Time to Make a Change

Another year, another chance to make a change.

January 1 is a day just like any other. Its assignment as the first day of a new year, however, provides a target date to begin changing things—hopefully for the better, sometimes just to shake things up a bit. Lose weight, exercise more, get organized, clean out the closets, save money, … the list goes on.

Speaking of change, with the coming of the New Year Insurance Journal has made some of its own. With this issue we’ve grown from a two-region publication (West and Texas/South Central) to a fully national one with the addition three new regional print editions: East, Southeast and Midwest. And with this transition, we’ve made a change to the format of the magazine, adding a “national” section in the middle that will include news and information applicable to all five regions of the country. Wrapped around that you’ll find the in-depth coverage for this region that you’ve come to expect from Insurance Journal.

One change many agency owners should be preparing for—whether they’re ready or not—is: What’s going to happen to their agency when they retire? In an effort to help agency principals answer that question and many more regarding ownership of their agency, we’ve included a special section of articles dealing with agency perpetuation. These articles, written by consultants and former agency owners, are presented in conjunction with the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas. The IIAT is featuring workshops on perpetuation at its annual Joe Vincent Management Seminar, which takes place Jan. 25 – 27 in Austin. The articles and workshops are designed to help owners devise a plan to keep their agencies working for them after they are no longer active in the agencies.

As our cover photo suggests, you’ll also find an interview with Texas Governor Rick Perry within these pages. Politically, 2004 should be an interesting year at both the state and national levels. So Insurance Journal asked Gov. Perry to comment on the reforms made by the Texas Legislature in 2003, as well as what lies ahead, legislatively, on the insurance front.

According to a December 2003 readers’ poll on our Web site, www.insurancejournal.com, insurance agents across the U.S. think the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America’s Virtual University is one of the most influential forces in the industry today. Thomas J. Slattery reports on that development in our national section. Also in that section, regular IJ columnists, Catherine Oak and Bill Schoeffler, take a look at trends that may affect your business in 2004.

We hope you’ll find our changes to your liking. Let us know.

Topics Texas Agencies