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Welcome
to The Society of
Registered
Professional Adjusters
The Society of Registered
Professional Adjusters is the organization implemented to oversee the
qualifications and designations of Registered Professional Adjusters
(RPA). The Society was formed by industry professionals that felt
continuing education was critical and that there needed to be a
designation that recognized the professionalism of an adjuster. The
Board of Directors is made up of insurance company top management and
support organizations, independent claims adjusters, and attorneys that
work directly with the industry. It is the first and only
designation formed by and for the insurance claims professional. The
Society is a non-profit organization and supported by volunteers and
member donations. RPA designees have demonstrated excellence and proficiency in
the insurance claims field, have met Continuing Education Requirements
(CE's), comply with ethics standards imposed by the RPA, and have sustained a
level of competence...something all current member designees must
demonstrate and something that all insurers should demand. The
Society is not a social club and continuing membership demands compliance
with requirements detailed on this
website. The designation is not available to entry level claims
persons. Members must be actively involved in the insurance claims
industry and is open to insurance company and independent claims
adjusters. If you meet the requirements of the RPA, apply for
membership, take and pass the exam, and become a RPA designee...the sign
of the professional adjuster!
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How We Were Founded - and
Why
Before 1996, members of the
California Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters were discussing
the lack of standards for professional excellence, education, and ethics
among the ranks of professional claims adjusters.
They felt that anyone could
claim to be an insurance adjuster, and that companies employing adjusters
had no standard means by which to measure their professional competence.
A Steering Committee was established, consisting of Gil Malmgren, Malmgren
Group, Oakland, California: Peter Evans, D.L. Glaze/ASU Group, Novato,
California: Daniel G. Price, CPCU, Pacific Claims Service, Inc, San
Diego, California; John Joiner, Rooney & Anderson, Eureka, California; Robert
L. Gresham, Jr. CPCU, R.L. Gresham & Company, Las Vegas, Nevada;
and Eugene Riggs, AIC, Napa, California. After much soul searching, they
formed the RPA, now known as the Society of Registered Professional Adjusters.
Not a "social
club"
From the beginning, RPA had
tangible professional underpinnings. Far from creating a social club,
Malmgren, Evans, Price, and their peers set out to shape a serious organization
focused on ensuring the professional excellence of its recognized members.
Over time, a national group
of founding members established criteria under which claims adjusters
could be awarded the "RPA Designation," the formal recognition
that the adjuster meets all the established criteria for professional
distinction.
Strict Requirements for
the RPA Designation
Professional adjusters are
awarded the RPA Designation after a set minimum number of years of service
as professional adjusters. They also must successfully complete a number
of yearly Continuing Education courses and pass a highly sophisticated,
professionally administered comprehensive three-hour examination. Specific
requirements are here.
By early 2002, when this site
was launched, RPA had awarded the coveted "RPA Designation" to
over 1300 adjusters worldwide.
Meet
Our Board of Directors
Michael R.
Csom,
RPA
Chairman of the Board
 Mike Csom has spent 37 years in the claims business. Retired as Chairman of The ASU Group in 2001, he is past president of the NAIIA. He is presently active as permanent conference chair of NAIIA, and the PLRB planning committee. Mr. Csom is a graduate of New Haven College
with advanced study at Western Michigan University.
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Douglas Jackson
RPA
President
SGD, Inc.
 Douglas Jackson is
Vice-President of SGD, Inc.,
a Southern California based independent insurance adjusting company
that provides claims adjusting and consultation services to commercial
and personal line insurers with a primary focus on property and
casualty lines. With over 30 years of insurance claims experience,
he has worked for both commercial and homeowner insurance carriers.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business through California
State University , Long Beach.
