From Your IIABA National Director

Standing Together to Stand Out

One of my favorite quotes is from Theodor Geisel – better known as Dr. Seuss – and says, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” With all the changes going on in the world today, what better time than now to stand out?

Our industry is also changing rapidly. Women are no longer just the "typist" or secretary. We are now COOs, CFOs, presidents and highly trained insurance professionals. Women of all backgrounds are leading our independent companies, our agencies, our brokers, our Association and all aspects of our business.

Our industry now offers more opportunities than ever for anyone wanting to make insurance their career. The possibilities are endless.

More than ever women are the primary financial provider in many homes and are financially contributing to the household to provide for their families. Besides working 40 hours a week, taking care of children and possibly parents, making sure that everyone is where they need to be, keeping the home running smoothly and trying to be superwomen, let’s add COVID-19 to the mix! Stress has never been higher.

Women in Insurance

In 2018, Insurors of Tennessee created the Women In Insurance program (WINS) to help women share ideas, creativity and develop opportunities. We can network, socialize and create resources along with our peers. WINS wants to help you stand out and be the best that you can be. This past year in-person events have not been possible, but we have been lucky enough to hold several virtual events to help women handle all the challenges that go along with working in Insurance.

Our April 27 WINS event featured Whitnee Dillard, Director of Diversity and Inclusion with the Big “I” as she broke down the topic of "Navigating Imposter Syndrome and Increasing your Network and Inclusive Leadership." Whitnee stressed that we need to make a conscience effort to engage and develop diversity. We need to mentor our rising young professionals. Don’t hesitate to talk about your accomplishments, brag about you and allow failure. Inclusive leadership contains commitment, courage, awareness, courage, embracing of cultural intelligence and collaboration.

Whitnee’s talking points are goals for all of us to follow, not just women. We need to seize the opportunities in our industry and don’t just fit in when you were born to stand out.

We are now beginning to plan in-person events across the state, and I am excited to see those opportunities back on the schedule. Look for more information to be sent out on dates, times and locations very soon. I also want to thank our sponsors of these events, Bailey Special Risks and R-T Specialty for their support in these efforts.

Other Ways to Get Involved

In addition to our WINS program, we want to be intentional about other ways women can be involved in our Association. If you're under 40 or have less than 5 years of experience in the industry, our Young Agents program is a great way to meet your peers and learn more about the insurance landscape. If you'd like to be involved in leadership in our industry, please feel free to reach out to me about opportunities to serve on our Committees and/or our Board of Directors.

In addition, we are continuing to work on new ways to incorporate additional CE offerings, event speakers, topics and/or other resources to help promote your growth. We want to add value here to our Convention, Conferences and all the meetings we put together for our members. If you have ideas, I'd love to talk through them with you. Please feel free to reach out to me at cindig@boyle.com or call 901.766.4298 so we can discuss it.

I will close by saying that – I get it – I've been where you are no matter what career stage you're in. I, and the Association, want to be part of your continued success in the insurance industry. Let us know how we can be. u

“Our industry now offers m o r e opportunities than ever for anyone wanting to make insurance their career."

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