Bob Parkerson to retire as NCIS President on August 31 Tom Zacharias to be named President

NATIONAL CROP INSURANCE SERVICES
8900 Indian Creek Parkway, Suite 600
Overland Park, KS 66210

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2010

For more information contact Laurie Langstraat at (913) 685-2767

Bob Parkerson to retire as NCIS President on August 31
Tom Zacharias to be named President

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – August 24, 2010 – National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) announced today that Robert (Bob) Parkerson, NCIS’ President and member of its Board of Directors, will retire effective August 31, 2010, and Tom Zacharias, NCIS’ Executive Vice President, has been named his successor.

“On behalf of all NCIS members, I want to thank Bob for his commitment and leadership of NCIS,” said Steve Harms, Chairman of the NCIS Board of Directors and Chairman of Rain and Hail L.L.C. “Bob has raised the visibility and credibility of NCIS through his passionate work on behalf of a strong crop insurance program with members of Congress, the Risk Management Agency, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. During Bob’s tenure at NCIS, crop insurance has grown to become the cornerstone of agricultural risk management and we all recognize and appreciate Bob’s countless contributions to that success.”

Prior to Parkerson joining NCIS in April 1993, he was president of the Crop Insurance Research Bureau (CIRB). His responsibilities included overseeing the business operation of NCIS and reported directly to the NCIS Board of Directors.

“Tom has been a proven leader at NCIS for 20 years,” said Harms. “He understands the business side of the crop insurance industry and the need for NCIS to continue to provide timely and accurate data for the member companies to use in their business models. Tom brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new position as President of NCIS and we are confident that under his leadership NCIS will continue to contribute to the success of its members and the crop insurance program.”

Zacharias joined NCIS in 1990 and was promoted to Executive Vice President in 1998. Zacharias holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois (1984), with B.S. (1977) and M.S. (1980) degrees in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University. Prior to NCIS he served on the faculties of Iowa State University and Louisiana State University.

National Crop Insurance Services National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) is an international not-for-profit organization representing the interests of private crop insurance companies that write Crop-Hail Insurance; Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI), the federally subsidized risk management program; and, privately developed crop insurance products.