HOF Tom McCarthy

After graduating with a major in biology from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Tom began his underwriting career in 1975 in direct underwriting with Time Insurance and then Old Line Life. After getting his FLMI in 1981, Tom shifted to reinsurance underwriting joining BMA (Business Men's Assurance) in Kansas City where he worked for almost 20 years. In 2000, Tom joined Swiss Re and is a Senior Underwriting Manager in the Fort Wayne office, and he is involved in many of Swiss Re's underwriting technology initiatives.

Tom acquired his CLU in 1985 and his FALU in 1993 with a Project Paper on Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The paper led to Tom's entry into the Education Committee of the ALU. Tom was always active locally in underwriting profession with stints on the WHOUA in Milwaukee, the MUD in NYC and the Presidency of Kansas City's Risk Selectors Club but his nine years on the ALU was the big step in a wider industry involvement.

With the birth of the Internet as a fledgling communication and research medium in the 90's, Tom studied early HTML programming and created a site called the Internet Resource for Underwriters containing hundreds of useful references to sites that underwriters might appreciate. It was the IRU site that eventually led to an invitation to create On the Risk's first website with Tom as its first webmaster and editor. The success of the OTR site led to creation of similar sites for the Institute (IHOUA) and the HOLOUA. Tom also worked closely with an early entity called the Continental Underwriting Congress to help create websites for many local and regional underwriting organizations around the country.

Tom joined the HOLUA program committee in the late 90's and eventually served as Program Chair for the 2000 conference. Later Tom joined the AHOU Executive Committee as Secretary and eventually rose to the Presidency of the AHOU in 2009-2010. Tom stayed involved with the AHOU and ALU as a member of the Life Underwriting Board (LUB) and currently is a member of two SOA committees on surveys and the new Underwriting Issues & Innovation seminar held in Chicago every August.

The technology aspects of much of Tom's involvement have always been a big motivator but ultimately it has always been the people interaction that has always made both reinsurance and industry involvement so rewarding. Meeting and working with so many different people in so many roles has always been the driver. Tom has been fortunate to work with fantastic mentors and peers like Bill Moore, Joni Germani, Nancy Caron and Mike Clark at Swiss Re. Tom is also married to a wonderful woman named Laura and has two happily married daughters and five grandchildren in Oregon and Minneapolis.