Big "I" News

For many independent agents, political activism is part of their daily life—not just a once-a-year visit to Washington, D.C. At the annual issues briefing yesterday during the Big “I” Legislative Conference, the Big “I” gave out three awards to honor legislative involvement.

The Big “I” gave the 2013 Sidney O. Smith Award—the association’s highest honor for legislative activism—to Mike Wojcik of Illinois. As chairman of the Big “I” Health Care Task Force, his has been particularly important as agents and brokers continue to grapple with the upheaval in the marketplace caused by the Affordable Care Act.

The 2013 Herndon Award went to the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin for significantly increasing its outreach and relationship-building with federal and state legislators, particularly with their governor. The association helped pass one of the stronger navigator oversight laws in the country, which established requirements such pre-licensing training, licensure or registration and regulatory oversight for navigators. Wisconsin also increased InsurPac participation and hit its InsurPac goal.

The Big “I” also honored Brad Smith of Tennessee with the 2013 Barney Burns Award for outstanding work for InsurPac. Smith has served as his state’s InsurPac chair for five years and during that time Tennessee has regularly reached its fundraising goal. At the conclusion of 2013, he made a strong fundraising push that ultimately helped InsurPac reach the million dollar mark for only the second time in history.

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