President's Message

STRATEGIC PLAN

Toward the end of last year, I alluded to the strategic planning session that the IA&B board of directors, staff, and a national consultant worked on. The purpose of this planning was to set a long-term strategic roadmap for IA&B – looking out over the next five to seven years. The IA&B board has officially approved this plan, and I’d like to outline what it is IA&B is going to be working on – for you:

Attract diverse new talent through localized recruitment campaigns with community partners.

We continue to hear from members that they are looking to hire and/or perpetuate their agency. IA&B has attempted to address this through various partners, but now we are going to take matters into our own hands. We are going to directly work in schools, as well as look across other industries, to recruit individuals into the independent agency channel.

Create a training program for those new to the insurance industry that prepares them as professionals ready for hire.

As we recruit individuals into the industry, IA&B will develop and build an independent insurance agent “school.” We will train individuals on the basics of insurance, as well as the soft skills (think sales training, marketing, communication) necessary to be successful. And of course, we will get these individuals licensed. IA&B’s plan is to have a steady stream of well-trained individuals coming out of our program, and immediately becoming a key employee for our members.

Build an internal consulting service that supports agencies to grow, improve, and perpetuate.

I’ve said it many times – nobody knows independent insurance agents better than IA&B. It’s time that we bring this knowledge into our member agencies, and proactively grow these agencies. Whether it be agency analytics, agency efficiencies, or enhanced market access, IA&B will show you what it takes to be a winning agency and will work directly with you to ensure that success.

For these initiatives to work, IA&B must invest heavily into these programs, and that’s what we are going to do. While we will continue to provide our core programs and services you have come to rely on, we will be focused on these new projects over the coming years. Our vision is to ensure a thriving independent insurance agent community, and we feel this work will help achieve that.

Best,

Jason F. Ernest

President & CEO