Looking Ahead

Jeffrey T. Sutton, President, London Aviation Underwriters, Inc. AIA Director, Underwriter Division

I spent the past year shadowing Wes Collier on the AIA board to see the inner workings of the association. His contributions over the past couple of years to the AIA and the Underwriter Division are really appreciated. We are lucky to have him continue as a member of the board in his new role. I would like to personally thank him for providing me with an understanding of how the association is managed and for showing me the ropes.

In the time that I was shadowing, I was really impressed with how dynamic the AIA board and committees are.

Tucson 2023 was a success, as was Nashville 2022, and Greg Sterling, outgoing president, and the rest of the team are commended on a job well done.

Tucson was my first in-person board meeting and first time running a division meeting.

While I was disappointed in the turnout to the division meeting, the discussion was good.

More than 50% of the underwriters that attended were female and they expressed a desire that the AIA’s Women’s Initiative expand; the male underwriters in attendance supported the idea. Introductions have been made in order to facilitate this.

to replace me on the board — perhaps a female will agree to run this time.

I would appreciate some feedback from members of the Underwriters Division on how the association can improve and provide meaning for our members.

With the increase in females being hired as aviation underwriters, I definitely pledge my support for them and the Women’s Initiative.

AIA is a great organization and the annual conference is a great place for us to meet with so many people from around the globe that we could not travel to visit personally each year. I know it can be tough to make all the meetings on the conference agenda when they conflict with available times to meet with these folks that you may not be able to see until next year. Nevertheless, it would be good to have more members in our division meeting to discuss important topics of interest. Hopefully there will be more interest in attending next year’s division meeting as we will have an election

Please reach out to me with any suggestions, especially for topics for future Binder articles.

In the meantime, I look forward to working with AIA President Chris Morin and the rest of the board and committees in supporting this great industry and to seeing everyone in New Orleans next year!

With more than 30 years of aviation insurance experience, Jeff Sutton is president of London Aviation Underwriters. A 1988 graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a B.S. in Aeronautical Science, Jeff also has his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law and is a commercial pilot with MEI ratings. Jeff serves as the Director of the Underwriter Division on the AIA Board of Directors.