IIAT Members – Please log in above to access all member resources (upper right)

New content you're missing by not logging in:

• Certificates of Insurance Resource Page
• InfoCentral Coverage Resources
• Free print and radio ads featuring Trusted Choice
• Life & Health Insurance Information
• Advertising Toolkit: BANG! BANG! Getting even more from your advertising buck

IIAT and the Trusted Choice® Foundation Award $30K in Grant Money to Texas Volunteer Fire Departments

IIAT and the Trusted Choice® Foundation recently awarded grants of up to $5,000 to 14 volunteer fire departments across Texas. Funds awarded through the Trusted Choice® Volunteer Fire Department Grant Program will be used to purchase fire safety equipment and to establish community fire safety programs. Sixty-five volunteer fire departments applied for the grant and the 14 grantees were awarded based on their expressed needs and the impact the funds would have on their departments and communities. IIAT and Trusted Choice® partnered with the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association (SFFMA) to manage the application process and select grant recipients. IIAT worked with SFFMA in 2011 to donate more than $200,000 to purchase protective clothing for volunteer firefighters during the worst wildfire season on record. The SFFMA is a professional association of 1,200 member fire departments most of which are volunteer fire departments. >> Read the Press Release.

NEW! Announcing the Texas Independent Insurance Adviser (TIIA) Designation

IIAT is proud to announce the Texas Independent Insurance Adviser (TIIA) designation program in personal and commercial lines for agency personnel advising Texas insurance consumers. As an independent agent your customers count on your insurance expertise. It's vital for you and your agency to keep up to date with the latest insurance changes and regulations to provide accurate guidance and quality customer service – and to reduce misunderstandings and potential lawsuits. IIAT created the TIIA designation program to address the challenges of insuring Texas consumers due to the complexity of Texas forms and regulations.

TIIA classes provide the best training available for those new to insurance and valuable insight for the insurance industry professional who wants to improve his or her ability to serve customers or train others in the office. The TIIA personal lines classes focus on personal auto, residential property and personal liability exposures. Classes for the commercial lines designation focus on commercial property exposures, workers' compensation and specialty policies, general liability and business auto. >>Learn more about TIIA.

Certificate Rules Approved

At long last, the Insurance Commissioner has approved new rules to govern approval of certificate of insurance forms. The rules relate to the bill passed in the 82nd Regular Session of the Texas Legislature in 2011 giving the Texas Department of Insurance control over certificate forms. Subsequent to enactment of the law, certificate holders from many industries filed their forms with TDI. IIAT objected to the approval of some forms on the basis that agents were asked to interpret coverage or guarantee covered claims. It is IIAT's contention that the new rules clearly prohibit such language in certificate forms. Now that the rules are part of the Texas Administrative Code, IIAT will have the opportunity to challenge some of those approvals and TDI has the authority to rescind approval based on the new rules. >> Get the rules

Don't Miss Texas Agent and IIAT Alerts

Due to the implementation of a new e-cast alert system on Nov. 29, you may need to take a couple of simple steps to ensure you continue receiving e-mail communications from IIAT. The steps you'll need to take depend on the spam filtering you use. At a minimum, please add alert@iiat.org and alert@iiat.mmsend.com to your e-mail client or spam filter preferred senders list and add iiat.org, iiat.mmsend.com and mmsend.com to your approved domains.
>>Get more details about whitelisting

Waco's Wes Bailey is Latest Hometown Hero

IIAT's latest Hometown Hero profile is now available online. Wes Bailey, CIC, president of Bailey Insurance & Risk Management, Inc., in Waco is passionate about helping his community and the two things that have shaped his professional life the most: the insurance industry and Baylor University. Read Wes' story.

Hometown Heroes tells the stories of the extensive involvement of independent agents in their communities. If you know someone who should be profiled, complete the online nomination form. >>Read Hometown Hero

2011 Market Share Report Now Available

The annual IIAT review of market share data is now available. The annual report includes a line-by-line analysis of the Texas premium, loss and market share data for 2011. This year's report tells a story of stability in company market share percentages, rising premiums and higher property losses. >> Get the full report (pdf)

Company Appointment Guide Updated

IIAT staff recently surveyed insurance companies that are IIAT members to update their agency appointment strategies, resulting in the 2012 edition of IIAT’s Company Appointment Guide. >> See the updated guide

2012 Non-Producer Compensation and Benefits Survey

The IIAT 2012 Non-Producer Compensation and Benefits Survey provides valuable information obtained from IIAT member agencies with results segmented by location (rural, town, suburban) and six agency revenue sizes. In addition, results are segmented by major city (Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio). To get your copy of this valuable resource at a special IIAT member price of $150 (non-members $250) go to the IIAT Store or download the order form.

Small Business Owners Report High Trust in Agents

Small business owners trust their independent insurance agents and commercial insurance carriers more than other financial services businesses, a new study reports. The study, commissioned by The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., found that trust is the single most important consideration for small business owners when choosing an insurance provider, with 86 percent of the survey respondents rating trust as "very important." >>Read more

Web site helps Texans shop for homeowners, auto insurance

Helpinsure.com is a comprehensive resource to help consumers shop for auto and homeowners insurance. The Texas Department of Insurance designed this site so that consumers can view and compare sample rates from insurance companies, get information about companies and agents and learn more about types of insurance. >>Read more