Mr. Jackson is the past
President
of the California Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters
(CAIIA), the organization that spearheaded development of the RPA
organization, he has a commitment to the elevation of the claims
adjuster community through education and mentoring. He was instrumental
in the recent implementation of the SEED program (Seminar for the
Evaluation of Earthquake Damage in compliance with CCR §2695),
coordinated the education program, and was one of a team of instructors
that provided education to the claims community throughout the
state of California . He was also part of a team assembled by the
California DOI to write the new test for claims agent (adjuster)
licensing. Having sat on the original CAIIA Board of Directors
that authorized the formation of the RPA, he has a personal interest
in seeing that the vision of the organization be embraced and honored.
He is also the webmaster for the RPA website.
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Donna
Popow
RPA
Secretary
American Institute for CPCU and
Insurance Institute of America
 Donna Popow: joined the American
Institute for CPCU and the Insurance Institute of America in 2002.
As a Director of Curriculum, she maintains the textbooks, course guides,
and examinations for the Introduction to Claims course and
the Associate in Claims (AIC) designation program. Ms. Popow
also serves as the Director of Intellectual Property for the Institutes.
Before joining the Institutes, Donna was vice president and litigation
manager, Home Office Claims, for the Marine Office of America
Corporation/CNA in Monmouth Junction, N.J.
Her previous positions include serving as a
claims consultant for The Graham Company in Philadelphia, Pa.; managing
attorney for the law firm of Lewis and Wood, also in Philadelphia;
and deputy executive director of the Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment
Fund, New Jersey Department of Insurance, Trenton, N.J.
Donna has also held claims-related
positions with Hanover Insurance Company in Piscataway, N.J.; Accredited
Movers, a franchise of North American Van Lines in Parsippany, N.J.;
and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in South Plainfield, N.J. Donna
earned an A.B. degree from Franklin and Marshall College in 1977. She
received the Insurance Institute of America's Certificate in General
Insurance in 1983 and became a Property Claims Law Associate in 1985.
She was awarded her J.D. by Seton Hall Law School in 1988 and was admitted
to the Bar in New Jersey and Pennsylvania the same year. Donna earned
IIA's AIC designation in 2002, and the American Institute's Chartered
Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) designation in 2003.
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Gary Kerney--Board
Member
RPA
Treasurer
Property Claim Services
 After graduating from Rutgers
College, Mr. Kerney began his career as an independent adjuster
and value appraiser with GAB Business Services, Inc. He has been with
Property Claim Services (PCS) since 1981. At PCS, he has been responsible
for catastrophe identification, loss estimating, and catastrophe response
and mitigation activities. He manages PCS divisional operations while
remaining involved with catastrophe issues affecting both the private
and public sectors. Kearney holds the professional designation of
Associate In Claims (AIC) from the Insurance Institute of America.
He is a member of the Loss Executives Association and currently serves
as that organization's President. He is a member of the Response and
Recovery Committee of the Institute for Business and Home Safety.
In addition, Kearney is an associate member of the National Emergency
Management Association, and he serves on NEMA's Private Sector Committee.
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Doug Houser,
General Counsel
Bullivant, Houser and Bailey
 Douglas Houser is a senior
partner in the Portland office of Bullivant Houser Bailey P.C., a well-known
West Coast law firm with offices in California, Oregon and Washington.
He received his B.A. from Willamette University in 1957 and J.D. from
Stanford School of Law in 1960. Houser focuses his practice on large "bet
the company" types of disputes, using his years of experience, practical
common sense and negotiating skills to obtain effective, imaginative
solutions to complex problems.
Houser is frequently involved
in the resolution of complex disputes involving large claims. For example,
he is acting as arbitrator in the $64 million claim for the Ted Williams
tunnel collapse in Boston. Houser has tried cases in 20 different states
and been involved in hundreds of trials, mediations and arbitrations in
North America, Asia, the United Kingdom, Europe and South America. He
is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy
of Trial Lawyers, and American Law Institute. He is on the Board of Trustees
for Willamette University, a member of the Board of Directors of NIKE,
Inc., and on the Board of Overseers of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice.
