H. Scott Kerns, president of Bay Risk Insurance Services of Alameda, Calif., was installed Friday as president of the Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West during the association’s 2008 Annual Business Meeting.
Kerns welcomed IBA members to Oakland, home of the Oakland Association of Insurance Agents, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. IBA West and the Oakland association trace their roots back to a small group of insurance professionals who aided agents and insurance companies displaced by the Great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906, a period when much of the region’s insurance industry moved across the bay to Oakland to stage the rebuilding of the city of San Francisco.
“I want to thank and welcome all of you to Oakland, the birthplace of the California Big “I” association 101 years ago,” said Kerns. “It was the vision of a number of independent agents from this diverse city that laid the foundation of this great organization.”
Kern added that IBA West will continue its commitment to be inclusive for all members. “Like the city of Oakland, our association is made up of a very diverse agency universe,” said the new president. “We want to give every member the opportunity to participate in the strategy and planning process and encourage all to participate.”
Kerns acknowledged the leadership of his predecessor Paul Bystrowski, CEO of John O. Bronson, Sacramento. During Bystrowski’s tenure, IBA West helped shape the debate surrounding contingent compensation, as well as set the stage for discussions regarding agent and broker licensing, including clarification of producer fee regulations.
The following new officers and directors were also installed at the meeting: President-Elect Richard E. Dinger, Crescenta Valley Insurance, Glendale; Secretary-Treasurer Kevin M. Baker, CIC, ARM, AAI, Suhr Risk Services of California, Burlingame; and IIABA State National Director Andrew J. Valdivia, CPCU, ARM, White & Co. Insurance, Inc., Santa Monica.
Elected to the IBA West Board of Directors were Northern California Regional Director Tabb G. Randolph, Wraith, Scarlett & Randolph Insurance Services, Inc., Woodland; Southern California Regional Director William Curtis, Sullivan Curtis Monroe, Pasadena; and Associate Member Director, Pete Thrasher, Swett & Crawford, San Francisco.
Source: IBA West
Topics California Agencies
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