(DeWitt, New York, Jan. 6, 2015) — 2014 was a year in which the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) presented a one-of-a-kind trade show to a sold-out audience; got a bill to relieve burdens on insurance producers to the governor’s desk; won multiple awards for educational excellence; and helped raise thousands of dollars to brighten the lives of children with serious illnesses.

• IIABNY presented the first New York Insurance Day (NYiDAY) in Manhattan on Oct. 28. The sold-out event featured numerous programs by industry experts on how agencies can use technology to improve their operations. The day was capped off with a keynote address by former pro football quarterback and current sports media analyst Boomer Esiason. 
• A bill to stop the abuse of certificates of insurance, which IIABNY crafted along with other insurance and non-insurance groups, passed both chambers of the New York State Legislature in June. The measure would prohibit business and public agencies from demanding that insurance producers issue false and misleading certificates. It was delivered to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 30 and awaits his approval.
• In addition to the certificates of insurance bill, IIABNY’s legislative team successfully pushed for agent inclusion in a task force on disasters, though the governor ultimately vetoed that bill. The group also won passage of critical extensions of expiring insurance laws and fought back harmful legislation that would have imposed new paperwork mandates and shifted financial responsibility for unsatisfied court judgments to third-party defendants. 
• IIABNY again delivered on its commitment to provide quality continuing education programs to the state’s insurance producers. Nearly 7,300 producers attended IIABNY classes, webinars and in-house education programs. The courses covered a wide range of commercial, personal, life and health insurance related topics, including errors and omissions risk management.   
• The education team received dual honors at the Independent Insurance Agents & Broker’s of America’s (IIABA) annual Education Convocation, held last September in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition to winning the Excellence in Education Diamond Award for the fourth consecutive year and tenth time overall, the group was awarded the prestigious Spirit of Education Award. This award recognized IIABNY’s culture of support for the IIABA’s agent development programs.
• Trusted Choice®, the national consumer brand for independent insurance agencies, sponsored highly successful fundraising events for Make-A-Wish. The Walk For Wishes events in Troy, the Hudson Valley and Long Island raised more than $100,000, and an auction held in December at a Syracuse University men’s basketball game raised tens of thousands more. IIABNY announced at NYiDAY that Trusted Choice would grant a wish to a child with cystic fibrosis in the name of Gunnar Esiason, the son of Boomer Esiason who lives with the disease.
• Trusted Choice also increased its push to help independent agents compete for business online. Its Web site, TrustedChoice.com, provided hundreds of sales leads to New York agents. The brand also unveiled its “New Freedom” ad campaign late in the year. 
• The IIABNY research department responded to approximately 2,500 requests for information from members on a variety of coverage, legal, regulatory and licensing topics.