The WSIA Political Action Committee’s annual Legislative Fly-In is an important element of the organization’s advocacy efforts. The 2020 Fly-In was canceled due to COVID-19, but work to educate members of Congress has been ongoing. (Fotolia)For the WSIA Political Action Committee, 2019 was a tough act to follow.
Member of the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA) contributed a record $178,845 to the PAC in 2019. Those contributions came from 347 individual contributors and exceeded the previous record, set just one year before, by almost $37,000.
Despite the unexpected twists that have arisen from the current COVID-19 pandemic, WSIA PAC’s leaders say it’s as important as it has ever been for WSIA members to support the PAC in any way that they can.
“We could not have envisioned the current global situation when we set our plans in place for 2020, but our goal for the PAC hasn’t changed,” says Phillip McCrorie, WSIA PAC Committee Chair and President, RSUI. “We need to continue to press forward in support of the PAC because of the legislative and regulatory issues that have arisen out of the pandemic and because we’re in an election year. Our need to educate new lawmakers continues and is actually enhanced right now.”
Since its inception in 2005, the importance of WSIA’s PAC has grown, and it is a key element of the WSIA advocacy strategy. The PAC helps the association educate members of Congress about the importance and impact of the wholesale, specialty and surplus lines industry on the nation’s economy. The PAC also offers an influential voice on the industry’s complex insurance issues and can offer financial support to candidates whose philosophies are consistent with the goals of WSIA and its members.
The WSIA PAC has raised $1,319,934 from 2,291 contributions since 2005. WSIA Senior State Relations Manager John Meetz emphasizes the importance of the PAC for WSIA’s legislative advocacy, and describes how every member can play a role in its success.
“The PAC Committee continues to focus on involving as many members as possible in the PAC’s work,” Meetz says. “Last year, we had 124 new contributors who had not previously participated, and it’s that kind of growth in support that will help us reach our goals moving forward. The committee continues to set ambitious contribution goals, which we need to achieve to continue the successes we’ve had in educating members of Congress. We can only get there with broad support from our members.”
The committee hopes to raise $200,000 in 2020. Currently, 188 individuals have contributed $118,995 to the PAC, and those contributors work for 70 different WSIA member firms. PAC contributions are completely voluntary and must come from individuals working in the wholesale, specialty and surplus lines industry.
“I think it might be surprising to most people that a candidate for Congress may only receive $5,000 from any one source in a year. Given how much we hear about campaigns, it would seem like that cap would be much higher, but the reality is that it isn’t. So, from the perspective of a single candidate, that contribution is quite significant,” he said. “When WSIA members support our PAC, in any amount, it makes us more successful in demonstrating that our members personally support the education and outreach facilitated by our PAC.”
Meetz adds that it’s impactful when the WSIA team can highlight a large number of contributors.
“Every contribution, no matter how large or how small, really does matter,” he says. “Members of Congress take notice when they see a contribution from a PAC that has a large number of small contributors. It shows them they have the support of a broad number of respected community leaders, in all areas of the country. We want to show them that WSIA has that kind of committed membership.”
The association’s annual Legislative Fly-In is also an important element of WSIA’s advocacy effort in Washington D.C. Members of the WSIA Legislative Committee, PAC Committee and Board of Directors make the trip each year and meet with members of Congress who serve on either the House Financial Services Committee or the Senate Banking Committee, and a number of the members who serve on the respective subcommittees on insurance.
The 2020 Fly-In was canceled due to COVID-19, but work to educate members of Congress has been ongoing.
“We know that our continued PAC support will help us return there seamlessly when it’s safe,” says Keri Kish, WSIA Director of Government Relations. “Each year when we make those visits, we find that we’re making great progress in educating key members of the House and Senate, and while we always start with industry background, we see that their understanding of the industry is much better now than it was even just a few years ago as the result of our consistent outreach and support.”
Kish says it is rewarding to develop relationships with those members of Congress and their key staff members. “The face-to-face meetings are very productive and being there helps us get a sense of where our education efforts are most needed with the people who are influencing insurance legislation.” She said that those relationships have also been beneficial during this unusual year, where in-person meetings haven’t been possible, but it has been critically important to continue to monitor the same issues from afar.
“Connecting with those teams really highlights the importance of supporting the PAC. These are long-term, effective investments,” Kish says. “And, during an election year, we know that we’ll have new relationships to build, so it’s also important to have the PAC support to facilitate that process down the road.”
To encourage PAC participation across member firms, the WSIA PAC Committee awards special recognition to two firms based on their employees’ total voluntary contributions to the PAC and for the highest number of participating employees from a firm. The member firms who end the year at the top of these leaderboards will each receive a credit toward WSIA event registration. Individual contributors can also win prizes just by making a contribution of any amount. This year, anyone who contributes prior to or during the Virtual Annual Marketplace will be entered to win a bottle of Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, and all U40 members will be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Meetz urged members to visit the WSIA PAC website to contribute online and see a list of peers who have already supported the PAC this year.
“The WSIA team communicates throughout the year to educate legislators about this industry. It’s critical that they understand the impact of the wholesale, specialty and surplus lines industry on the overall U.S. economy, and we need to have a strong PAC behind that message,” McCrorie says. “We face complex legislative and regulatory issues as an industry, now more than maybe ever before, and we need the PAC support to help develop these relationships.”
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