Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Inc.

There were 300 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2024, down 20% from 385 in the same period in 2023, according to OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry.

The first six months of 2024 marked the lowest first-half total in four years, hitting 26% below the previous five-year first-half average. Further, the second quarter of 2024 marked the sixth consecutive quarter that the deal count has fallen below the long-term trend line.

Read the full article below!
https://hubs.la/Q02Hgmmb0

Calling all Young Agents! 📣
Are you under 40 years old OR have less than 5 years of industry experience? If you answered YES to either question, then YALI is for you! 🤩
Join the nation's top insurance leaders in Indianapolis to become the best version of ✨YOU!✨
By attending YALI, you will:
✔️Find your instinctive strengths through the KOLBE A Index
✔️Learn about AI and insurance
✔️Connect with other young professionals
✔️Create a catalogue of best practices for leading your Young Agents program
📆 Register by Wednesday, August 7 to reserve your seat!
Visit the following link to learn more ➡️:https://hubs.la/Q02H5bKF0

👋Wave goodbye to social media stress with Trusted Choice’s automation tool! Simply select topics relevant to your agency and watch and a full year’s worth of content automatically populate personal to you. 📅 Claim your 30-day FREE trial and exclusive Big “I” member pricing today! 🎉 O'Hearn Insurance Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) https://hubs.la/Q02H7r4T0

Automate Your Social Media with Social Jazz Social Media Automation tool that leverages Trusted Choice social media content available for Big “I” members at a discounted price

Have you ever wondered about how using virtual assistants and CSRs could work for your agency? Join Big “I" Alliance on August 1 at 11:00 am Eastern for a webinar introducing to our new Big “I" Alliance vendor partner, Elevate Teams.

Elevate Teams specializes in client-facing virtual assistants and CSRs to grow your insurance agency. The one-hour session August 1 will provide you with an overview of Elevate's offering and how you can leverage it to achieve your agency's strategic goals.

Big “I" Alliance Blue Plus and Gold members receive discounted pricing from Elevate Teams.

Please register today.

https://hubs.la/Q02G4Y8v0
Questions? Contact [email protected].

Shoutout to our amazing Big I Kentucky members from Houchens Insurance Group, Mountain Valley Insurance, Reed Brothers Insurance Services, Inc., Arlington/Roe, London Insurance Agency, and First Benefits Mutual for teaming up with Make-A-Wish to fulfill a child's wish for a new playhouse. ✨🏡 Thanks for all you do! Check out the full story here: https://hubs.la/Q02G-fBX0

Those who qualify and complete the survey will receive a $40 token of appreciation and a complimentary summary report of the study. Please be assured that your responses will only be used for research purposes and no one will try to contact you as a result of completing this survey. The survey link and additional details can be accessed by clicking the link below and logging in with your member credentials (email address and password).

https://hubs.la/Q02GNLqz0

Big “I” releases 2023 Market Share Report that shows the independent agency channel is holding ground and showing slow, steady gains in lines of business pe*******on, including homeowners insurance. IA magazine shares more…

https://hubs.la/Q02Gr3Gb0

🚀 Transform your social media in minutes! Unleash Trusted Choice’s powerful automation tool and schedule a YEAR of content effortlessly. ✨ Special offer: Just $15/mo for Big "I" members! Wave goodbye to stress—start your FREE 30-day trial now! 🌟 https://hubs.la/Q02Gqx1J0

Summer kicked off with more heat in the personal auto market with a LexisNexis report confirming that high claims severity shows few signs of cooling off in the near future. Independent Agent also covered the consequences of misclassification, as well as emerging risks, such as short-term rentals and lithium batteries. But, in better news, Independent Agent highlighted 10 young independent insurance agents making their mark on the insurance industry.

Link below for the five most-read articles on https://hubs.ly/Q02GmV0-0 in June:
https://hubs.ly/Q02Gn0qH0

Within hours of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issuing its ban on noncompete agreements in April, two plaintiffs—Ryan LLC and ATS Tree Services LLC—filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Texas and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, respectively. Both suits seek to block the rule from taking effect as scheduled on Sept. 4, arguing that the FTC has overstepped its statutory authority.

Full article below!
https://hubs.la/Q02Gh7hx0

SecurityScorecard is the newest company to join the Big “I" Agents Council for Technology (ACT).

SecurityScorecard provides cybersecurity ratings to allow organizations to assess their security needs across 10 key factors. Founded in 2013, SecurityScorecard's patented security ratings technology is used by over 25,000 organizations for enterprise risk management, third-party risk management, board reporting, due diligence, cyber insurance underwriting and regulatory oversight. As the cyber insurance industry shifts to a proactive approach to risk management, SecurityScorecard works with independent insurance agents and brokers to identify clients' vulnerabilities and present more insurable risks to carriers, while improving communication during underwriting.

Read the full article to learn more about SecurityScorecard
https://hubs.la/Q02GrhTS0

Are you looking for ways to continue growing your business in this hard market? Check out Trusted Choice’s latest blog post and discover how marketing automation can help you succeed in today's fast-paced environment. Read today! https://hubs.la/Q02GnfXG0

Big “I” Alliance Blue Plus partner EZLynx is committed to innovation and providing agencies with everything they need to grow premium from their first dollar to multiple millions. They create fully mobile-optimized, easy-to-use software and serve as a single rating and agency management database. Mark your calendar to join Applied Systems’ Alison Ritter and Chuck Keeley for an introductory webinar entitled, “EZLynx – One system to manage your entire agency.”

