April 2000

Camico and Society Finalize Partnership

On April 3, Camico Mutual Insurance Company became the first professional insurance company sponsored by the NYSSCPA in more than a decade.

Last year, the two organizations came to an understanding, which the Society's board of directors approved in late October. The board authorized NYSSCPA Executive Director Louis Grumet to work out the remaining details. After several meetings with Camico, the parties agreed on the final contract in April.

The agreement calls for Camico to provide professional liability insurance to New York firms that have one or more owners who are Society members. In addition to the comprehensive loss-prevention programs offered to its insureds, Camico will share its loss-prevention expertise with all Society members through, for example, seminars and its speakers bureau.

"Camico was selected because it has the most advanced loss-prevention program of any of the insurers," said Dan Goldwasser, an attorney with Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz, who assisted the NYSSCPA Professional Liability Task Force with evaluating insurance carriers. "The Society's sponsorship should deliver a significant service to the members. Also, as a sponsor of the insurance program, the Society will have input on policy features and options."

Based in Redwood City, Calif., Camico insures more than 18,000 accounting professionals, encompassing more than 3,000 accounting firms. Camico was the first liability carrier to offer a comprehensive loss-prevention program as a value-added component of the policy package. Free continuing professional education is an essential element of the program.

"The NYSSCPA membership will be well served by Camico," said Louis Grassi, chair of the Society's Professional Liability Task Force. "It is a substantial insurance company, big enough to ride out any likely down cycles in the CPA professional insurance market, while still concentrating solely on the CPA-firm market. Camico employs quality professionals to provide full-time staff support to its technical and loss-prevention hotlines. Also, it offers in-house loss-prevention seminars for medium-sized firms."

Goldwasser called Camico a welcome alternative resource for New York state CPAs.

"An insurance company that knows the CPA business as well as Camico does will be particularly attractive to small and mid-size firms that would want to take advantage of Camico's technical and loss-prevention hotline services," he said.

Watch The Trusted Professional and www.nysscpa.org for more information, as well as news about other member benefits and services. *