The Executive Committee for TriCounty IIAA has decided to return for another year. Two of my main issues when I became president were to broaden the participation of young insurance industry professionals and to increase our presence at the local offices of our legislators. Neither has been accomplished to our liking.

The young people working in our offices, at the companies and wholesalers and for our vendors are the future of our business. We need the help of the TriCounty members to help us identify the employees of your agencies that are under 40 years of age. We will be sending out a survey shortly asking for the names and e-mail addresses of these young employees. Please respond when you receive it.

NeXt Generation of Insurance Professionals (NeXtGen) is a professional skills development and networking group open to individuals under 40 or those who are new to the insurance industry. Membership is not limited to agents only. It is open to anyone involved in or supporting the insurance industry, including all agency and company personnel.

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IIABNY recently hosted a NeXtGen meeting at Dave & Buster’s in Farmingdale for local young agents. Over 30 people attended the event. Paul Banuski from IIABNY gave a presentation discussing some best practices for how agents can utilize the social networking site LinkedIn to build connections and identify quality prospects. Afterwards, beer, wine and food were offered to all in the billiards room. We also received game cards so we could venture out and show off our skills in the arcade. The air hockey was my favorite, but my son, Matt, whipped me in the basketball shooting. The evening was very informal, and everyone was able to exchange ideas and share agency issues. My table had a lengthy discussion on agency management systems.

My other plan for his year was to meet with our state and federal legislators in their local offices. Every year we travel to see them in Albany and Washington, DC. They always tell us to schedule an appointment to meet again on Long Island. Securing appointments with the legislators this year has not been easy. The state legislators have been caught up in the amount of dysfunction in Albany as well as the increasing budget deficit. When we were in Albany, we were unable to meet with any of the state senators because they were in a special session deciding the fate of State Senator Monserrate. The federal legislators have been too busy with health care reform and the Republican surge in the senate to worry about insurance issues. The National Flood Insurance Program expires again on February 28th with no substantial changes made to the program.

Once we return from Washington, DC, we will again be calling legislators for local appointments. Many times they will ask for their constituents to attend the meeting. If we call you to join us at the meeting, please help us. Meeting with them locally is our way of reminding them of the issues we discuss with them in Albany and Washington. The more they hear our concerns, the better chance we have of making an impact.

Hopefully, the extra year of work for the executive committee will pay off for all TriCounty IIAA members.