Texas Attorney Honored with ICT’s Raymond Mauk Award
Richard S. “Dick” Geiger, general counsel of the law firm of Thompson, Coe, Cousins and Irons, was presented the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award Thursday, July 12 in Austin, at the 15th Annual Mid-Year Property and Casualty Symposium.
Geiger becomes the tenth recipient of the award.
The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) presents the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award at its Mid-Year Property and Casualty Insurance Symposium each year. It is the Council’s highest honor and is intended to bestow recognition on those whose labor has made a significant difference in the business of insurance.
Geiger received his law degree from SMU and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 where he served as a delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention. In 1975, Geiger joined Thompson, Coe and began his 32 years of service to the Texas insurance industry.
Geiger’s work can be found in legal briefs, written and oral testimony for regulatory and legislative decision makers as well as the laws and plan of operation for the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association. His advocacy led to advancements in the residual market, workers’ compensation and general liability.
While serving the industry, Geiger has also found time to help others in his home town. He is a member of the board of the Dallas Zoological Society, the Texas Legal Protection Plan, Home Health Services and the W.H. Adamson High School Education Foundation. He has also been an active parishioner of the Episcopal Church.
The Raymond Mauk Award honors former Texas Fire Commissioner Raymond Mauk and annually recognizes someone who has made a notable contribution to the Texas property and casualty insurance industry.
Mauk enjoyed a long and distinguished career and held many positions of leadership within his company and industry organizations.
More than 70 years ago, Commissioner Mauk was convinced that fundamental change was needed to protect the insurance buying public and the integrity of the marketplace from the misapplication of rates and forms.
To accomplish his goal, Mauk envisioned the creation of a central checking office that would enforce good business practices and audit the insurance industry’s paperwork for errors and competitive greed. Often facing great opposition and the traditional resistance to change, Mauk labored for two years to build support form both agents and companies.
By February 1935, Mauk’s leadership had led to the successful establishment of the Texas Insurance Checking Office, an institution, which continues to serve the Texas industry today.
Source: Insurance Council of Texas