EZLynx provides innovative insurance software that streamlines your agency’s workflow and manages the end-to-end policy lifecycle. Integrated into one platform, EZLynx Management System™ is designed to meet the unique needs of your business in an easy-to-use interface that takes care of doing the work for you. From real-time home and auto quoting on your insurance agency website to email marketing, pipeline management, reporting, AI, and more, EZLynx has the integrated solution for you.

Register for the session set for Tuesday, July 16th at 1:00 PM CST here.

Big “I” Alliance Blue Plus agencies receive discounted pricing on EZLynx. Registration for the Blue Plus program is opening soon—stay tuned! If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].

https://hubs.la/Q02G4VR60

Last, but certainly not least being featured on our "Owning It" Young Agent series, is Cole Schanandore, Agent at Ott Insurance in Conway, Arkansas.

"The best thing about being an independent insurance agent is the friends I've made along the way. Insurance agents seem to have a personality that means they like to help people, and that includes other agents. We're competitors, but the independent agency community has been very friendly, helpful and supportive. We're all in the same boat. The independent channel, including carriers, does a great job holding each other up through the tougher times."

Read Cole's full profile linked below!
https://hubs.la/Q02FHVrc0

Up next on our Young Agent "Owning It" series, we're spotlighting Jesica Hernandez, Commercial Lines Producer at Alliance Insurance in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

"I specialize in commercial insurance, where the unique nature of each business necessitates ongoing adaption and learning. One thing I've always loved, even outside of work, is helping other people. The opportunity to help people protect what they've worked hard for is very fulfilling."

Read Jesica's full profile linked below!
https://hubs.la/Q02FHBxd0

It is time to broaden the discussion about how artificial intelligence (AI) can reduce misinformation in insurance workflows and operations. Conventional views about misinformation focus on bad actors submitting false claim information to reap a financial reward. In those cases, generative AI can help to reduce claims fraud.

Read the full article below!
https://hubs.la/Q02FgYBQ0

Red, white, and blue and proud through and through! Have a fantastic 4th of July from all of us at The Big "I" 🇺🇸🎇

🌐Ready to boost your online visibility? Check out Trusted Choice's newest blog post for tips on optimizing your Google Business Profile. Learn how to stand out and attract more customers today! https://hubs.la/Q02FhfBm0

Continuing our Young Agent "Owning It" series, today we're featuring Weston DeFrisco, Sales Enablement Manager at Morris & Garritano in San Luis Obispo, California.

"Having multiple generations in the workplace offers a lot of different perspectives and that is always valuable. In many ways, our industry is a bit old school and some tried-and-true methods still tend to prevail over more creative business development. It's nice to have old-school relationship-building and true cold-call outreach in the agency. But with Generation Z coming in, they have all of these creative ideas on how to use social networking and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their efforts with building pipelines and reaching more clients."

Read Weston's full profile in the link below!
https://hubs.la/Q02Ff42D0

⛵Set sail with confidence this summer! Check out this Yahoo! Finance feature on Big "I" member, Trusted Choice board representative and Schlitt Insurance Services vice president, Jeff Schlitt, as he shares advice on boat rentals and the importance of boat insurance for a smooth 4th of July celebration and summer season!

Renting a boat this summer? What you should know first As Americans kick off their Fourth of July celebrations, Schlitt Services vice president and Trusted Choice board member Jeffrey M. Schlitt joins Wealth! to break down what you should know before renting a boat this summer. Schlitt stresses the importance of insurance, encouraging you to opt for cov...

Looking for a chatbot to help streamline your customer interactions? Check out Chapter 4 of the Trusted Choice AI Toolkit for benefits of using a chatbot for client communications and a list of 5 chatbot solutions that are used by independent agencies. Access the toolkit today! https://hubs.la/Q02DzMhM0

This week for our "Owning It" Young Agent series we're spotlighting Kasia Anderson, Vice President of Business Insurance at Christensen Group Insurance in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

"My dad is an insurance agent. When I was a kid in Girl Scouts, he made me go around and ask each individual person in the office if they wanted to order cookies. That's where my salesperson mentality started. When I joined the agency after college, all the people I had been selling Girl Scout cookies to since kindergarten ended up being my coworkers."

Read Kasia's full profile in the link below!
https://hubs.la/Q02DzL-C0

Did you know that most Americans overestimate their insurance knowledge? With National Insurance Awareness Day approaching on June 28, now is a perfect time to make sure your consumers understand their insurance coverage! Trusted Choice released findings from a survey conducted to gauge consumers’ insurance acumen. Check it out today! https://hubs.la/Q02Dq50P0

Continuing with our "Owning It" Young Agent highlight series, today we're featuring Tyler Ross, Agent at Timmco Insurance in Portland, Oregon.

"I had just graduated college, just got engaged, and my fiancée had been working at an insurance agency. Her boss was our marriage counselor, and after a session, he told me that I'd be good at insurance. I had no clue what I was going to do out of college, so I was like, “Sure, sounds great!" Many years later, I'm still in it."

Read Tyler's full profile in the link below!
https://hubs.la/Q02CSyqC0