SIAA Celebrates 20 Years of Helping Independent Agencies Grow Nation’s Largest Alliance

For Immediate Release Media Contact: Gary Kimball Kimball Communications 610‐559‐7585 gkimball@kimballpr.com


 SIAA Celebrates 20 Years of Helping Independent Agencies Grow Nation’s largest alliance has written nearly $6 billion in premium and signed more than 5,500 member agencies

Oct. 21, 2015 – Hampton, N.H. – SIAA (Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance) today celebrates its 20th anniversary, having grown to be the nation’s largest agency alliance. With 48 master agencies, SIAA has signed more than 5,500 member agencies and generated nearly $6 billion in revenue since it was formed in 1995.

 SIAA celebrates the milestone with a champagne gala in Boston this evening, with more than 425 attendees expected, including CEOs and senior officers of SIAA’s strategic (carrier) partners, principals and staff of SIAA’s master agencies, publishers and editors of insurance industry media and other business associates and friends.

 “When we began to build a national network of agencies two decades ago, we focused on a mission to support the growth and continuing success of the independent agency distribution system,” said SIAA CEO Jim Masiello. “Today we celebrate the success of our integrated model with multi‐level partnering, which continues to be a proven solution to help agencies grow both premium and profitability.”

 The idea for SIAA grew out of the success of the Satellite Agency Network (SAN), a “master agency” comprised of independent agencies, which Masiello formed in New Hampshire in 1983 to overcome the biggest challenges facing independent agencies – growth and access to markets. Today, SIAA estimates that 13 percent of all independent agencies in the United States are or have been signed members of SIAA master agencies.

 SIAA has continued to add value to members through professional development and education, access to program and specialty markets, lead generation and more:
 • SIAA Business Insurance Advantage is a program that gives member agencies the ability to start or grow a profitable book of small commercial lines business.
• SIAA Agency Foundation is a program designed to assist new member start‐up agencies write quality business sooner than might otherwise be possible.
• SIAA Training & Learning Center had more than 1,000 member agencies register in 2014 with a dramatic increase in the use of content, such as a series of proprietary ACORD form lessons, Business Owner Policy training and CE credits.
• SIAA MarketFinder is used by member agencies to place difficult‐to‐write excess and surplus lines and specialty market business.
• Insurancedeals4u (ID4U) is a consumer‐facing web portal SIAA rolled out in 2004 to provide consumer access to all SIAA member agencies. It had more than 25,000 site visits providing 4,500 consumer leads to member agencies in 2014.

About SIAA SIAA is a national insurance agency alliance dedicated to the creation, retention, growth and continued success of the independent insurance agency distribution system. SIAA has signed more than 5,500 member agencies through 48 master agencies across the country since its inception in 1995. Of that member number, SIAA and its Master Agencies have created 3,100 new start‐up agencies coming predominantly from former captive agents. An estimated 13 percent of all independent agencies in the U.S. are or have been signed members of SIAA. SIAA brings profitable premium growth and quality relationship integration between its member agencies and strategic partner companies, and provides a wide range of resources to help agencies increase sales, retention, revenue and value. For more information on SIAA visit www.siaa.net.