Positioned For A Strong 2023

I want to start my column by expressing my great appreciation to our 2023 Company Partners. This year more than sixty insurance companies and organizations stepped up to become partners providing your association with the support and resources to go forward with objectives and plans on this 130th anniversary of the association. You can find an exhibit in the center of this magazine highlighting the 2023 Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Partners for 2023. You can also see the list of Company Partners on the Insurors of Tennessee website. Throughout this year we will be presenting the partners to you in this publication, on the website and via our social networks. At the various events to be held this year, including the 2023 Agency Growth Conference and the 130th Insurors of Tennessee Annual Convention, you will have the opportunity to visit with these partners to learn more about who they are and how they might assist your agency. As the CEO of the Insurors of Tennessee, I offer a heartfelt thank you to our partners. I encourage members to take note and give these companies strong consideration as you seek the insurance products and services you need to grow and develop your agency.

We had a great turnout at the Agency Growth Conference in Chattanooga on March 30-31. Thank you to all who participated in the conference. Stay tuned to our announcements about upcoming events and make plans to attend.

In addition to professional development opportunities, these events are a fantastic way to maintain and build great relationships. Many of our industry veterans speak warmly of the relationships they have built and how much they learn from peers over the years at Insurors of Tennessee events.

We have so much to offer independent agencies no matter their stage of development. From new start-ups to those more established and realizing their full potential, this association has helped and continues to help agencies succeed. So many agency principals have shared with me how the Insurors of Tennessee first helped their new start up agencies develop, and then over the years mature into successful enterprises. This started me wondering about how many agencies are across the state are not enjoying the support of this association. Even with the tide of agency consolidations, there are new agency start-ups, agencies migrating from single company models, and others that we have not connected with yet.

I would like to suggest we start a “grassroots” effort to recruit new agencies into the association. Since this is the 130th Anniversary of the Insurors of Tennessee, what if we seek to recruit 30 new members between now and the end of the year? Perhaps we call it the “30 at 130” project. Insuror members who know of worthy agencies in their communities that are not members, could reach out to these folks and invite them to become members. Refer them to www.insurors.org for more information. They can also contact Jake Smith at 615.922.6204 or jsmith@insurors.org to have a conversation about joining. Such an initiative would be one way to commemorate the 130th Anniversary of our association. In today’s lexicon this might be called #crowdsourcing. From the perspective of a former agency owner and a state representative, I would just call it a “grassroots” campaign. We hope you will participate in this volunteer effort.

On a final note, historically, the MarchApril edition of the magazine has always been the “Government Affairs” issue focused on advocacy topics at the state and federal level. Last year, we decided to move the “Government Affairs” issue to May-June to better reflect the legislative calendar in Nashville and Washington. By making this change, we will be able to give you a more complete review of the legislative season. As always, we communicate government and legislative affairs matters that require immediate attention or response via e-mail communications and social media as needed.

I hope you all had a great start to 2023. I look forward to seeing you at events and hearing from you. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me rtravis@insurors.org. u