Two Years of IA Transformation: Viewpoint

This month marks two years since I officially took the helm at the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) as president and CEO. This period since 2023 has been among the most transformative in recent memory for the independent agency channel–and certainly for us at this association. Independent agents have confronted an unprecedented hard market, extraordinary natural disasters, regulatory and legislative challenges, and a technological revolution including the widespread implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) that will forever change the way we do business.

I can say cautiously that we are starting to see glimmers of light at the end of the hard market tunnel. The independent agent community has had to be creative to thrive through it, working proactively and individually with customers to explain their soaring premiums or remarket their coverage with limited alternatives. For our part, we launched the Big “I” Alliance, a new aggregator model designed to expand market access and support our members’ growth. It’s delivering new options and coverage solutions in this tough market, especially for our smallest and newest agencies.

We are also working closely with other insurance industry stakeholders to curb another huge contributor to the hard market: abuse of our legal system. Third-party litigation funding, nuclear verdicts, and other legal factors are unfairly driving up insurance costs that then get passed on to consumers in an already-tight market. Together with our carrier partners, state insurance regulators, other trade groups, and federal legislators, we are crafting a holistic approach to advocate for tort reforms to bring our legal system under control. Legal reforms in states such as Georgia and Florida are already improving the insurance market in those areas, and we are turning our attention to regulators in other states and leaders in Congress, as well, to help with this expanding crisis.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Congress and the Trump administration did provide relief to the independent agency channel and other small businesses with historic tax legislation this year. The Big “I” successfully advocated for the permanency of the 20% pass-through deduction–a major legislative win for a majority of independent agencies who will benefit from this tax break. It’s a real game-changer as these businesses strategize for their future growth.

But perhaps our industry’s most revolutionary recent transformation has been with technology. Traditionally, insurance hasn’t been known for its quick adaptation of cutting-edge technology or its innovation in the high-tech realm. That’s all changing. A new era of insurtech is bolstering not only independent agencies but carriers, actuaries, adjusters, aggregators, and insurance consumers.

Independent agents today have no choice but to embrace the latest technology. The Big “I” through Trusted Choice has developed a suite of hands-on digital tools designed specifically to support agents through the ongoing hard market and to help them embrace and utilize AI to improve their operations.

We have invested in Catalyit, an effort founded by several of our Big “I” state associations and supported by insurtech partners, which helps agencies anywhere understand, select, and maximize their technology resources. And our Agents Council for Technology (ACT) is bringing together a wide array of industry players to delve into data, connectivity, and AI while giving independent agents a voice at the table as these issues advance. Independent agents are analytical problem-solvers by nature, so it makes sense they should be at the forefront of the industry’s technology surge.

That’s also why the Big “I” has undertaken a complete overhaul of our association digital ecosystem over the last 18 months, from our public-facing websites to member portals, to better serve agents in a digital-first environment. And it’s why AI was a major focus of our fall conference and board meeting this month in Nashville where we brought together a cross-section of industry leaders to discuss AI implementation at the agency level.

While the challenges and changes we have faced in the last two years have been many, the Big “I” has approached them in the same way we have always succeeded–by working with our industry counterparts to develop unique solutions that put independent agents and their customers first. That will never change.

Symington Jr. is president and CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, also known as the Big “I.” He began serving in this role in September 2023, after having been executive vice president since September 2022. Symington has overseen numerous legislative initiatives for the Big “I,” including securing small business tax relief, defending a modernized state regulatory system for insurance, preserving an effective Federal Crop Insurance Program, and extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).

Topics Numbers Iowa