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| August 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Welcome
New Associate Members IIAV Member Resources
Where has 2023 gone? It’s a question I keep asking myself, and I’m guessing many of you are asking the same thing. It seems we were just ushering in a new year. But a lot has happened — inflation rates are going down, fuel prices are $1 less than this time last year in many places, and grocery prices dipped in March for the first time since 2020. That’s all good news, right? At the same time, tech, media, finance, and, most recently, retail organizations have announced layoffs of thousands of workers. That’s bad news, right? And the economy has added an average of 341,000 jobs every month during the last 12-month period. We’ll talk more about all this later in this report, but the 2023 labor market has economists, business leaders,and a lot of others scratching their heads. When insurance premiums increase and coverage is more difficult to place, we are in a hard market. Now, more than ever, your clients want an experienced and trusted advisor by their side. This comprehensive guide has been crafted by independent insurance agents who have successfully navigated through challenging markets. Find resources to help you streamline a plan, communicate effectively, handle tough questions, and ultimately retain clients. Best of all, this guide is free to Big "I" member agencies and their staff members, courtesy of Trusted Choice, the national brand for independent insurance agents.
State & National News
August is back to school time for many students across the Commonwealth, and if you or a family member are heading off to college, it’s a great time to review insurance needs for both those students and their families. 
Food For Thought
Many independent agents have watched with concern as a small number of high-profile banks have faltered during 2023. Just what does this shock to the banking system mean to independent agents and brokers throughout the country? Question: We have received complaints about the hygiene of one of our employees. Can we address it with them? Conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) have been everywhere recently. But how does it impact companies and their human resources?
Upcoming Events
Who's Making News
Jill Roth, AAI, with The Ahart Agency in Alexandria has been asked by the Big I Chair-elect Michael McBride to serve as chair for the IIAA Agency Administrative Services, Inc. (AAS) for FY 23/24. AAS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Big I Advantage, Inc. and was incorporated in 1994. It operates Big I Markets and the Eagle Agency, and also was created to offer insurance products/services to IIABA members, such as flood insurance, E&O insurance, specialty markets and retirement services. Jill will serve on the Big I Advantage Board of Directors and is an ex-officio member of the Big I Professional Liability Committee.
Following service on the IIAV Young Agents Committee and IIAV Board of Directors, Jill Roth was elected IIAV Chairman of the Board for 2020–21, a year of significant industry challenges and disruption for the entire country.
From the Desk of the Chief Operation Officer
As many of you know, Bonnie Joyce retired from IIAV effective June 30. Since her retirement Melanie, Linda and Vera have been working hard to handle the RLI Program to ensure and maintain the level of customer service each of you has become accustomed to. The good news is, we have hired a new administrator, Rob Brill, who will start on August 21. It will take a few weeks to get Rob on board and trained so we ask for your patience during this time. You may continue to reach out to Melanie, Vera and Linda during Rob's training. Please remember that each of you has access to the RLI portal for your insureds if you need to check on a renewal, invoice/billing or submit a new application. If you have any questions, please reach out to one of us in the insurance department. Partnering with RLI, IIAV will give a $100 gift card to one lucky agent during the 4th quarter (Oct-Dec 2023). For each new personal umbrella policy written with RLI, an agent will receive one entry into our drawing. You can get an additional entry by attending the upcoming 1.5-hour RLI training webinar on September 14 at 10:00 AM. Click the link below to register. As technology has developed over the years, a substantial portion of RLI's new business has been submitted electronically, including electronic signature and payment. For years, our RLI Brokers have had access to our producer portal and quoting platform to quote and submit business to us for final submission.
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