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 Nineteen Nineties. My shopper’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 fuel cans subsequent to him. The insurance coverage firm lastly agreed to pay the complete declare to my shopper 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 purpose?” I instructed him, “To be one of the best.” 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 purpose.
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 at all times appeared to have insider information.
My lately written suggestion about public adjusters having to lift the bar to acquire a license shouldn’t be a brand new concept. I voiced it as soon as to Mark Boardman, and he did one thing about it. He responded with the concept public adjusters ought to be required to have an apprentice interval earlier than they follow public adjusting and obtain a full license. I believed it was an amazing concept. I instructed him that I doubted if he may ever get it by way of the legislature or acquire sufficient help to make it a actuality. He wrote the regulation, lobbied for it and appeared to get the Florida public adjuster apprentice regulation handed virtually 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 group’s coach. The standard dialogue would normally include a number of the following:
“Coach, your guard appears to be like fairly drained, do you suppose it’s time to offer him a breather?”
“Coach, it’s good to preserve beneath management, targeted and never get upset with the ref’s horrible calls.”
“You’re doing nice, Coach. Simply preserve ignoring the scoreboard and concentrate on the basics.”
“I like your composure—most coaches can be shedding it after these previous few calls.”
“That was a daring name Coach, not what I anticipated. You have to see one thing we don’t. Too dangerous it didn’t work.”
“Coach, is your zone protection meant to go away that shooter open within the nook?”
“Appears to be like like your bench is de facto quiet tonight—are they okay?”
It could go on like that the whole sport. Most coaches would snigger. Some would get upset after which crack a smile. One rotated and shook Mark’s hand.
Mark’s father was a lobbyist for Florida’s Dairy Farmers. Mark discovered effectively and used this information to assist FAPIA. He would invite me as much as Tallahassee and at all times 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 at all times 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 completed with no fanfare and sometimes with out appreciation.
Mark was definitely not afraid to publicly focus on and debate his views and opinions. Conferences between Mark and different public adjusters about the proper 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 impartial adjusters wrongly having their studies modified by desk adjusters:
‘It’s extraordinarily widespread,’ stated Mark Boardman, president of Claims Administration Providers Inc., primarily based in Maitland, Florida. ‘Can I show it? No. However I’ve had a variety of anecdotal conversations with adjusters about it.’
Unbiased 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 may 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 grew to become. He gave the impression to be appreciative and recommended 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 is not going to be the identical with out my outdated Gator buddy. Going to the Governor’s Membership and into legislative rooms in Tallahassee with out Mark being there or calling to recommend a approach to politically deal with a difficulty will appear totally different sooner or later. I assume in the long run, when our pals move, all we’ve left are reminiscences of them, these occasions, these intimate discussions, the frequent challenges we confronted, and the instances we shared with one another.
Thought For The Day
“Typically you’ll by no means know the worth of a second till it turns into a reminiscence.”
— Dr. Seuss
