ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Jan. 5, 2017—Merchants Insurance Group is the newest company partner of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s Agents Council for Technology (ACT).
“ACT is proud to welcome Merchants Insurance Group as its newest carrier member,” says Ron Berg, ACT executive director. “We look forward to working with the Merchants Insurance Group team to continue improving technology workflows for independent insurance agents and brokers.”
Founded in 1918, Merchants Insurance Group provides quality property and casualty insurance products. Headquartered in Buffalo, New York, Merchants Insurance Group is comprised of three companies: Merchants Mutual Insurance Company, Merchants Preferred Insurance Company and Merchants National Insurance Company. Merchants’ products are sold through a network of more than 1,000 independent insurance agents in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
“We have been working diligently to enhance our technology to allow our independent agents to quickly access information and respond to their policyholders,” said Charlie Makey, Merchants Insurance Group senior vice president of insurance operations. “We look forward to working with the Agents Technology Council (ACT) to better understand the technology tools agents need in the future.”
Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) was founded in 1896 and is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million 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.
The Agents Council for Technology (ACT) was established in January 1999 by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) to provide a candid, action-oriented forum to address the critical workflow and technology issues facing the independent agency system. ACT helps participants understand the perspectives of the other stakeholders in the process and provides excellent networking opportunities with the participants who are shaping the future for the industry on these issues. For more information about ACT visit
www.iiaba.net/act.
ACT members include:
Industry associations and consultants: AAMGA, ACORD, CSIO, IIABA, Insurance Brokers Association of Canada, NAPLSO, Angela Adams Consulting Services, Red Barn Consulting;
Technology providers: Applied Systems/IVANS, CoreLogic Insurance Solutions, Citrix Sharefile, EZLynx, HawkSoft, ITC, InsureSign, North American Software Associates, Simply Easier Payments/EchoSage, Strategic Insurance Software, Vertafore/QQ Solutions;
User groups: Applied Client Network, InStar Users Group, National Association of S.I.S. Partner Agents, Inc., NetVU, Nexsure User Group;
Carriers: Allstate IA, The Berkley Companies, Central Insurance Companies, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, The Cincinnati Insurance Companies, CNA, Columbia Insurance Group, Dryden Mutual Insurance Company, EMC Insurance Companies, Grange Insurance, The Hanover Insurance Group, The Hartford, Kemper Preferred, Liberty Mutual Insurance, The Main Street America Group, Merchants Insurance Group, MetLife Auto & Home, Motorists Insurance Group, Nationwide Insurance, New York Central Mutual Insurance, Penn National Insurance, Progressive, Safeco Insurance, Selective Insurance Company of America, State Auto, Travelers, West Bend Mutual and Westfield Insurance.
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