annual surveys to ascertain membership needs. When the
responses came back in, staff were surprised to find that of
KAIA’s four hundred agency members, AScK received five
hundred fifty responses back from individuals within the
agencies.
“In the state of Kansas – and I don’t know if it’s unique
– but we have that stuff that you call wind and hail,” Bob
Harris, KAIA’s director of agency operations, teased.
Though said in a joking manner, Harris’ comment shed
light on the feedback the members provided.
The top requests for market access were dealers open lot,
rentals, and habitational property, although property was
generally identified as a difficult market for agents across
the state. Additionally, members indicated the need for
markets to cover contractors and construction, as well as
professional liability.
Recognizing that the association was already wellpositioned to help agents with market access, the AScK
and KAIA boards of directors approved AScK’s first major
market expansion at the end of March. KAIA members
will have access to the top requested markets from the
survey, along with many more admitted and non-admitted
markets. Though staff have only gained approval recently,
they are hoping to open up the new markets to the
membership by the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year
2015-2016.
Colin Davidson, who was hired to assist in the expansion
remarked with excitement, “I think we have the only
market out there that will put caps on the dealers open
lot.” Moreover, Davidson shared some insight regarding the
property deductibles that have gone from fixed amounts
Begin conversations
with RLI for an
unsupported small
business and personal
umbrella program.
AACK becomes AScK
during the KSBig “I”
and PIA merger. The
association becomes
Professional Insurance
Agents of Kansas.
to a percent of the policy premium. The change came
about largely due to the anomaly of property losses in 2011.
Davidson explained that AScK is working on a market that
may afford some insureds the opportunity to buy those
deductibles back down to a more manageable amount.
ASckUS.com
The market expansion has created a need for a stand-alone
website for AScK. The big reveal for www.AScKUS.com will
take place in summer of 2016. Members will still be able to
get to AScK through KAIA.com, however once there they
will b