TRUSTED CHOICE

Insurance agencies that display the Trusted Choice® logo represent multiple insurance companies and uphold the highest standards of customer service backed by a Pledge of Performance to their clients.  Trusted Choice ® agencies offer their clients a broad choice of products, customized coverages and unparalleled advocacy - all at competitive prices.  Trusted Choice ® agencies are the smart way to buy insurance and financial services.

 

APPEX (Agency Peak Performance Exchange)

The mission of APPEX is to enable agencies and the owners of those organizations to realize their fullest business potential.  Attainment of full business potential is measured by specific goals relating to the profitability of the organization as a whole.  Facilitation of the mission is through the timely communication of appropriate performance objectives and through the establishment of critical goals.

APPEX is comprised of 107 independent insurance agencies from 37 states across the country.  Representing over $6.6 billion in insurance premiums, APPEX Partners are working together to enhance the value of their businesses as measured by the personal income of agency owners, the value of the owner's agency and the owner's return on equity.  To qualify for APPEX membership, candidates must meet specific size and quality criteria, including demonstration of creative and effective business practices, the willingness to share with peers, and a strong desire to grow and improve.

MarshBerry formed the APPEX association to help independent insurance agencies reach their fullest business potential.  The Crane Agency is proud to be a member of this association.

 

AGILITY

The Crane agency enjoys an association with Agility Recovery Solutions.  Agility restores business lifelines.
When an event happens (be it weather, fire, or an “everyday” occurrence), businesses discover they are temporarily powerless to continue basic business functions.  Agility reconnects business lifelines - from a satellite office, to a computer, to the smallest of details-all within 48 hours. Agility helps businesses stay connected with customers and employees. To avoid debilitating powerlessness. To survive.

Agility is a former division of GE with 16 years of experience.  Restoring business lifelines is not our main business.  It’s our only business. http://www.agilityrecovery.com/
 

ZYWAVE

Insurance Technology for Brokers by Brokers

Zywave is a pioneer in developing industry-leading employee benefits and property & casualty insurance software solutions for brokers and their clients.  Our insurance agency software includes agency management, claims data analysis, benefit plan analysis, compliance, risk management, client communication, agency marketing, and pharmacy benefit management solutions.

As the insurance technology industry continues to evolve, so do we.  Every day, we look for new ways to help brokers differentiate their agency through advanced property and casualty and employee benefits insurance software.  Designed by brokers for brokers, our insurance software solutions are utilized by more than 550 partners, representing more than 60 of the top 100 insurance companies, to retain and grow their business.

Zy-what?
Our name is a play on words, stemming from the XY axes of a data graph and the shape that the data points often make: XY + Wave = XYWave or, in our case, Zywave.

http://www.zywave.com/
 

ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) is a national alliance of 300,000 business owners and their employees who offer all types of insurance and financial services products.

Unlike company-employed agents, IIABA independent insurance agents and insurance brokers represent more than one insurance company, so they can offer clients a wider choice of auto, home, business, life, health coverages as well as retirement and employee-benefit products.

IIABA agents and brokers not only advise clients about insurance, they recommend loss-prevention ideas that can cut costs.  If a loss occurs, the independent insurance agent or broker stands with the client until the claim is settled.

IIABA was founded in 1896 as the National Local Association of Fire Insurance Agents.  With the expansion of property-casualty business and coverages, the organization’s name was changed to the National Association of Insurance Agents in 1913.  To emphasize its members’ ability to work with a variety of insurance companies, the organization became the Independent Insurance Agents of America in 1975.  The Association’s name was changed in 2002 to the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America to reflect the diversity of its membership, which includes both independent insurance agents and insurance brokers.

IIABA is a voluntary federation of state associations and local boards, with affiliates in every state and the District of Columbia.  Its independent insurance agents and brokers are politically astute and are involved both locally and nationally.  They monitor and affect consumer, insurance agent and broker, and small business issues in Washington through IIABA’s active, professional staff on Capitol Hill. http://www.iiaba.net/na/
 

MISSOURI ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE AGENTS

The Association of Independent Insurance Agents' chapter in Missouri.

The Missouri Association of Insurance Agents is the oldest and largest association of insurance agents in the State of Missouri.  The association  was established in 1899 in St. Louis. Approximately 560 independent agencies, operated by 4,000 agents, brokers and their employees, are members of MAIA.  "Independent" insurance agents and brokers offer their clients the products of more than one insurance company.
 
MAIA is affiliated with two national agent associations: the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents.

MAIA policy is set by a board of directors elected by the association.  Policy is implemented by a professional staff in Jefferson City.

MAIA as we know it today is the result of a merger in 1992 of the Independent Insurance Agents of Missouri, which was formed in 1899, and the Missouri Association of Professional Insurance Agents, which was incorporated in 1943.  Following the merger, the association was named the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Missouri.  The association shortened its name to Missouri Association of Insurance Agents on Jan. 1, 1995. 

MAIA members range in size from one person to some of the nation's largest independent agencies.  Sixty-four percent of MAIA members have four or fewer employees, including owners.  Approximately 34 percent of our members are located in large metropolitan areas (100,000 or more population), while 54 percent live and work in cities with populations under 50,000.

The association's goal is to educate and inform the state's professional independent insurance agents, promote high standards of conduct among its members, promote greater public understanding of the insurance business, and represent the interests of its members and their clients in the Missouri Legislature.  MAIA is also an active advocate of independent agents and their customers before regulatory and judicial bodies.

Education is a primary focus of MAIA resources, with 70 days of classes scheduled during the year. Other education and information resources include two newsletters and the  Missouri Agent magazine. 

The association also makes available to its members various programs and services through its subsidiary, Agents Marketing Corporation.  AMC offers insurance programs and premium financing that association members can market to their customers, as well as group insurance, professional liability, and other programs used by agents and brokers.

http://www.iiaba.net/MO/
 

ST. LOUIS INDEPENDENT AGENTS ORGANIZATION

The St. Louis Independent Agents organization is dedicated to promoting professional insurance commerce through the promotion and representation of member's common business interests before government and the public, consistent with the best interests of insurance consumers, promoting insurance education amoung members, encouraging greater public understanding of the business of insurance and the insurance agency system, and communication with and explaining to federal, state, and local governing bodies matters of direct interest to members. http://www.stlia.org/index.htm
 
Creating, developing, and delivering practical continuing education programs for everyone involved in the insurance and risk management industries is the challenge and purpose of The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research.

More than 130,000 participants attend at least one of our 2,200+ programs, conducted in all 50 states and throughout the Caribbean in the course of just one year.

With a legacy that began in 1969, The National Alliance is recognized across the nation as the best source for continuing education credits, designation opportunities, and concrete knowledge for insurance and risk management professionals of every experience level.

http://www.scic.com/
 

The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Society is a community of credentialed property and casualty insurance professionals who promote excellence through ethical behavior and continuing education.

The Society's more than 28,000 members hold the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, which requires passing rigorous undergraduate- and graduate-level examinations, meeting experience requirements, and agreeing to be bound by a strict code of professional ethics.

Founded in 1944, the CPCU Society's mission is to "meet the career development needs of a diverse membership of professionals who have earned the CPCU designation, so that they may serve others in a competent and ethical manner."

http://www.cpcusociety.org/