons, has been named the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award honoree by the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT).

The award was presented on July 12 at the 20th Annual Mid-Year Property and Casualty Symposium. Thompson is the fifteenth recipient of the prestigious award.

The Raymond Mauk Leadership Award is the ICT’s highest honor and is intended to bestow recognition on those whose labor has made a significant difference in the business of insurance.

Thompson has been involved in and played a major role in insurance legislation that has shaped the course of the insurance industry for the last 30 years. In 1987, after successful negotiations with the Texas homebuilders lobby, Thompson wrote the inspection bill for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), a landmark achievement which got cities out of the inspection business and gave the responsibility to the Texas Department of Insurance.

In 1989, Thompson worked on the insurance issues that were critical to the passage of the omnibus workers’ compensation reform bill and established the Texas Compensation Insurance Association as the vehicle that allowed divergent insurance entities to work as a group on this essential change in the Texas system.

In 1991, Thompson was a part of a working group on HB 2, the insurance reform legislation championed by newly elected Governor Ann Richards. He wrote over 200 amendments and later successfully challenged in Federal Court that part of the law that declared the windpool was a state agency. He played a major role in keeping Lloyds and reciprocals exempt from rate regulation.

Between 1993 and 1997 Thompson worked on issues relating to the funding of TWIA and its ability to build funds without paying taxes. He conceived the Catastrophe Reserve Trust Fund and drafted legislation prohibiting state budget writers from raiding the fund during hard times.

The Raymond Mauk Award honors former Texas Fire Commissioner Raymond Mauk.

Source: The Insurance Council of Texas

Topics Texas Legislation