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Highlights

OCTOBER 2021

Message from the Emerging Leaders Committee Chair:

Michael Mitchell

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Why would an agency owner pay, for themselves or their employee, to join the Emerging Leaders Committee?

What is the onboarding cost of a new agent in your office? Did you know that 83% of agents quit within 3 years? Now imagine there was something you could invest in that increased that onboarding cost by less than 1% but substantially changed the odds of success. Welcome to the ELC! Our carrier partners invest into ELC aggressively because your new agents success is their success. They are new business to our carrier partners with no existing relationship to wedge out. You may ask, join a group of my competitors? I think you mean a group of your peers. We network together and help one another place business when struggling to find the right fit. If you do not have a market we introduce you to the market you need.

So my question to anyone who hesitates to support ELC membership and send your Emerging Leaders is, can you afford not to send them?

The ELC is welcoming anyone who is new to the insurance industry, or is working on moving up the ranks? The Emerging Leaders Committee formerly known as the Young Agents Committee is a great community for new and growing professionals to interact with peers, company representatives and seasoned professionals. The ELC is a committee of the Nevada Independent Insurance Agents, NIIA/Big I and is supported by the NIIA Directors and Membership. As a member of the ELC, you gain access to a variety of industry benefits and opportunities to develop relationships which can be beneficial whether you are just getting started in your career or if you are looking at ways to expand your knowledge and emerge in the industry.

The association's focus is to develop tools to help independent agents build, grow, and thrive throughout their insurance career. The legislative arm is to advocate for the independent insurance agent channel and to help protect the business environment to maintain a competitive and successful industry. You may ask, why me? Why should I engage with the Emerging Leaders or the NIIA as a whole?

In addition to my Why as you will see below, you can read messages in this newsletter from the ELC officers as they share their Why's and how their engagement has assisted them as well as inspired them to become more involved in the industry.

My involvement in the ELC came about as unorthodox as most background stories about how we all got to our insurance career. Many years ago, I was sitting in a CIC class and was approached by a gentleman who aggressively inquired as to who I was, whom I worked for, and why I was not part of the young agents. I was slightly taken aback but as the conversation progressed, I answered his questions and told him that I had no idea what Young Agents was, nor did I know how to get involved. Less than 6 months later I found myself at my first convention in Seattle, Washington where I was voted onto the ELC Board.

This is where my insurance education truly began. The professional development and access to carriers provided by the NIIA opened my eyes to a reality known but not otherwise seen. This as most businesses is a relationship business. We as independent agents are charged with both protecting our carrier relationships from adverse selection while upholding our fiduciary responsibilities to our clients. No where else within our industry have, I been provided the opportunity to spend time with our carrier partners to develop a true understanding of what they need from us, while earning their trust that we will protect them to the best of our ability.

I am thankful for to the NIIA, The Emerging Leaders who came before me, those who serve on the board under me. Our numbers continue to grow, we push forward on our mission to facilitate the development of those new to the industry or helping them through the transition from service to sales positions or even to executive positions and ownership.

Get started today on improving your professional development and building your business. Feel free to reach out to me directly at michael@mrmnv.com to find out how to join the ELC.

Respectfully,

Michael Mitchell, ELC Chair

Why ELC? Hear from the ELC Officers and their Why's.

Taylor Holmes, ELC Chair-Elect

Gabby Garrick, ELC Treasurer

Chad Kaercher, ELC Secretary

Jared Wilkins, Immediate Past ELC Chair