NAIIA President’s Letter – August 2026 Edition
NAIIA President’s Letter – August 2026 Edition
Hi everyone.
My first words to you, our valued NAIIA members, are THANK YOU. Thank you to all of you for putting your faith in this guy from Montana to lead this fine organization for a year. If you don’t know me, I’m that guy in the back of the room with the black coat on. 😊 I love the business of claims and hope that this next year can be an opportunity for all of us in the NAIIA to show the world just a bit of how amazing our people are.
I hope you and yours are enjoying a wonderful summer. With the extreme heat in parts of the country, tornadoes, fires, wind, and hail events in others, our dichotomous existence is pushed to the forefront.
On the one hand, we independent adjusters have families and friends with whom we love to spend time doing activities throughout the summer. We spend time in or around our properties, caring for them with pride and dignity. We hope and pray that it isn’t our home that is damaged by the hail or flood or lost entirely to fire.
On the other hand, many of our members make their livings helping insurance companies, other types of payers, and the impacted property owners at the worst of times…after a tornado or hurricane, hail or wind event. When the roof is damaged, or gone, when personal property collected over many years, even generations, has been destroyed, when the only thing left of the home or business is the outline of a foundation in the smoking ruins, it is us, the independent adjusters, who are ready and willing to help bring clarity, order, and recovery to these disasters.
We should be the most proud professionals in the entire industry!
Last Year. I hope those that attended this year’s NAIIA Annual Conference at the Grand Hotel in Clear Point, Alabama had a fine time. The property and surroundings were beautiful and historic. I, for one, very much enjoy the opportunity to reconnect with other NAIIA members and hear what’s been happening in their area(s) of the country.
At the March conference in Alabama, I had the honor of being sworn in as the 2026 – 2027 NAIIA President. I’m going to repeat what our Immediate Past President Nino Berardi said, “I am both humbled and grateful for the trust you have placed in me.” It is hard to describe the emotions of stepping into this role. The history of NAIIA and the many names that precede me are simply amazing. Some might even say legendary in the claims industry. Having been both a member as an IA and as an insurance company claims executive that used NAIIA in 35 states, I use the word ‘legendary’ in all seriousness.
Theme. I am one of many in the NAIIA that have both IA and insurance company / captive / self-insured claims management experience. The depth of experience that our members have in many different jurisdictions and types of claims in the US is a strategic advantage that NAIIA has over other organizations and most national/regional claims organizations.
This is the basis for the theme that I chose for the 2026 – 2027 term:
NATIONAL EXPERIENCE – LOCAL EXPERTISE
So many talented professionals have gone before me in this role for NAIIA. I won’t begin to mention them because I don’t want to miss anyone. However, I want to call out specifically the most recent that have served as President for the profound impact that they have made upon the organization. These include Bill Schulenberg and Nino Berardi, our immediate past presidents, President-Elect Paul Graf, and Secretary/Treasurer John Dotson. The 2026-2027 team has hit the ground running with the professional assistance of our invaluable Executive Director, Sheri Csom. As we move towards a higher level of collaboration with other industry organizations, our regional vice presidents and our many committee members will be working long, volunteer hours to raise the brand level of NAIIA.
Most importantly, though, I send a heartfelt thanks to the most important aspect of NAIIA…you, our members. We would not exist were it not for your membership, involvement, and engagement. I anticipate that each of you will bring your God-given gifts to the path of success of the NAIIA.
Collaborations. It has been a subtheme for the past couple of years. We plan to continue and raise the bar by collaborating with other organizations. We have been working with some new groups and have had excellent feedback. These include agreements with WorkCompCollege, National Insurance Crime Bureau, National Association of Catastrophe Adjusters, the Agricultural Claims Association, and the National Association of Subrogation Professionals. With each formalization, we extend the reach and level of the NAIIA brand in the industry.
Meetings. In the coming months, I look forward to our regional meetings:
- Mid-States Region Meeting – October 7 – 8, 2026 – Chicago, Illinois
- Western / Southwest Combined Meeting – January, Dallas, Texas
- Southeast Region Meeting – June 2 – 3, 2027 – Alpharetta, Georgia
- Eastern Region Meeting – June, 2027 – As yet unspecified
Please plan on attending one or more of our regional meetings. One of the strengths of NAIIA is our in-person collaboration…with each other and with other industry participants that support NAIIA. The smaller, more intimate settings at the regional meetings are perfect for healthy face-to-face engagement.
We are working on NAIIA attendance at other conferences in 2026 and 2027. We are looking at CLM, PLRB, the Ag Claims Association, and, to support our workers’ compensation members, National Comp in Las Vegas. If you are planning on attending any of these or other conferences, please let Sheri Csom know. At a minimum, we can help with some social media, but it is possible that we can have other NAIIA folks attend. If you have, as an organization or one of your staff, received an award, get the article and photos to Sheri Csom. We LOVE celebrating the success of our members!
Looking ahead, the 2027 NAIIA Annual Conference will be held at The Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, California, April 26 – 28, 2027. The theme of education day will be to broaden our lines of claims coverage supported by NAIIA. We will have sessions that cover most lines of claims handling. And…drum roll…a 2-hour session with well-known figureheads in the claims industry to address Artificial Intelligence and the Impact Upon Claims. The panel is such a draw that we will be opening education day to those who wish to attend that are not NAIIA members for a separate fee. There will be no discussion of AI in the country as educational and impactful as this NAIIA panel. Budget for and get those reservations made; you don’t want to miss this gathering with your fellow members.
Membership. Speaking of members, we have engaged with an external company to assist the organization in attracting and signing up new member companies. Our recruiting efforts have produced less than hoped for results over the past few years. The Executive Committee, through a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) process, sought out companies that could assist with our recruitment efforts. We are happy to announce that an agreement has been reached that will last approximately 18 months with Direct Connection Advertising & Marketing, LLC.
Direct Connection is a California company with experience in the insurance industry and at least two of our members. If you have leads for possible new members, please get them to Sheri Csom. No need to do any vetting; the process is designed to do just that. Help us grow this fine organization.
Closing. I’ll close this letter to you, our members, with one thought. We are some of the most dedicated, gifted, and experienced claims professionals in the United States. As your president, I promise you that I will at every turn promote the professionalism, dedication, and integrity that make up the membership of NAIIA. We do nearly every line of claim imaginable. We have experience that is the envy of the industry. It is time to STAND UP AND BE PROUD of our heritage, our members, and the contribution that we make to the insurance and self-insurance community every single day. We do this because we have:
NATIONAL EXPERIENCE – LOCAL EXPERTISE
Best wishes,
Michael J. Marsh, RPA, CPIA, CIU, CIA
President, NAIIA
President, Midland Claims Service, Inc. and Wrenwell Claims
