Florida-Based Property Insurers CEO Group
Editorial
October 27, 2011
The State Board of Administration on Tuesday is expected to appoint former House Insurance Chair Don Brown of DeFuniak Springs to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Advisory Council, representing reinsurers. Don is a lobbyist for the Association of Bermuda Insurers & Reinsurers and other reinsurance clients.
Also Tuesday, John Auer, a new Florida Insurance Council member, will become Advisory Council chair. John is President and Chief Operating Officer, American Strategic Insurance Company, St. Petersburg.
Finally on Tuesday, the Advisory Council is expected to get a new insurance agent representative, Jeffrey Evans. He succeeds Jim Henderson, of Longwood, who has served on the Advisory Council since 2001.
The SBA sits as trustees for the Cat Fund. It consists of Governor Rick Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Rep. Brown will assume the reinsurance Advisory Council seat held for the last 10 years by Robert L. Peduto of Kimberling City, Missouri, a reinsurance consultant who also has been chair. John Auer has been vice chair and moves in as chair upon Don Brown’s appointment to the Advisory Council. The council will elect a new vice chair early next year.
This will be the new Cat Fund Advisory Council:
John Auer, American Strategic Insurance Company, St. Petersburg, insurers, Chair;
Campbell Cawood, Key West, consumers;
Judith Curry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, meteorologist;
Jeffrey Evans, agents;
William Huffcut, Tallahassee, consumers
Vacant, engineer
David Walker, Clearwater, consumers;
Floyd Yager, Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL, actuary.
Here is information from Don Brown’s biography submitted to the Financial Services Commission:
Don Brown has served on the Walton County Board of County Commissioners, President of the Walton County Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Walton County Airport Authority. He has also served as Republican State Committeeman, Chairman of the Walton County Republican Executive Committee and as a State Representative in the Florida House of Representatives. Don has been an Independent insurance agent for over 35 years and together with his wife they currently own an insurance agency in DeFuniak Springs, FL.
While in the Legislature Don Brown was best known for his work on insurance issues. In the back-to-back years of 2002 and 2003 he was recognized by both the Florida Association of Insurance Agents and the Florida Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors for his significant contribution to insurance reform. Most notably, in 2007 Don was one of only two legislators to vote “No” on HB1A which significantly expand the role of government into private homeowners insurance markets. Since 2007, many of his objections to HB1A have proven to be correct.
