Producers in storm-ravaged areas are working again, but recovery takes time, he pointed out. “A lot of agents are getting back on track. They are selling again in New Orleans, but it will be a long road back for these people,” he said, adding it could be another year to 18 months before anyone can measure the recovery.

Meanwhile, when it comes to selling, Mr. Stiglitz heralded the IIABA's branding initiative–Trusted Choice–as a critical tool to help consumers understand the value of independent agents and brokers.

Officially launched in 2001, Trusted Choice is “in excellent condition,” according to Mr. Stiglitz. It stands at 5,450 agency participants, up 450 from last year, he noted. The program, headed by Executive Director Jeffrey A. Myers, recently added Hartford Steam Boiler as its 33rd company sponsor.

“We are a little ahead of our business plan,” said Mr. Stiglitz. “We wanted to have 6,000 agency participants by the time my term was up [this September], and it looks like we can make it.”

Trusted Choice will continue to grow, he said, as both producers and carriers come to understand the power of the brand. He noted that agents say customers are finding them through the agency locator on the brand's Web site and through related advertising.

Trusted Choice offers agents a powerful promotional tool, according to Mr. Stiglitz, giving them the chance to tie into national ad campaigns with their personal tag line in print, radio and local TV ads.

“It didn't take off like a rocket right off the bat,” he said, explaining that “it takes time to build a brand.”

Independent agents and brokers are maintaining their share of the market, holding their own on commercial lines while growing in personal lines, noted Mr. Stiglitz, citing a recent IIABA report.

While conceding there is pressure from a younger generation of consumers comfortable with Internet purchasing, he explained that as the insurance transaction becomes increasingly confusing for the personal lines buyer, consumers will turn more and more to independent agents for the expertise and value they bring to the table.

Mr. Stiglitz said one concern is pressure on producers outside of the national brokerages to disclose their compensation in the wake of regulatory probes into bid-rigging, prompted by abuse of volume-based contingency fee arrangements.

Agents are not the problem and should not be subject to mandatory disclosure, he contends–noting that in some cases, disclosure would amount to pure conjecture, especially when it comes to contingent commissions based on a book's profitability.

“It's absurd,” he said. “In my opinion, if an agent wants to disclose voluntarily, that's fine. But we don't need to disclose and clients don't ask.”

He finds the recent Zurich agreement to settle regulatory probes worrisome, fearing it could open the door to individual carriers setting up their own disclosure protocols. Under its multistate agreement, Zurich must disclose all forms of agent compensation to policyholders. “If it becomes a mandate, it will be a big pain,” he said.

Traveling as Big I president, he said he is buoyed by the optimistic mood of producers around the country, despite recent weather losses and softening market conditions.

While there were legislative accomplishments, such as the extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and flood insurance reform, there are huge battles ahead over regulatory modernization, he noted–particularly over calls to establish an optional federal charter for agents and insurers alike.