IA Magazine

The New Normal: 4 Perennial Cyber Threats

Yesterday’s cyber threat will not be tomorrow’s biggest danger. Here are four cyber risks that will threaten businesses in 2020.

Posted: Mar 08, 2020

Cybersecurity for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

It's vital for insurance agents and brokers to counsel small and mid-sized business clients on the risks associated with the increasingly digital nature of business.

Posted: Mar 08, 2020

Why Millennials Need to Understand Ease, Choice and Advice

Research from Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance shows that millennials don’t fully understand the value of independent insurance agents. Here are some ways agents can adapt to demonstrate their value to younger clients.

Posted: Mar 08, 2020

Worry About Your Clients’ Needs, Not Your Access to Capital

Increasing your client base means you need to increase your staff to help meet the clients' needs. We can help you focus on your clients and not how you will compensate your new employees.

Posted: Mar 08, 2020

From the Front Lines: Cyber Liability

When it comes to cyber liability insurance, "You have to drill down and figure out specifically what risk each client has to be able to appropriately mitigate damage," says independent agent Jeffrey Miller. "I say 'mitigate' because it’s not if you h...

Posted: Mar 08, 2020

Asset Misappropriation Frauds Continue to Mount

Small businesses at greatest risk of loss.

Posted: Mar 08, 2020

Big ‘I’ Creates Coronavirus Resource Page

To help members prepare and respond, the Big "I" will update a resource page as the outbreak develops.

Posted: Mar 04, 2020

U.S. House Hearing Examines Auto Insurance Industry

The Big “I” looks forward to continuing to work with Congress to protect consumers from unfair discrimination while also preserving the state-based system of insurance regulation.

Posted: Mar 04, 2020

Women Leaders in Insurance: Jana Foster

“The second we stop working on [gender equality] is the second we become stagnant," says independent agent Jana Foster. "I don’t think we’ll ever get to a place where we can stop progressing for the positive.”

Posted: Mar 03, 2020

The Power of System Integration: Pursuing a Digital Ecosystem in Your Agency

Successful businesses know that quickly gathering, processing and transmitting information is essential in a world with near-instant communication. With the right tools, setting up a digital ecosystem is easy and effective.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Expand Your Knowledge to Address Emerging Cyber Risks

Some people may not consider a data breach a catastrophe, but then maybe those people aren’t small business owners with their livelihood tied to their business.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

High Tide and Rising: Perspectives from Dealing with Disaster

Perspectives from agents who dealt with disaster to serve their clients when they needed them most.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Keep Calm and Prepare Your Agency for a CAT Event

Disasters, whether natural or otherwise can hit any time and without notice. The best line of defense is offense—prepare your employees, physical office, data, systems and clients with procedures to implement when disaster strikes.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Declaration of Independents: Joe Hamilton

Recently, Joe Hamilton ended three years as chair of the Big “I” National Young Agents Committee, which recognized him as the 2019 Young Agent Champion of the Year.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Secret Sauce: A 10-Step Recipe for Hiring Like a Pro

An easily repeatable recipe that gets easier each time for hiring a new sales representative at your agency.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Agency Profile: The Insurance Center

With five rural offices in Utah and one in Las Vegas, The Insurance Center team studies emerging national industries and works to establish comprehensive, tailored programs for them—including safety training videos produced in-house.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Why Women Mean Business

How women build long-term customer relationships and loyalty.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

The Jury’s Out: Social Inflation Is on the Rise

How social inflation is ballooning into every independent insurance agency.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

Providing Life and Health Solutions That Go Beyond Insurance

By facing difficult conversations head-on, agents can dig deeper into a client’s life goals and build solutions that set them up for life-long success.

Posted: Mar 02, 2020

The Capital You Need to Hire the Employees You Need

Hiring new employees can be a stressful process. Let us take the stress about compensating your employees away.

Posted: Mar 01, 2020

Berkley Construction Professional Introduces Faulty Workmanship Coverage

Berkley CP’s Faulty Workmanship Liability provides coverage for the costs contractors incur to repair or replace defects found within their physical construction work.

Posted: Mar 01, 2020

How Agents Can Be Trusted Cybersecurity Advisors

If agents truly want to be trusted risk advisors, they need to talk with their customers about more than simply the insurance side of cyberattack mitigation. Here are the three main methods of dealing with cyber risk.

Posted: Mar 01, 2020

Cyber Policies Adapt to Rise in Awareness, Losses and Claims

Cyber threats are becoming extremely difficult to stop and awareness among businesses about the effect of a cyberattack on their operations is growing. As a result, the demand for cyber liability insurance is growing too.

Posted: Mar 01, 2020

Agents Are Front Line of Defense in Occupational Fraud

Fraudulent vendor invoices a growing problem.

Posted: Mar 01, 2020

Is a Sole Proprietor Automatically Covered Under a Workers Comp Policy?

When a sole proprietor in Iowa with employees purchases a company workers compensation policy, is the proprietor automatically covered? Or do they have to elect coverage for themselves?

Posted: Feb 27, 2020