BIG “I” SENIOR EXECUTIVE ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF NIPR
Bissett chosen for leadership role with National Insurance Producer Registry
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 14, 2005—Wesley Bissett, a top executive with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) has been elected vice president of the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR).
Bissett, Big “I” senior vice president for government affairs and state relations, is only the second vice president in NIPR’s 10-year history, and the first to come from the agent/broker side of the industry.
NIPR is a private-public partnership of insurance regulators and the insurance industry, and its simple goal is to modernize, streamline, and make more uniform the producer licensing process. It is governed by a 13-member board, comprised of six insurance commissioners, six industry representatives, and the executive vice president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Bissett has served on the board of directors in the past.
“NIPR is an incredibly important element of our industry’s quest for meaningful licensing reform nationwide, and I look forward to playing an active leadership role in this crucial endeavor,” Bissett says. “I share NIPR’s vision for the future of agent and broker licensing, and I hope we can soon make that dream a reality.”
NIPR has had several critical successes in recent years. For example, NIPR worked with insurance regulators to create the Producer Database (PDB), a nationwide database of licensing information concerning the nation’s agents and brokers. All states are now providing regular updates to the PDB, which enables regulators to more quickly take action on license applications.
NIPR is also rolling out products that will enable insurance producers to obtain licenses (and renew those licenses) on the NIPR website. This is of considerable interest and importance to the hundreds of thousands of agents and brokers licensed across the country. Forty states now issue new nonresident licenses through NIPR’s expedited process, and nearly 20 jurisdictions also are equipped to issue nonresident renewals.
“NIPR is moving quickly to provide agents and brokers with an online ‘one stop shop’ where they can go to obtain and renew their insurance licenses in a timely and efficient way,” Bissett says. “I am committed to seeing that this happens as quickly as possible, and I am optimistic we will increase the number of participating states and offer new products and services on an expedited basis.”
Big “I” CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt is pleased with Bissett’s election and is confident his ascent will help NIPR continue its progress.
“Agents and brokers are understandably frustrated by the inefficiencies, delays, and costs historically associated with producer licensing, especially at a time when agencies are operating in an increasing number of states,” Rusbuldt says. “NIPR’s progress, if combined with needed legislative reforms, offers hope and promise that the multi-state licensing process may soon be streamlined and modernized. The Big ‘I’ congratulates Wes on his new post, and I have complete confidence that Wes will have a very significant impact on NIPR and its mission to improve and streamline agent licensing.”
Producer licensing reform is a top priority for IIABA at the NAIC in 2006, and the Big “I” is working closely with interested regulators to ensure that much-needed reforms are made. One of the association’s key objectives is to address the requirements in some states that force an insurance agent to obtain three licenses (an individual license, an entity license, and a corporate registration) before placing business in a particular jurisdiction. These duplicative requirements impose significant and unjustified costs on the industry and hinder an agent’s ability to serve customers in a timely and responsive manner.
“Needless to say, we are very pleased that Wes will be the new vice-president of NIPR,” says William G. Stiglitz III, an executive with the Louisville, Ky.-based Hyland, Block & Hyland agency. “We are confident that Wes’s leadership will help NIPR continue to move forward on these issues that are of vital importance to independent insurance agents and brokers across America.”
Founded in 1896, IIABA (the Big “I”) 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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