First, here in Arizona, we have had the word “Brokers” in our name for two decades. Our state association has represented and worked in the trenches on behalf of large agents and brokers in Arizona, and I cannot recall seeing a CIAB staffer in Arizona advocating anything on legislative issues.

For example, CIAB was invisible when the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona led the successful fight to repeal the anti-competitive countersignature law. This is consistent with longstanding IIABA board policy calling for repeal of these laws.

CIAB also was nowhere to be found when we launched and passed the agent/producer licensing reform bill to comply with Gramm-Leach-Bliley.

Another example concerns CIAB's reference to needed work in regards to captive insurer regulation. It was the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Arizona that worked with the Arizona legislature and insurance department to enable captive insurers to be formed and used in Arizona. The CIAB had no role in that process. These are not isolated examples.

Second, CIAB failed to describe accurately IIABA or its state associations positions on some legislative/regulatory issues. By oversimplifying and taking out of context positions of IIABA or its state associations, CIAB attempted to blame IIABA for challenges in implementing reforms that IIABA does not control.

Third, CIAB failed to recognize that IIABA offers its agent and broker members, including large agents, many valuable resources that CIAB does not provide. IIABA offers a full complement of programs and services to address business and operational needs of IIABA members in a comprehensive way, such as [the branding program] “Trusted Choice,” the Big “I” Virtual University, and “Best Practices.”

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, CIAB failed to offer even a simple congratulations to IIABA. Instead, CIAB chose to take the low road, with petty and defensive attacks on the work of IIABA.

IIABA, our state association in Arizona, and other state associations have done and continue to do yeomans work on behalf of large agencies and brokers, and this was the case long before this name change. This is a time for CIAB to elevate the dialogue in a spirit of service to all our members and the industry as a whole, rather than allowing self-centered competitiveness to diminish it.

Lanny Hair
Executive Vice President
Independent Insurance Agents
and Brokers of Arizona
Phoenix, Ariz.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, May 6, 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.