Message from the IA&B Chair

CELEBRATING IA&B EDUCATION

Education is one of the most common reasons why agents join or renew their IA&B membership. It’s one of the places where IA&B shines. In 2022, IA&B provided 262 courses to 7,562 participants, and helped over 150 insurance professionals earn designations.

All of this activity hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Big “I” recently awarded IA&B with two Diamond-level 2023 Excellence in Insurance Education Awards, marking the seventh consecutive year the organization earned the top-tier awards.

I could proudly sign off this message based on these points alone, but there’s more. A constant discussion in the boardroom is ‘How do we deliver value to our members?’ That question led to a five-year strategic plan, prominently featuring education. Our strategic goals include expanding educational offerings to include new P&C, L&H, skills, and management courses, as well as an insurance school with training programs that prepare professionals for agencies to hire. Plus, IA&B will hire a recruiter to help attract diverse new talent into the industry.

There are countless ways my agency has benefited from IA&B, but on the topic of education, recently a new hire attended the in-person licensing study course and successfully passed the state exam and a commercial agent earned her CIC designation. I’m sure you have similar stories of how IA&B’s educational efforts impact your agency, and I’d love to see you share them on social media tagging IA&B.

Kudos to anyone who undertook an educational opportunity to improve themselves, to better serve their clients and community. I’m proud that IA&B is the engine that makes it all possible.

Until next time,

Sarah Brown, CIC, CRM, AFIS

Chair of the Board