Facts on professional development and business needs .
• 70 % of members purchase their agency E & O coverage through the association .
• Over 1600 agency staff members attend the 120 or so high quality continuing education classes put on by KAIA annually . ( 300 hours of live CE choices and 200 online hours )
• 50 % of members access AScK markets to meet the insurance needs of their customers .
• Through AScK , members can purchase critical cyber liability for not only their agency , but for their customers as well .
• KAIA helps with agency staffing needs , offering experienced , temporary staffing through WAHVE , preemployment screening through Caliper , and online advertising of job openings .
• Nearly 40 companies participate as industry partners to bring agents and companies closer together .
Facts on representing agent interests before government and regulatory bodies :
• KAIA has strong relationships within the Kansas Insurance Department .
• KAIA works with state legislators to promote the interests of member agents and their clients . We have invested nearly $ 40k this election cycle in races of those legislators that will support issues critical to our members .
• At the national level , InsurPac generates $ 2M per election cycle .
• To date , in the 2016 election cycle InsurPac distributed $ 33,500 to the KS delegation .
• Over $ 250K has been distributed to members of Agriculture Committee at the national level .
• Incoming President Lyle Davidson sits on the national crop task force .
Facts on encouraging integrity and high ethical standards :
• KAIA offers ethics classes to our members .
• Members receive one hour of free advice on contract , employment , or other legal questions effecting member agencies .
• KAIA provides technical advocacy regarding policy standards and interpretation .
• We create and offer the Best Practices Study to help agents improve their agency ’ s performance in meeting customer needs .
Facts on informing our members and the public :
• INVEST is dedicated to improving insurance literacy in students and attracting new talent to the industry .
• Agents Council for Technology ( ACT ) works in partnership with agents , carrriers , technology companies , and user groups to help member agents implement innovative technologies and workflows .
• KAIA works very closely with Kansas Insurance Education Foundation ( KIEF ) to support insurance education in Kansas .
These are just a few of the ways that we are achieving our association ’ s mission . The list of benefits is much longer . To truly fulfill our mission , it takes help from each member . Our members need to be engaged in what the association has to offer . This isn ’ t just the principals of the agency , it ’ s all agency employees , especially young agents . We have something for everyone , and as an association we will do our best to communicate the products and services available to help members succeed but we need our members to take a few minutes every so often to understand how they are beneficial in helping them maintain a competitive advantage . Finally , we need our Industry Partners to remain engaged because everyone benefits when they are highly visible , engaged , and we can connect them with our 3000 plus agent members .
| September - October 2016 | KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER
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