Agency Nation Radio

A conversation with agency owner Jana Foster and Progressive’s Karen Bailo Creating an organizational culture where employee perspectives are valued, and staff feels part of something bigger fosters an environment where individuals and the organization flourish. Jana Foster owner of Nevada Insurance Agency Company and chair of the Big “I” national Young Agents Committee sits down with Karen Bailo,...

Take two third generation agency owners, mix in a passion for giving back to the community and you've got one inspiring conversation that will make you rethink how you connect with your community and build a stronger business. Brock Elliott, Elliott Group Kansas and member of the national Young Agent Committee and Ben Rathbun, president of Rathbun Insurance and winner of the Dan Fulwider reflect o...

Welcome to Declaration of Independence. Today, we meet Kristine Rushing, co-owner and risk consultant at Rushing Insurance Agency in Pensacola, Florida. At the beginning of her career, Rushing interviewed with a bank and an insurance agency. The insurance agency was the first one to offer her a job—and so her insurance career began. When Nationwide released its exclusive agents from their contract...

On today's episode, we welcome Bill Wise from CHUBB to speak on their latest white paper, Catastrophic Cyber Risks - A Growing Concern, hosted by Peter van Aartrijk. This podcast is brought to you exclusively by Agency Nation Radio. Visit www.independentagent.com/podcasts for show notes, agency information, podcasts, articles and more.

Welcome to Declarations of Independence. Today, we meet Robbie Moore, Executive Vice President at Blanchard & Calhoun Insurance in Augusta, Georgia. As a risk management graduate from the University of Georgia, he is a self-confessed insurance nerd and is quite literally infatuated with all things insurance. After choosing to begin his career at an independent agency, he’s remained there ever sinc...

​According to a new study from Safeco Insurance and Liberty Mutual Insurance shows, 60% of employees in agencies are women, yet, they are underrepresented in leadership roles. The report also found that 1 in 4 female frontline staff don't feel they are given equal opportunity in their agency and more than one-third of female agency principals say they are often the only woman in the room. On this...

Dana took the reins at her family owned agency, implementing diverse work and marketing strategies, which provided a platform for the business to adapt to the pandemic. From building a recording studio in the now empty office to transitioning to a new AMS, Dana is a leader among new breed of trailblazing independent agency owners. Welcome to Declaration of Independents on Agency Nation Radio where...

 After more than a decade leading a captive insurance agency, Ivan Hudson knew he was ready to launch into independent agency ownership. The story of Ivan Hudson Agency in Little Rock begins when Ivan recognized the advantage independence brings to his clients and the expansive business opportunities that follow. Hear how he finds his purpose and embraces the value he brings to the IA channel.    ...

Doug Smart and Kyle Becker of Smart Agency share stories of growth, successes and challenges, and how they made the most of the profitable, agency ownership transition. Attached is an excerpt from the 2021 Best Practices Study (annual study published in partnership with the Big “I” - click here for more information about this dynamic resource). This document is part of the whitepaper that focuses...

Host Kevin Brandt hosts this one with guests: Chaundra Monday – Product Manager, Progressive Chris Ziance – Business Leader of Government Affairs, Progressive Robert Gordon – Sr. Vice President of Policy, Research & International, American Property Casualty Insurance Association Risk-based pricing. It’s a method used by insurers to set policy prices. But what rating variables are used and is risk-...

Jim Schubert interviews Sarah Brown from Keller Brown Insurance Services in Shrewsberry, PA. Sarah discusses her journey of perpetuating her parent's insurance agency, and how the pandemic altered their timeline. She also explains how she helped transform their agency's marketing from traditional media to 21st century digital marketing. And you'll learn about Keller Brown's philosophy of educating...

Insurance Industry Can Lead on DEI Solutions   Do you recall the early days of the insurance industry’s response with EPLI, D&O, and other emerging risks and coverages? Well, we are witnessing a vast new risk area with diversity and inclusion insurance. The industry can play a huge role as both an employer and risk taker. Moreover, there is a new standard (ISO 30415) that offers a measured way to...

