I used to be celebrating a win over a loopy case at a Florida Affiliation of Public Insurance coverage Adjusters (FAPIA) assembly within the late Nineties. My consumer’s soon-to-be ex-husband, who was not on the title to the property, appeared to have burned down the household residence—the police arrested him a block away from the home whereas he was sitting on a park bench with three empty gasoline cans subsequent to him. The insurance coverage firm lastly agreed to pay the complete declare to my consumer earlier within the day. I used to be very jubilant.
Mark Boardman got here as much as me and requested, “Chip, what’s your final aim?” I instructed him, “To be the perfect.” For over 25 years, Boardman has been reminding me of that day. He can be needling me and asking how I’m coming together with reaching that aim.
I’m going to overlook telling him about my successes and failures. I’m going to overlook going as much as Gator soccer video games and visiting with him and Karen at their primary Gator-decorated home. I’m going to overlook speaking about Gator basketball with Mark. I’m going to overlook speaking in regards to the upcoming political agenda in Tallahassee, the place he all the time appeared to have insider information.
My not too long ago written suggestion about public adjusters having to lift the bar to acquire a license shouldn’t be a brand new thought. I voiced it as soon as to Mark Boardman, and he did one thing about it. He responded with the concept that public adjusters ought to be required to have an apprentice interval earlier than they apply public adjusting and obtain a full license. I assumed it was an incredible thought. I instructed him that I doubted if he might ever get it via the legislature or acquire sufficient help to make it a actuality. He wrote the legislation, lobbied for it and appeared to get the Florida public adjuster apprentice legislation handed nearly by himself.
Mark cherished to poke at and needle others. He was particularly gifted at doing this to the opposing coach at Gator basketball video games. I cherished it when he invited me to attend video games with him as a result of his seats have been proper behind the opposing crew’s coach. The everyday dialogue would often include among the following:
“Coach, your guard appears fairly drained, do you assume it’s time to offer him a breather?”
“Coach, it is advisable to maintain below management, targeted and never get upset with the ref’s horrible calls.”
“You’re doing nice, Coach. Simply maintain ignoring the scoreboard and deal with the basics.”
“I like your composure—most coaches can be dropping it after these previous couple of calls.”
“That was a daring name Coach, not what I anticipated. You should see one thing we don’t. Too unhealthy it didn’t work.”
“Coach, is your zone protection meant to go away that shooter open within the nook?”
“Appears like your bench is admittedly quiet tonight—are they okay?”
It might go on like that the complete recreation. Most coaches would giggle. Some would get upset after which crack a smile. One circled and shook Mark’s hand.
Mark’s father was a lobbyist for Florida’s Dairy Farmers. Mark discovered properly and used this information to assist FAPIA. He would invite me as much as Tallahassee and all the time to the Governor’s Membership to fulfill lobbyists and politicians. Mark appeared to know all of them. He was instrumental in acquiring FAPIA’s first lobbyist, Previous Senate President Ken Plante.
Mark’s lobbying efforts have been on his personal time and dime. He did it as a labor of affection, supporting all public adjusters and policyholder rights. Mark Boardman was all the time in Tallahassee preventing and testifying in regards to the nuanced insurance coverage points that matter. He did this for about three many years. A lot of this work was accomplished with no fanfare and sometimes with out appreciation.
Mark was actually not afraid to publicly talk about and debate his views and opinions. Conferences between Mark and different public adjusters about the appropriate plan of action would develop into fairly pointed, if not near combative. An instance of him publicly explaining his views was in an Insurance coverage Journal article about unbiased adjusters wrongly having their studies modified by desk adjusters:
‘It’s extraordinarily widespread,’ mentioned Mark Boardman, president of Claims Administration Companies Inc., based mostly in Maitland, Florida. ‘Can I show it? No. However I’ve had a variety of anecdotal conversations with adjusters about it.’
Impartial adjusters are totally different from public adjusters, and are sometimes employed by insurance coverage firms to complement in-house adjustment employees. Till now, many have been reluctant to talk out in regards to the purported practices, fearing that they might lose out on insurance coverage firm enterprise, Boardman defined.
Each public adjuster in Florida ought to pause for a second to thank Mark for the contributions he made for different public adjusters. I had the prospect to say so privately to him after I discovered how sick he turned. He appeared to be appreciative and instructed that everyone ought to give again by collaborating extra in politics to any extent they will.
Going to Gainesville for soccer video games and basketball won’t be the identical with out my previous Gator buddy. Going to the Governor’s Membership and into legislative rooms in Tallahassee with out Mark being there or calling to recommend a solution to politically deal with a problem will appear totally different sooner or later. I suppose in the long run, when our pals cross, all we now have left are recollections of them, these occasions, these intimate discussions, the widespread challenges we confronted, and the occasions we shared with one another.
Thought For The Day
“Generally you’ll by no means know the worth of a second till it turns into a reminiscence.”
— Dr. Seuss