ALEXANDRIA, Va., August 14 - The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) in October will unveil its highly anticipated diversity professional development training program that will provide independent agency owners, producers and managers who serve emerging urban and minority communities the knowledge necessary to build successful operations.
IIABA’s new Associate in Insurance Agency Operations (AIAO) program offers independent agencies the tools and strategies necessary to be more attractive business partners for top national and regional agency carriers and to position themselves for long-term growth and success.
The AIAO program features a specially developed curriculum taught by subject experts offering comprehensive instruction in strategic planning, sales training and superior customer service. Agents will learn tactical planning, successful marketing strategies and effective negotiation skills. Upon completion of classroom work and course-reporting requirements, each participant will be awarded the AIAO designation.
“It is vital for independent agencies to serve emerging markets with professionalism, expertise and skill, and the AIAO course is designed to help them do exactly that,” says Madelyn Flannagan, IIABA vice president of education & research. “Students will learn in a hands-on approach encompassing both comprehensive classroom instruction and highly interactive exercises specifically developed to address the growing urban and minority market. The AIAO designation will boost both the student’s and their agency’s credibility within the industry and among the consumers they serve in their community.”
The AIAO program will be conducted over eight days—two three-day sessions and one two-day session during a 12-month period—comprising 64 hours of classroom instruction. The first session will take place Oct. 22 to 24, the second session will be held Feb. 3 to 5, and the final session will take place May 12 to13. All classes will be conducted at IIABA’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va. Class size is limited to 15 students to ensure each participant receives individual attention during and after each class.
This innovative AIAO training program was developed jointly by IIABA’s education department and its Diversity Task Force—a cooperative industry group comprising IIABA agents and brokers, several leading insurance companies, and members of organizations representing Latin American, African-American and Asian-American agents. The task force’s objectives are to promote racial diversity within the agent community and the company ranks, and to increase the industry’s market presence in emerging urban and minority communities.
To register for the AIAO training program or for additional information, contact Barbara Miller-Richards at (800) 221-7917 or barbara.miller-richards@iiaba.net.
Founded in 1896, IIABA is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life and health—as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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