IIAA Heads to the Islands for a Much-Needed Industry ‘Update’

Grow Your Business—Secure Your Future” was slated to be the theme of this year’s Independent Agents of America (IIAA) InfoXchange. But the events of last month suddenly made the idea of securing your future seem even more relevant.

With America facing this volatile time, many conference attendees might have wavered about whether to fly across the ocean to attend the Big “I,” scheduled for Oct. 27-30 at the Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii. After all, the idea of lounging on a sun-drenched beach under waving palm trees, mai-tai in hand, suddenly seemed a little callous. But as the weeks go on and America picks herself back up, independent agents need to get back to normal as much as anyone, perhaps more.

Thomas Ahart, president-elect of the IIAA, will be taking the helm from IIAA President William F. Hofmann III during the InfoXchange. In recent weeks, Ahart has been traveling the country attending state conventions and getting a first-hand impression of the state of the industry.

“The people that I’ve talked to are all glad that we’re trying to make things move forward as normal…feeling that they have a job to do and [to] show everybody that we’re not going to change our lifestyle,” Ahart said. “Besides the fact that we’re over a month and a half away from Sept. 11, and this will be the first major industry gathering—it will be a good update for everybody.”

With the facts and figures and projected losses from the attacks changing every day, an update could prove beneficial for many in the industry.

“I think it should be pretty interesting for people as far as what happens with the reinsurance community and how that affects our domestic insurers,” Ahart said.

Keeping a positive attitude is also key in these times. Ahart said he has been very pleased so far by the attitude of the industry. Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, insurers have “really stepped up and almost done their patriotic duty. [For example,] life insurers—that sometimes give us a hard time needing to prove death and have a death certificate before they’ll pay death benefits—are now all of a sudden paying benefits out right away, as long as they know that people went to work and are missing. The property/casualty group is paying claims right away—it seems like they’re really trying to step up and do their job.”

Will insurers withstand the losses from these disastrous events? “They seem like they’ll be fine,” Ahart said. “I think what they’re worried about now is if there’s any other kind of attack—whether or not they could withstand that.”

With the uncertainties circulating in the industry, no one would have been surprised to see a spate of cancellations for the InfoXchange. Yet, according to Ahart and IIAA CEO Bob Rusbuldt, that scenario did not occur.

“I’m not aware of a mass amount of cancellations; in fact, I could count them on one hand,” Rusbuldt said. “Attendance hasn’t dropped at all; however, it is static. During this last six-week period or so, we usually have a good surge of registration, and right now it’s static.

“Is the convention going to be as large as we thought it would be prior to the terrorist attack? The answer is no, but it will still go on and we’ll have a good attendance… Right now we have about 1,400, and normally we would have 2,000 or more.”

The trade show, which is traditionally one of the largest in the insurance industry, should also be a little more manageable this year with slightly reduced attendance.

“The meeting goes on as planned, with the whole spectrum of top-flight speakers and presenters, a good mix of business education and networking opportunities,” said Jeff Myers, IIAA vice president of public affairs and public relations. “We are planning a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks, and we’ll take a look at the implications of the events and how it’s going to affect coverages as well as personal lives.”

As always, the Big “I” InfoXchange will feature an array of workshops on everything from technology to marketing and selling insurance.

Well-known business author Ken Blanchard will conduct a training session Oct. 28 on how to transform an agency through hiring, motivating and selling/service. Blanchard, author of the “One Minute Manager,” aims to help independent agents expand and enhance their agency business.

Technology, once again, is a major focus at the convention, Ahart said. Current IIAA initiatives include co-branding websites with member states, establishing the Big “I” Markets platform (“all kinds of products on one technology platform that agents can access”), and promoting the Big “I” University, with multiple opportunities for education and research online.

The Big “I”‘s branding initiative, “Trusted Choice,” is moving along right on schedule, according to Ahart. “It’s been a two-year period so far doing all the research, but we actually got board approval last January. The job this year has been to go around and promote it, and do some piloting in different states and then also go around to companies to present it for funding on their part as well as the agencies.”

Last year, Hofmann discussed the importance of agents and associations presenting a united front, specifically in terms of a merger with the Professional Insurance Agents.

Asked how that initiative has progressed over the last year, Ahart said: “Well, we’ve tried to do that on a national basis, and we’d still love to do that with whatever groups are out there. A lot of groups still [value] their own autonomy and PIA National has been one that really hasn’t wanted to do anything on a merger basis. So we haven’t been able to do anything nationally with them; although at the state level, we have quite a few states now that are merged, and we fully supported them.”

IIAA’s political savvy will be showcased on Oct. 30 with a Government Affairs Panel featuring Republican political commentator Laura Ingraham and former Clinton White House Senior Advisor Paul Begala joining Rusbuldt on stage for lively debate.

“You have all the traditional reasons why agents and brokers should attend this conference: so they can make more money,” Rusbuldt said. “And now you have a whole new added layer of reasons why they should go, because the insurance industry is going to change somewhat as a result of this, and everybody needs to be up to speed.”