3 minute read
From Your IIABA National Director
From Your IIABA National Director Why the Big "I"?
The year 2020 has proved to be a very trying one for us all and not one most of us want to repeat. Now more than ever being an Independent Insurance Agent and a member of the Big "I" and Insurors of Tennessee is so important. Your membership to the Big "I" provides you with all of the information that you need to help you navigate the Coronavirus pandemic, help your office become more diverse, assist your office in hiring and a plethora of other information to help you be a resource not only for your office but for your clients as well.
Pandemic Response
Logging into the IIABA website will give your agency access to the Coronavirus Resource Page for the disaster planning tool kit provided by ACT. This guide will help your office with preparedness for a pandemic, help you set office procedures, show you how to work with carriers and Trusted Choice will help you use social media to communicate with your customers.
Want a better knowledge of Business Income as it applies to the COVID-19 virus? Chris Boggs has a very useful article to assist your customers understanding on how the policy responds to this virus.
There is also information on how this pandemic applies to Workers’ Compensation. Is it a disease or Illness? Could be. It must be a disease or illness, must be occupational and must arise out of or be caused by conditions peculiar to the work.
The Big "I" website provides updates from the World Health Organization (WHO), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and John Hopkins University and Medicine including videos, travel updates, Best Practices for Employers and Employees and the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Carrier Responses to the COVID-19 virus are also listed. Trusted Choice has FAQs and other consumer content to share with your customers and you can find out how to simplify the PPP Loan Forgiveness program. Everything you need to know about this pandemic is there. All you need to do is login. Diversity in Our Industry
2020 has also been a year of diversity awareness. Big "I" has created a 9 step guide to cultivate inclusion and focus on equality in your agency. For example, 60% or more of our workforce is women but only 11% are in an executive position. This guide will help your office better represent our workforce and help you focus on change.
Make a conscientious effort to change how you operate your agency. Have a succession plan. Get employee feedback. Your employees are insightful and this will identify your future leaders. Leverage your business resource groups. Reconsider how you recruit and remember a cultural shift takes time. Encouraging change in your office will help change the entire Independent Agency system.
The Big "I"’s Whitnee Dillard has a very good article, "Navigating Inclusion Leadership During Times of Crisis." Take time to view the information provided on this topic.
Big "I" Hires Can Help
The Pandemic response and the renewed focus on diversity may have your agency considering new roles or even new employees. With remote working and other opportunities, this may actually be a good time to bring on new staff. Conversely, the marketplace is now flooded with out-of-work individuals - so how do you determine who is the right fit for your agency?
The new Big "I" Hires program can help you develop a job post, sort through résumés, prequalify candidates and target those that are the best match. Several of our members are already using this with success. Check it out now at www.bigihires.com.
Take Advantage of Resources
Now is the time to utilize the resources provided in your Big "I" membership. The Big "I" is available to help us navigate this crazy 2020 year – so why Big "I"? A multitude of reasons for Independent Agents. u
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