From Your President

Matt Swallows presented by

I hope 2023 is off to a great start for you and your family. It is an honor to serve as your President this year. It is not lost on me that I am serving as President of this association in its historic 130th year. I have thought about what it must have been like for my predecessor serving as the first President of this association in 1893. I am certain he and his contemporaries, who formed this organization, were forward-looking and resourceful people seeking to advance the profession and create a better insurance industry in Tennessee. While the times have changed dramatically and our industry has evolved in ways the founders of this association probably could not have imagined, we share many of the same goals today 130 years later.

One of my key objectives in 2023 is to emphasize the importance of professional education for staff in insurance agencies across the state of Tennessee. In a very real sense, insurance expertise is the currency that we trade upon in growing and developing our agencies. Essentially, the more you know about risk management and insurance the greater value you can provide to clients. More importantly, having the knowledge to help protect the financial interests of families and businesses is simply the right thing to do. The truth is that insurance and risk management is a complicated matter despite narratives sometimes pushed in the marketplace suggesting that insurance is just a commodity product. It is not.

As insurance professionals, we all know that beyond the construct of policy language and the insuring agreement for the various coverages, there are the important elements of risk assessment needed to help clients understand the exposure they face and the strategies available to them to manage that risk. The reality is that many people, relative to both personal and business insurance, do not know what they don’t know. They rely on us to help them navigate the complex world of insurance to bring them greater security and peace of mind.

Fortunately, through your membership in the Insurors of Tennessee you have access to a wealth of professional education resources throughout the year delivered via the classroom and/or online. I encourage you to visit the Insurors of Tennessee website to learn more at www.insurors.org and mouseover the Education tab for options. Education is the fuel that propels success in professional independent insurance agencies across Tennessee. I hope you will make an investment in your career and your agency’s future in 2023 through one of our many education options.

Two additional priorities I would like to highlight are our Young Agents (YA) and Women in Insurance (WINS) programs. Both programs are critical to the ongoing growth and development of two important constituencies of our membership. The YA program helps prepare the future leaders of your agency and this association who are important to the perpetuation of the professional independent agency system in this state. The WINS program is growing in numbers and becoming more active across the state giving the women of our industry an exceptional platform to pursue initiatives, share professional experiences, develop professional ties, and build relationships with like-minded insurance professionals across their communities.

In March, we are presenting the Agency Growth Conference in Chattanooga at the downtown Westin hotel on March 30-31 that provides three information packed sessions you will not want to miss. This conference is also outstanding for Young Agents to help further their development. Registration is open via the website, so please register now.

On another schedule note, save the date for the 130th Insuror of Tennessee Annual Convention to be held in Knoxville on October 21-24, 2023. Additional information will be forthcoming about the convention, as we move forward this year.

I look forward to working with the Insurors of Tennessee board, staff, partners, and members to make this 130th Anniversary of the association a year that celebrates our history and positions us for continued growth and success. u