Sparks Receives Insurance Council of Texas Raymond Mauk Award

Craig Sparks, non-executive chairman of Union Standard, has been presented with the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award by the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT). Sparks is the eighteenth recipient of the award.

The ICT presents the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award each year at its Mid-Year Property and Casualty Insurance Symposium. It is the Council’s highest honor and is intended to bestow recognition on those whose labor has made a significant difference in the business of insurance.

Sparks was recognized for his meteoric rise in the insurance industry, his many contributions to various industry organizations, as well as his success at Union Standard, a part of the W.R. Berkley Corp.

Sparks began his insurance career with Floyd West & Co., a firm that specialized in wholesale insurance products for insurance agencies. He later moved to Crum and Forster, where he served as branch manager.

Sparks also worked for Wausau as an agent where he wrote large commercial accounts. In Little Rock in 1993, Sparks landed a job at Union Standard as branch manager. Within seven years, he became president.

During Sparks’ tenure as president of Union Standard, the company’s commercial property casualty premium writings grew nearly 300 percent. In 2014, Sparks resigned as president but has stayed with Union Standard as the non-executive chairman.

Sparks is a past chairman of the Insurance Council of Texas and former president of the Association of Fire and Casualty Companies in Texas (AFACT). He has also served on the National Alliance’s CIC Board of Governors and was founding chairman of the Texas Committee on Insurance Fraud. He currently serves on ICT’s Education Foundation.

The Raymond Mauk Award honors former Texas Fire Commissioner Raymond Mauk and annually recognizes someone who has made a notable contribution to the Texas property and casualty insurance industry.

Source: Insurance Council of Texas

Topics Texas