The decision to invest in technology for your agency can be a difficult process if you don’t start with a goal in mind. What you can potentially do with the data generated from these technologies has endless possibilities. In this session we will discuss how having easier to work with technology partners and access to data can help you better understand your business, uncover clear new business an...

Agency Nation Radio Podcast Fireside chat with with host Heath Shearon and his guests Sydney Hedberg of Marsh McClennan and Isabelle Repinski of Lockton Companies and Marsh about attracting talent to the insurance industry. The insurance industry needs new talent and Sydney & Isabelle will share their thoughts and experience on how agencies need to be doing just that!

Are you looking to create a sales culture in your insurance agency? Listen to Kelly Donahue-Piro from Agency Performance Partners interview Jason Kilgo of Kilgo Insurance on how they created a sales centric agency powered by Agency Zoom. 

In this episode, you will hear from two of the leading experts on insurance fraud. Host George Robertson sits down with Fred Wharton, president of North American Training Group and the International Fraud Training Group, and “Dr. Fraud” himself, Dr. Michael Skiba, vice president of International Counter Fraud Strategies with INFORM. During this discussion, you will learn how to detect potential fr...

Adapted for the podcast from our Elevate Trilogy Data Conference from July, is this exclusive interview being released to the public for the first time. This one features Vertafore CEO Amy Zupon as she sits down with Big "I" president & CEO Bob Rusbuldt in an informal and candid discussion on the data and tech priorities and issues facing the independent agency channel and our industry. Hear how d...

In this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Kevin Brandt of Trusted Choice sits down with Eric Chemi of Team and Total Insurance Solutions to discuss Eric’s interesting background, why he decided to start a scratch agency, and the trials and tribulations of starting and running a small business in the insurance industry. They cover a lot of ground during this discussion including marketing via Tik Tok...

During the pandemic, our guest is a star and millennial agent, Patience Noah, who saw the perfect opportunity to escape the captive insurance world and start her own independent agency. Host Heath Shearon asks Patience about her background in pageants and being crowned as Miss Liberia USA in 2013. She shares how pageants helped her to come out of her shell and helped her to improve her public spea...

Tune in to this episode of the Agency Nation Radio with guest host Mitch Gibson. Today, Mitch welcomes on Jason Walker, founder, and CEO of Agency Insurtech. Jason is in the industry to change the industry and he says we are all in it together. This interview gets into the topics surrounding the modernization of data and analytics. It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss!

Ask any independent agent if they have heard of IVANS and they will undoubtedly say yes. In fact, most will tell you they have an IVANS account. But if you ask them how IVANS connectivity solutions with carriers, agency management systems, and agencies are headed in the next 12 months and you will often get a blank stare. In this interview between two insurance industry powerhouses, Reid Holzworth...

Agency Nation Radio guest hosts Arleen and Ted Taveras sit down with Matt Bruno, COO of ReSource Pro, to discuss handling crisis management in your business. ReSource Pro was one of the first companies to deal with the coronavirus crisis in China...and has helped insurance firms around the globe improve their business operations and management. What can you learn to help your agency?

Guests Katlyn Eggar and Ron Berg outline the free resources you can use to build a better strategy for how to deal with cyber attacks. You spend most of your time protecting everyone else, so today's episode is about how to protect yourself and the agency you've worked so hard to build.

In this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Heath "the Mayor" Shearon interviews Mitch Gibson of HRM Insurance and they discuss developing lead sources, referral partners, Building your brand, and so much more.

Host Landon McCarter of Secure Agent Marketing welcomes James Whitley of Senior Life Services who runs a 200-seat call center that sells millions of dollars of insurance premium over the phone! Find out how. They will discuss Whitley's talk time strategy success and ways to make it work for you.