4 minute read
Advocating To Do What’s Right for YOU
Dustin Miller
One of your greatest Big I membership benefits is our legislative and regulatory advocacy. We understand, as small business owners and active insurance professionals, your job is to tend to your business, take care of your customers and not monitor all of the developments in Frankfort and Washington, D.C.
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Your Big I staff in Kentucky and our national office in D.C., along with myself and Prentice Harvey as outside consultants, keep tabs on the proposed regulations and legislation that could impact our industry and your customers. We review new bill filings in the General Assembly and Congress, look at proposed and existing regulations for business impact and provide an avenue for you to raise issues you see in your agency with government officials. This service is a significant member benefit, but like all of the benefits of a Big I membership, the more you put into it, the more you will get out.
That’s where you come in.
I think of advocacy as a three-legged stool. Having important issues, engaged association staff and competent professional representation are just two legs of that stool. The third leg, and arguably the most important, is YOU! Legislators and regulators value the input of the Big I in insurance policy-making because you are on the front lines dealing with customers operating essential main street businesses. Not only do legislators value your voice on insurance issues, but they also WANT to know what you think about these issues.
Our job at the Big I is to provide opportunities for our members to share their voice. These opportunities include the D.C. Fly-In (ZoomIn this year), our Legislative Day at the Capitol in Frankfort, giving through our political action committees and serving on the Big I Government Affairs committee. You can share your voice on pertinent insurance industry issues in a collective way to maximize their impact.
But don’t forget, all politics are LOCAL!
Legislators and Congressmen care about how the laws they make will impact their local communities. One of the first questions we get asked when we talk to a legislator about a bill is inevitable, “What does (insert local agent name) think of this bill, and does this bill hurt/help them?” The relationships that our members have and your status in your local communities create this question. It could be having the legislator ask a client, being an active member of your local chamber or civic organization or supporting the legislator in their campaign. You earned the right for your voice to be heard in the policy-making process.
But, what if the legislator didn’t know you? What if they didn’t care?
Building legislative relationships is a never-ending process. We have to plant seeds constantly. Elections happen three out of every four years in Kentucky. That means there will be new Representatives, Senators, Constitutional Officers and Congressmen to get to know. Even if it is the same members running for office again, elections present opportunities when legislators are actively seeking votes and looking to engage with their constituents. Take advantage of this prime time for you to meet your local representatives. Just pick up the phone and give them a call. I suspect, as a are pretty good on the phone. You don’t need to know everything about every insurance issue. Ask the representatives basic questions such as what they think of insurance agents or what their philosophy is on litigation.
person who has cold-called a few prospects, you Generally, those fundamental questions will tell you what you need to know. Be more interested in how you can get to know them, help them with their campaigns or introduce them to someone else you know. Politicians are networkers, and the successful ones have massive networks. Sounds like someone else I know, YOU! With election season in full swing and legislators looking to engage with their constituents, I encourage you to get to know them and let them know you are a Big I member. Make sure they have an agent’s name to insert HERE!
Dustin Miller began his decade of experience in Frankfort handling Government and Media Relation for State Farm Insurance. He has represented clients before the General Assembly from various sectors including telecommunications, insurance, health care, and education. He served on several boards during the Patton & Fletcher Administrations including the Healthcare Transparency Committee and the Governor’s Earthquake Council since 2004.
GO ALL IN! When your agency goes all in, you’re eligible to receive a pizza party from Big I KY. Encourage your work family to give $10 or more to each PAC, so you can enjoy a pizza party on us!
