Longtime PIA CEO Mike Becker announces pending departure
Becker’s time with the organization was punctuated by steadfast, passionate advocacy on behalf of insurance agents.
The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents announced that longtime leader Mike Becker has resigned to accept a position outside the insurance industry.
The exact nature of Becker’s new opportunity will become public at a later date, PIA said in a press release.
Becker, who has worked for PIA National since 2007, held several administrative positions with the organization before ascending to executive vice president and CEO a decade ago. His time with the organization has been punctuated by steadfast, passionate advocacy on behalf of independent insurance agents.
“I quickly fell in love with the broader part of the industry, the agents,” Becker said in a 2018 executive profile for NU Property & Casualty magazine. “I fell in love with the people. That’s what’s kept me in it.”
Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses.
Becker will continue on at PIA National’s Virginia headquarters “for an extended interim period to ensure a smooth transition,” the organization said. Its board has initiated a search for Becker’s replacement.
“Mike has significantly raised PIA’s value by greatly expanding product offerings and services to benefit our members,” PIA National President Rich Savino said in the release. “He is a real visionary — the innovation he brought to our organization will be felt for years to come.”
Among his accomplishments: Becker created the PIA Technology Council, from which insurtech leaders provide ideas, input and insights for agents. He has championed the PIA Partnership, the association’s carrier council. And his outreach to large, multi-state mega agencies led to a change in PIA membership that embraces a broader swath of independent agencies being part of PIA, the organization said.
Becker also helped spearhead an annual research partnership with PropertyCasualty360.com and its print predecessor (National Underwriter/NU Property & Casualty magazine) in the form of the Independent Insurance Agent Survey. (The 2024 Survey is now open.)
“I will always believe in the independent insurance agency distribution channel and all the good, honest, hardworking people who are PIA,” Becker said in PIA’s press release. “It is with the greatest sense of affection for PIA and all the wonderful people who have come to be friends that I embark on a new chapter in my career.”
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