Mary A. LaPorte

Career

Mary A. LaPorte is an insurance industry professional with over 30 years of experience at a large Midwest independent insurance agency, where she held roles such as Personal Lines Manager, Excess and Surplus Lines Manager, Claims Manager, Errors and Omissions Coordinator, and Agency Principal.

Since 2001, LaPorte has worked as an independent consultant, providing services in insurance agency operations consulting, errors and omissions loss control, ethics and insurance management education, and policy and coverage education.

Areas of Expertise

Operations Consulting

LaPorte specializes in operations consulting in the areas of workflow and procedures, with strong expertise in Independent Agency operations. Her services include developing effective workflows and procedures, creating meaningful agency standards, providing action plans to facilitate the implementation of recommendations, and developing audit processes to assure compliance and support quality control.

Agency Errors and Omissions (E&O) Reviews

LaPorte is recommended by many of the largest E&O insurers in the country for performing E&O audits in retail and wholesale agencies, and providing agents with detailed reports including suggestions, recommendations, and resources for following best practices.

Expert Witness and Consultant for E&O Litigation

LaPorte serves as an expert witness or consultant for Errors and Omissions litigation, providing expertise on insurance agent's standard of care and insurance agency operations.

Education Provider

LaPorte is an education provider for a large array of insurance topics. She serves on the national faculty of CIC (Certified Insurance Counselors), is a current faculty for the CPIA (Certified Professional Insurance Agent) program, and was a former faculty for the CISR (Certified Insurance Service Representative) program. She is a qualified instructor for the "A Practical Guide to Agency E&O Risk Management" program sponsored by the Independent Insurance Agents of America, and teaches E&O classes country-wide, for large convention groups and smaller in-house agency venues. Additionally, she teaches a variety of Continuing Education Programs approved by the State of Michigan Insurance Department and for many other states.

Publications and Authorship

LaPorte has published a variety of insurance industry articles over the last twenty years. She writes a nationally recognized column entitled "E&O Q&A," which is published in various insurance association magazines and answers insurance agents' questions related to best practices and E&O avoidance in the insurance agency environment.

LaPorte is the author of "Mission: EXCELLENCE - Creating an Internal E&O Loss Control Program" and "Mission: EXCELLENCE - Agency Errors and Omissions Checklist," which outline steps to measure E&O exposure and establish an internal loss control program to minimize Errors and Omissions claims.

Designations, Licenses, and Honors

LaPorte holds several designations and licenses, including a Licensed Property and Casualty agent in the state of Michigan for over 40 years, a Licensed Insurance Counselor (LIC) in the state of Michigan, a General Insurance Certificate (INS 21, INS 22, INS 23) from The Institutes, a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) since 1993, a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) since 1987, a Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) since 2011, and an Associate in General Insurance (AINS) attained in 2017.

She has received honors such as the Aschom Insurance Education Award in 1996 and was inducted into the Michigan Insurance Hall of Fame in 2020.

Professional Affiliations

LaPorte serves as the Secretary of AAIMCo (American Association of Insurance Management Consultants), which is the only organization in the U.S. that focuses exclusively on insurance management consulting, and only those who meet specific criteria can be approved for membership.