Agents Poised To 'Leap Forward,' Incoming IIABA President Declares

"I believe the best way to tackle a challenge is to hit it head on," said Mr. Anders, who is president of VFIS of North Carolina, and Anders, Ireland & Marshall Inc., both based in Raleigh, N.C.

"I will not dance around problems or issues. I will tackle them and will do what is best for you," he added shortly after taking the reins from Thomas B. Ahart, president of Ahart, Frinzi & Smith in Phillipsburg, N.J., who served as Big I's president for the past year.

IIABA has laid the foundations for agents to achieve this new success, Mr. Cloyce observed, and "now it is time to build upon that foundation."

He noted that one recent change–the addition of "Brokers" to the associations name–is more than cosmetic. "It shines a spotlight on our advocacy work for our largest members," he said.

In the next year, the association will "redouble" its efforts to address issues of concern to its largest members, such as licensing, management training, cross-marketing, financial services, and other matters, he said.

He announced that the association has created a new committee, headed by Don Lewis, chief executive officer of the Hastings-Tapley Agency in Woburn, Mass., to be known as the "Large Agent and Broker Roundtable," to address the concerns of its biggest member agencies and brokerages.

Also serving on the committee will be:

Louise "Bebe" Canter, senior vice president of Patterson-Smith Associates in Falls Church, Va., and IIABA's president-elect for 2003-04. Ms. Canter is the first woman elected to the IIABAs executive committee.

Ken Kirk, regional executive vice president of insurance broker Brown and Brown, based in Daytona Beach, Fla.

D. Gaines Lanier, president and chief executive officer of J. Smith Lanier & Company, an insurance brokerage in West Point, Ga.

Don Brain, president of Lockton Benefits Companies, a subsidiary of Lockton Companies, based in Kansas City, Mo.

Roy Taylor, president of Talbot Insurance Inc., the insurance division of Talbot Insurance & Financial Services in Riverside, Calif.

Craig Smith, chief executive officer of Fred A. Moreton & Company, a large agency in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mr. Anders called on agents, state associations and other association partners to embrace IIABAs new branding initiative, "Trusted Choice," aimed at promoting the independent agency system among consumers.

More agents, brokers and insurance companies must be encouraged to join in the effort, he said, as the brand begins its national advertising campaign next year.

"Working together, we will build 'Trusted Choice' as the marketing standard for the agency system," he declared.

Mr. Anders said the association, under the guidance of IIABA's chief executive officer, Bob Rusbuldt, is working with insurers to solve problems instead of fighting over them.

While there would be disagreements in the future, he said he was confident resolutions could be found to issues between independent agents and companies. He said his work would include building bridges between the two partners.

During his tenure, Mr. Anders said he would also work to strengthen relationships between the national and state Big I associations. "We will achieve more by working together," Mr. Anders said.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, October 7, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.