Agency Nation Radio

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Peter van Aartrijk, executive vice president at Aartrijk is joined by Lee Gaudette, president of Gaudette Insurance, and his son, Peter Gaudette, commercial insurance advisor at Gaudette Insurance, and Keith Mangini, Vice President and Commercial Team Leader at InsurBanc. They explore father-son work dynamics, succession planning in family agencies, and the...

This episode of Agency Nation Radio is the second in a special series about artificial intelligence (AI) brought to you by the Big “I” Agents Council for Technology’s (ACT) AI workgroup. Host Kevin Wheeler, Eastern advisory manager at Angela Adams Consulting, is joined by Michelle O’Connor, president of O’Connor Insurance Associates in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Kimberly Fox, commercial lines...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we chat with Jill Roth, executive vice president at Ahart, Frinzi & Smith in Alexandria, Virginia. Roth started her career on Capitol Hill, working in legislative affairs for a New Jersey congressional representative, where one of the issues she focused on was the insurance industry. Her congressional experience carried over when she joined the family agency...

This episode of Agency Nation Radio is the first in a special series about artificial intelligence (AI) brought to you by the Big “I” Agents Council for Technology’s (ACT) AI workgroup. Co-hosts Kasey Connors, executive director of ACT, and JP Pritchard, director of marketing at Rhodian Group, dive into how independent agents can confidently take their first steps with AI. They are joined by CJ Hu...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Will Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Independent Agent Magazine at the Big “I” hosts a conversation with workplace communication expert, Jenna Rogers, Founder & CEO of Career Civility, a professional development firm that helps organizations build stronger cultures through better communication. Throughout the episode, Jones picks Rogers’ brain about what it takes...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet John Bradford, founder & CEO of PetScreening in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bradford is on a mission to make life better for pets. After starting out in the property management world—first managing his own rental units, then expanding to investor portfolios—he saw firsthand how pet ownership impacted housing. That insight led him to launch PetScreenin...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Cash McMillen, partner and executive vice president of operations at The Cashion Company Insurance in Little Rock, Arkansas, and chairman of the Big “I” national Young Agents Committee, hosts a discussion with two young agents about getting started as a commercial lines independent insurance agent. Deuel Romero, commercial lines agent at Tedford Insurance in...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Courtney Jacobs, owner of Insurance Done Right (IDR) in Biloxi, Mississippi. Since launching her agency seven years ago, Jacobs has navigated the complexities of growing a business along the Gulf Coast—where the unique challenges of flood insurance and storm exposure are a constant concern—while also serving in the Air National Guard and giving back...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Ashley Engl, chair of Big I New York’s NextGen young agent committee, hosts a conversation with two Generation Z agents: Jackson Doyle, commercial risk adviser at J. Krug in Itasca, Illinois; and Brooke Stout, receptionist and assistant account manager at Chalk & Gibbs Insurance & Real Estate in Morehead City, North Carolina. Together, they discuss how they...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Brock Elliott, Producer and partner at Elliott Insurance Group in Louisburg, Kansas. Elliott got his start in the industry when he turned 21 and bounced around a couple roles before finally finding his stride as an account executive. Throughout his career, Elliott has played a pivotal role in the Big 'I' community at both the state and national level...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Will Jones, Big “I” director of communications and editor-in-chief of Independent Agent magazine, is joined by Nancy Germond, Big “I” executive director of risk management and education, and Amanda Juratovic, Big “I” vice president of E&O operations, to discuss one of the independent agency channel’s most-pressing issues: rising errors & omissions claims. Wi...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Jorge Wetenkamp, agency owner of Desert Crest Insurance in Saint George, Utah. Wetenkamp’s career in insurance was unexpected. After working at In-N-Out Burger and at the DMV, he took a job with AAA Insurance when they started offering DMV services. This opened his eyes to the opportunities for career growth and serving the Hispanic community. In 202...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Peter Van Aartrijk, executive vice president with insurance branding firm Aartrijk, hosts a discussion with Ryan Towle, vice president of Davis & Towle Insurance Group in Concord, New Hampshire, and Keith J. Mangini, vice president and commercial team leader at InsurBanc in Farmington, Connecticut, on best practices when making an agency acquisition—whether...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Michelle O'Connor, president of O'Connor Insurance Associates in Charlotte, North Carolina. When O'Connor and her husband started their insurance agency 25 years ago, they knew from the very beginning that joining the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) was a must. Michelle knew of other successful agents that belonged to the Big “...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Susan Bonner, Big “I” vice president of marketing and communications, chats with Denise Johnson, president and CEO of Big I Oklahoma, and Jill Epstein, CEO of Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of California (IIABCal), about their achievements as women in the independent insurance agency channel and how they’re shaping the industry by offering more women...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Kelly Gonyo, owner and agent of Blue Line Insurance in Lake Placid, New York. Gonyo worked every role in an independent agency—from working the front desk to producing—before starting her own agency at 32 years old with “minimal money in a tiny little office," she says. Today, Blue Line Insurance has four branches and 15 employees, 14 of whom are wom...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Johanna Holling, volunteer relations program manager at National Invest Program, hosts a conversation about attracting young talent to the insurance industry with Ashley Engl, business development manager at Jencap, and Hal Soden, Jr., principal and risk management advisor at Oliver L.E. Soden Agency Corp. Together, they discuss what Invest is, how they got...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Megan Carroll, president of Stein Insurance in Lindstrom, Minnesota. “I worked as a property & casualty reinsurance broker at Willis Re," explains Megan Carroll. “That was my first 'big kid' job." However, the absence of a succession plan at her family's fourth-generation independent insurance agency and a desire to keep it family-owned drew Carroll...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Molly Abboud, Big “I" director of political affairs, hosts a discussion with Charles Symington, Big “I” president & CEO, and Nathan Riedel, Big “I” senior vice president of federal government affairs to discuss the 2024 election results and how they will impact the Big “I” legislative agenda. They examine the key factors behind President Trump’s victory and...