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Anthony "Tony" Clark--Board Member
Vice President Property Claims
Allianz
Global Corporate & Specialty
 Tony is the leader of the property claim division for
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty North America which specializes in
the management of commercial losses both domestic and international for
policies written in the United States and Canada. Before joining Allianz Global,
Tony was with VeriClaim, CNA, and Continental Insurance Company. During more than 30 years in
the industry, Tony has handled many classes of property
losses with the major divisions being Manufacturing Risks, Hospitals and
Nursing Care Facilities,
Office
Buildings
, School Complexes, Hotels and Motels, and Multiple Family Housing.
Beside
the usual property involvement of building, contents and business income
coverage, he has been involved in numerous claims dealing with Builder's
Risk, Inland Marine, Boiler and Machinery, and Cargo losses. Tony has been
involved in various management activities including file litigation
management, home office management of subrogation, home office supervision
of a marine division, field office reviews and audits, and various
training sessions and presentations regarding basic and advanced property
issues. Tony has been active in the industry through involvement
with the PLRB and LEA and has been a presenter on a variety of topics at a
number of education meetings.
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Charlie Donohue--Board Member
John P. Woods Company, Inc
 Charles M. Donohue joined John
P. Woods Co., Inc. in July 1985 as Vice President in charge of claims,
prior to which he was a vice president for a professional reinsurance
company and was involved in both treaty and facultative reinsurance. Donohue
also was associated for 15 years with Liberty Mutual and The Home Insurance
Company. Donohue is a graduate of Baruch College, City University of New
York with a B.B.A. in business administration. He has served as president
of the Excess Surplus Lines Claims Association and is an active member
of the RAA and IRU Claim Association.
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Elise
Farnham--Board Member
IIumine Consulting
 Elise
Farnham has over 30 years experience in the risk management and
insurance industry. She is President of Illumine Consulting, a
firm dedicated to providing experience and knowledge to the risk
management and insurance communities through continuing
education and claims management consulting. Elise
began her career in the insurance industry in 1973 with Crawford
and Company. She became a multi-line adjuster and in 1978 was
promoted as the first female claims branch manager for the
company.
She has
worked in Texas, New York and Georgia in various management
positions. She has held senior level positions with The Harmonie
Group, CSB Group, and GAB Robins, NA.
Ms. Farnham is
a member of the CPCU Society and currently chairs the Media Task
Force. She has previously served the Society as S. E. Regional
Governor, Executive Committee member, president of the Atlanta
Chapter of CPCU, and on numerous task forces, including the Ethics
Certification Task Force and the CPCU Claims Section Committee.
Elise is a member of the ARM, AIC, and CPCU Advisory Boards, which
assist the American Institute for CPCU in reviewing and planning
ARM, AIC, and CPCU course material. She serves on the Board of
Ethical Inquiry for the American Institute for CPCU.
Elise is Past
President of the National Association of Insurance Women
(International) (1998/1999) having served on the Board of Directors
for 5 years. She was Regional Vice President of Region 1. Prior to
that, she served two terms as President of NAIW-NYC. Currently, she
serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Parliamentarian for
the Insurance Professionals of Atlanta. In 2004, she received the
AAMGA Achievement Award from the Georgia State Council of NAIW for
her contributions to the association. In 2002 and 2004, she was
named Insurance Woman of Atlanta, and in 1993, she was chosen
National Claims Professional of the Year.
Elise is an
associate member of The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
and is a member of their professional development faculty. She
teaches the "WC Management" course and has developed a new course,
"Claims Management." Ms. Farnham also serves on the Board of
Directors for the Registered Professional Adjusters Society.
She is a
frequent speaker and her articles have been published in Business
Insurance, Claims Magazine, CPCU Claims Section Quarterly, Today's
Insurance Professional and Insurance International (published in the
UK.)
