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IIABA Honors Jacqueline Adkins with National ACSR of The Year Award

IIABA HONORS JACQUELINE ADKINS WITH NATIONAL ACSR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Virginian Recognized for Exceptional Customer Service Performance

ALEXANDRIA, VA, June 29—Jacqueline L. Adkins, a claims management specialist with Norfolk, Va.-based Hilb, Rogal & Hobbs Company, has been named the 2003 National Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) of the Year by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA).

Adkins is a 28-year veteran of the independent agency system and has served her entire career with Hilb, Rogal & Hobbs. She was selected for the ACSR honor based on the outstanding individual contributions she has made to her agency, community and the insurance industry as well as the strength of her recommendations and personal essay on customer service.

The IIABA National ACSR of the Year Award program recognizes the value that customer service representatives bring to the independent agency system and the millions of consumers it serves.

“Providing and delivering superior customer service is one of the most important things that any agency can do to enhance its value to customers. Jacqueline ensures that superior customer service is the key that differentiates her agency from its competitors and keeps customers coming back for all their insurance and financial services needs,” says Madelyn Flannagan, IIABA vice president of education and research. “Jacqueline’s achievement is a testament to her dedication to the clients she serves and the agency she represents, as well as to her own pride in being a professional.”

Adkins receives a cash prize of $1,500, registration for one CPCU or IIA course administered by the American Institute for CPCU/IIA, and a plaque commemorating her achievement. Adkins previously was honored as the Virginia ACSR of the Year.

CSRs often coordinate two roles within an independent agency: assisting agents in researching and providing the best combination of price, coverage and service to their clients; and being the agency “point person” for handling coverage questions, complaints, claims and policy changes. The average independent agency represents eight insurance companies and thousands of clients, so providing these services is no small task.

To be eligible for the ACSR of the Year Award, nominees must hold the ACSR designation from IIABA and uphold the professional standards for which ACSR designees are recognized.

The ACSR accreditation is an international designation program developed and administered by IIABA for the promotion and recognition of customer service expertise throughout the independent agency system. More than 13,000 ACSR designations have been conferred on customer service representatives during the past 11 years, making IIABA’s program the largest CSR training program in the country. ACSR courses are approved in most states for continuing-education credit toward agent licensing renewal.

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: