As 2024 ends, it’s a great time to look back at the notable achievements and progress made by the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Colorado (PIIAC). This year has been filled with advancements in government affairs, successful events, enhanced educational opportunities, growing membership, and strategic developments. Here’s a closer look at the key highlights.
Government Affairs and Advocacy
This January, PIIAC CEO Bryan Bernier took on the role of Chair of the FAIR Plan Board of Directors. The FAIR Plan aims to offer property insurance for homeowners and businesses when traditional coverage isn’t available. This fall, we hosted a webinar titled “Getting Ready for the Colorado FAIR Plan,” which explored the new policy forms and products required for the plan, ahead of its launch in 2025. We’ve had over 900 attendees sign up so far!
During the Colorado Legislative Session, PIIAC held biweekly update meetings to keep members informed about vital legislative changes. In April, Bryan, Cybil, and 8 Colorado agents headed to Washington, D.C., for the Big I Legislative Conference, where they discussed key issues with Colorado’s elected officials, including opening the discussion on issues around wildfires. If you’d like to stay in the loop on our 2025 Government Affairs, click here.
Event Highlights
In March, we successfully hosted the 2024 PIIAC InsurEXPO and Hard Market Symposium in the Denver Tech Center, attracting over 400 attendees, including 204 insurance agents—making it the largest gathering in PIIAC’s history. The event featured a trade show with 55 vendors, three CE-approved breakout sessions, and a panel discussion on the hard market.
In June, the 2024 PIIAC Nabity Golf Tournament took place in Evergreen, Colorado, bringing together 144 players and 24 sponsors, further solidifying its status as a highlight of the PIIAC calendar.
Our latest event was the 2024 PIIAC Annual Dinner in September. Originally sold out, we had to relocate to accommodate more attendees, leading to over 270 guests. The evening included the announcement of the PIIAC Industry Award winners, recognition of outgoing Board members, and the welcoming of new 2025 Board members. The positive feedback we received has us excited for future events in 2025.
The 2024 PIIAC Industry Award winners are:
- Account Manager of the Year: Lisa Prewitt, PFS Insurance Group
- Insurance Person of the Year: Sean Penny, PFS Insurance Group
- Underwriter of the Year: Patrick O’Brien, EMC Insurance
- Company Person of the Year: Karl Merida, Pinnacol Assurance
- Large Agency of the Year: The Buckner Company
- Small Agency of the Year: Colling Insurance Services
Education and Professional Development
Education continues to be a cornerstone of PIIAC’s mission. In January, we partnered with The Institutes Agent & Broker Group and CEU to offer our members access to over 150 free CE coursesand exclusive discounts on designation programs.
In July, we launched an initiative that helps CIC designees’ transition easily to the AAI + AAI-M and CISR designees to the ACSR through the Institutes Waiver Program, available at a discounted rate for PIIAC members, allowing for lifelong designations without renewal fees.
We’ve also rolled out various Learning Tracks to guide agents through earning new designations. With these tracks, members can gain vital skills and knowledge, ultimately earning a designation that will enhance their career. Currently, we offer Learning Tracks for the Professional Risk Consultant (PRC), Accredited Adviser in Insurance (AAI), and Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR). If these tracks don’t align with your goals, PIIAC will design a custom Learning Track just for you. For a limited time, we are offering PIIAC members a FREE consultation to set up their own custom Learning Track.
In October, we collaborated with Pinnacol and ABEN for “National ABEN Day,” a free online event that offered five CE credits on navigating the modern insurance landscape. PIIAC ranked first in the country for attendee count on ABEN Day.
Membership Growth and Market Access
2024 has been a year of growth for PIIAC, welcoming 28 new agency members, 8 new partner members, and 6 new affiliate members. Out of more than 350 total Agency Members, we’ve personally visited nearly 100 so far. Additionally, our market access offerings continue to grow. We are seeing a strong close out to the year, with a great fourth quarter.
Committee Developments
In May, we launched the PIIAC Next-Gen Committee, aimed at nurturing future leaders in the insurance industry. This committee will provide tailored education plans, scholarships, and exclusive CE opportunities while fostering connections between young agents and established industry leaders through networking events and community service projects. So far, we’ve held an introductory meeting, a happy-hour kickoff, an educational session, and a successful food drive for the Adams County Food Bank that has already set a strong foundation for this new committee’s work.
In November, we established the “Navigating Natural Disasters: Task Force for Independent Agents” to tackle natural catastrophe risks, starting with wildfires in Colorado. Studies have shown that engaging the community and preparing plans in advance can significantly accelerate economic recovery and lead to a quicker turnaround. The Task Force’s mission is to develop solutions for community protection against disasters, collaborate with stakeholders, and create risk mitigation strategies. We are very excited to see what this group will accomplish in 2025 and beyond.
Looking Ahead to 2025
2025 is shaping up to be pivotal for PIIAC. We’ve already lined up several exciting events, including Insurance Day at the Capitol on February 13th, the PIIAC InsurEXPO on March 27th, our first Women in Leadership Conference on April 24th, and our annual Nabity Golf Tournament on June 9th. Additionally, we have many more initiatives in the works. Stay tuned for new programs, advocacy efforts, and member benefits that will reinforce the value of being a PIIAC member for Colorado’s independent agents.
We are excited to continue improving our member benefits in the coming year. In order to do so, we hope to have in-depth discussions with each of our Agency Members about what we can do to maximize the value they get out of PIIAC. To go ahead and schedule your agency benefit discussion, click here.
Thank you for an incredible 2024, and we can’t wait to see everyone in the New Year!
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