National Underwriter to honor the finest agencies
Entries are being accepted for National Underwriter P&C's annual Agency of the Year Awards.
Whether you’re an entertainer or a journalist, the first rule in effectively connecting with people is: Know your audience.
National Underwriter and PropertyCasualty360.com appeal to a variety of insurance-related demographics; I’m continually impressed by the fact that no matter what your role is, we continue to be granted the opportunity each day to editorially serve a broad swath of professionals who make a living in the Property & Casualty business.
Chief among those individuals, of course, are the independent agents of this country.
I’ve made no secret of my deep respect and affection for independent agents, so I’ll say it again: These people are the backbone of the P&C industry. They are the public-facing, solutions-oriented, human faces of the covenant between insurers and the insured — the trusted advisors in whom Americans place their trust.
Theirs are the stories that illustrate how this industry serves key needs of the populace by helping to ensure the protection of their personal assets and by keeping the wheels of business moving. As our columnist Barry Seigerman is fond of saying, nothing happens without insurance.
Last year, we once again began honoring independent agencies for their extraordinary efforts with NU’s Agency of the Year Awards. My thought behind re-launching this program (which existed previously during the brand’s time under the direction of my wonderful predecessor, Sam Friedman, but for whatever reason was halted for a few years) was twofold: First, I wanted to spotlight three agencies that were making remarkable strides in client service, claims-handling, employing new technologies, agency marketing and customer retention, among other things.
Second, I wanted our readers to be able to read those stories, to get to know those agencies — and in so doing, not only see a bit of themselves in their peers, but also to take note of some of those best practices and adopt them in their own daily work. To recognize the exceptional things others were doing, learn from them, and, hopefully, gain a few ideas about how to do a better job.
The response to last year’s call for entries was overwhelming. I knew that we’d garner a good number of hopefuls looking for their moment to shine, but it wasn’t just the number but also the quality of those entries truly impressed me. The winners, Town & Country Insurance in Finlayson, Minn.; Curabba Agency in Middletown, N.Y.; Cobb-Hall Insurance in Howell, Mich., and G&N Insurance in Southborough, Mass. all received individual profiles in our October 2017 issue (and online), and received some stunning glass statuettes to commemorate their victories.
Related: Winners announced for NU’s Agency of the Year Award
In the coming weeks, we’ll be giving agencies of similar excellence a chance to show their P&C peers how it’s done.
We’ve begun accepting entries for this year’s Agency of the Year Awards via a special web portal. This year’s three winning agencies will be profiled in our October cover feature and on our website.
We fully recognize that all information supplied in your entry is completely confidential, and it will not be shared with any third party.
I believe there are always more great stories to be told. Here’s hoping that your agency’s story is among them.
See also:
NU Agency of the Year Award, Town & Country Insurance