Insurance has been a part of Jay Fribourg’s life from the very beginning. His insurance career began when he interned at his family’s agency filing and scanning documents. After graduating from college, Fribourg joined the family agency but eventually broke off and started his own agency, Bentley Insurance, named after his 130-pound Great Dane. In 2012, Bentley Insurance was acquired by Pinnacle I...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Jennifer Becker, Big “I” Senior Director of Agent Development and Research and Education, is joined by Andy Siegel of Siegel Insurance and chair of the Big “I” council for Best Practices and Katy Stewart of Olis/Akers/Arney Insurance & Business Advisors and a member of the council for Best Practices to discuss about benefits and data that can be gleaned from...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Stephanie Dew, President, Agency Owner of WinStar Insurance Group in Cedar Park, Texas. In 2022, Dew, then 20% owner of WinStar, learned that the other two owners would be retiring. She didn’t want to see the agency absorbed by the large buyers circling overhead and decided she would buy it herself—even if it meant mortgaging her house. “It devastate...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we explore technology and its real-world impact on independent agencies. Join host Bobbie Collies, chief insurance officer at Coterie Insurance, as she unpacks how technology is not just about tools and software—it’s about people. Collies is joined by two industry leaders: Chris Cline, executive director of the Big “I” Agents Council for Technology (ACT), an...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we meet Andrew Ryan, vice president of Hertvik Insurance Group in Medina, Ohio. Despite being unimpressed by the software on offer when he first joined the independent agency channel, Ryan has relished the opportunity to constantly innovate and improve agency technology and processes. Currently, Ryan is embarking on a new project—Engineered Insurance Service...

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, AnneMarie McPherson Spears, news editor, Independent Agent magazine, interviews Kristina Witzling, executive vice president and property & casualty practice lead at Zeldis about the findings from the 2024 Agency Universe Study. The Agency Universe Study by Future One, a collaboration of the Big “I" and leading independent agency companies, is hailed as the m...