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Leonard E. Murphy--Board Member
PLRB - Property Loss Research Bureau
 Leonard E. Murphy is Vice President and General Counsel of the Property Loss Research Bureau, a national insurance trade association which focuses on property and casualty adjusting issues. Before joining the PLRB in 1997, Len worked as a litigation attorney for Prusik, Selby and Daley, a Chicago based insurance defense firm. Prior to legal work, he served as a Fire Protection Engineer for the Kemper National Insurance Company in their Highly Protected Risk Division. Len graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and earned his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Len is admitted to practice in Illinois, Washington D.C., Colorado, and the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Len serves as a Vice Chair on the Property Insurance Law Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. He also currently serves as Chairman of the Publications Sub-committee. Len has been a presenter at the PLRB National and Regional Claims Conferences, conducting workshops on bad faith, winter coverage issues, computer based coverage research, and other coverage topics. Other speaking engagements include the Alliance of American Insurers Annual Underwriters Conference, where he discussed 9/11 coverage issues, and the Second International Conference on Fire Research in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where he discussed the topic "The Trouble with Performance-Based Codes: Judicial Interpretation!"
Len was lead author in an article entitled, "A Survey of Property Insurance Case Law in 2004," to be published in the Winter 2006 Edition of ABA's Tort Trial and Insurance Law Journal. In 1999, Len received the first place award for excellence in writing from the American Society of Safety Engineers for his article "Should Your Commercial or Industrial Product Be Designed to Protect Against Injury to Children," an analysis of the foreseeability of injury to children from industrial or commercial products and equipment, which was published in the March 1998 edition of Professional Safety. Len has also authored several works discussing insurance coverage issues, published in such journals as Claims and Intellectual Property Today.
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Peter Schifrin, RPA--Board Member
Schifrin, Gagnon & Dickey
Peter has spent over 20 years
in the insurance industry. He is the President of Schifrin, Gagnon
& Dickey, Inc., statewide claims adjusters, investigators and
administrators.
As a licensed adjuster and
private investigator, Peter has extensive experience in handling a
wide variety of claims, including first-party property,
entertainment, and all forms of general liability.
Peter is the President-Elect
of the California Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters
(CAIIA). He frequently presents educational seminars for the
organization and his company on topics including the California Fair
Claims Settlement Practices Regulations, and the California SIU
Regulations.
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Dave Mehren--Board Member
National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters (NAIIA)
David F. Mehren began with
the National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters (NAIIA),
based in Geneva, IL, in 1977 and was
named Executive Vice President in 1988.
With a membership of over three hundred
independent adjusting companies, he coordinates operations with
national officers and an executive committee of nine. In addition,
he works closely with nearly twenty committees and respective
chairs.
Born in
St. Charles, IL, Mehren is a graduate of
Northern
Illinois
University
and on behalf of NAIIA maintains affiliate liaison with numerous
claims professional organizations. Among these is service on the
Property Loss Research Bureau Conference Advisory Committee.
He resides in
Geneva,
IL.
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Current Officers & Board of Directors with Terms/Dates
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Board Member
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Office
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Term Start and End Dates
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Michael R. Csom
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Chairman of the Board
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3/2010 through 3/2011
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Douglas B. Jackson
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President
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3/2010 through 3/2011
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Gary
Kerney
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Treasurer
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3/2010 through 3/2011
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Donna Popow
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Secretary
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3/2010 through 3/2011
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Board Member
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Term
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Term Start and End Dates
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Douglas G. Houser
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2 years
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3/2009 through 3/2011
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Elise Farnham
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2 years
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3/2009 through 3/2011
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Charlie Donohue
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2 years
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3/2009 through 3/2011
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Leonard Murphy
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2 years
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3/2009 through 3/2011
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Board Member
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Term
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Term Start and End Dates
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Michael R. Csom
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3 years
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3/2009 through 3/2012
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Douglas B. Jackson
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3 years
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3/2009 through 3/2012
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Gary
Kerney
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3 years
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3/2009 through 3/2012
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Donna Popow
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3 years
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3/2009 through 3/2012
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Board Member
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Term
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Term Start and End Dates
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Anthony Clark
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3 years
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7/2010 through 3/2013
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Peter H. Schifrin
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3 years
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7/2010 through 3/2013
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Dave Mehren |
3 years |
3/2010 through 3/2013 |
Copyright ©, Society of RPA,
2010. |
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