Ben McKay

Executive Director, Surplus Line Association of California (SLA)

Welcome to my blog, and thank you for dropping by. I am the chief executive of the Surplus Line Association of California (SLA), the nation’s first and largest association representing surplus line insurance professionals.

First, let me tell you a little bit about our line of business. Surplus line insurance is not your everyday insurance policy. A surplus line policy covers high-risk, high-value, distressed or unique hazards, which standard insurers do not have the capacity to insure. Surplus line brokers find insurance coverage for consumers that they could not otherwise obtain in the marketplace.

It is our job, at SLA, to help our brokers comply with California laws governing their business practices and to stay in good standing with the California Department of Insurance (CDI). We are also appointed by the CDI to collect all appropriate broker fees and filings and ensure compliance with state insurance laws and regulations; however, we are not the CDI, and we see it as our role to help the broker community achieve compliance and thereby protect consumers.

I came to SLA in July 2012, tasked with guiding the organization toward a customer-friendly outlook and ensuring smooth working relationships between the broker community, regulators and lawmakers. I had spent the previous eight years as a federal lobbyist for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). Before that, I served as chief of staff to a member of the U.S. Congress and as a regulator at the Florida Department of State, as well as a legislative aide in the Florida Legislature.

In all, I have 20 years’ experience in the legislative and regulatory processes, on both the federal and state levels, and from the inside and the outside. I came to California to put that experience and knowledge to work for the state’s surplus line brokers, regulators, elected leaders and policyholders. Ultimately, we are all in this together, and our common goal is to promote a fair, healthy and competitive market for consumers.
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