NALC And LIC Close To Merger

According to Wright, the new organization would be managed by a board of directors, separate and apart from LOMA. The directors would be elected by the members of the new association.

Scott Cipinko, currently NALC's executive director, has been invited to be executive director of the new organization. He would relocate to Atlanta where he would become an employee of LOMA and would report to LOMA's CEO.

Wright pointed out to the NALC members, who have traditionally prized their independence, that under the proposal the new organization could separate from LOMA at any time and for any reason on a two-thirds vote of its board.

Indeed, a member of the audience said he thought the consolidation was a bad idea. "If you lose control of revenues, you lose control of the issues and the agenda," this member said.

In response, Harry Lee Waterfield, a founding member of the NALC, said he wrestled for a long time over whether to favor the consolidation. He said what decided him was the fact that membership was not increasing, which was putting more pressure on the group.

"When we can't get companies to join us on the small policy issue," Waterfield said, "we can't get them to join on anything."

Although the two groups anticipate that the consolidation would be agreed upon by the end of 2001, the new organization would not begin to operate as a combined entity until June 1, 2002.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, November 5, 2001. Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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