The PIA Partnership Launches Agency Perpetuation Planning Program

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 -- The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents issued the following news release:

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National) and its carrier council, The PIA Partnership, have unveiled a new agency perpetuation planning program for PIA members and agents appointed by carriers participating in The PIA Partnership.

The PIA Partnership's new Agency Journey Mapping program, available at www.agencyjourneymapping.com, explains the means and methods of determining agency valuation based on cash flow potential and future earnings potential. The program then expands to identify how agencies may plan for their own internal or external succession to achieve the goals of the perpetuator, the successor, and the staff and clients of the agency.

"Every agency will eventually perpetuate at the death, disability or retirement of its owners or earlier sale of the agency," said PIA National President Dennis Kuhnke, CIC, CPIA, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Yet few agency owners adequately prepare for perpetuation and fewer still understand the principles of valuation to properly calculate their business' value in a succession or perpetuation. Our goal is to help agents understand the issues surrounding agency perpetuation, while making it easy for them to create a personalized perpetuation plan for their agencies."

"Not preparing for the ownership transition of their agencies costs agency owners in multiple ways," said Al Diamond, president of Agency Consulting Group, Inc., The PIA Partnership's content partner for the Agency Journey Mapping program. "Some lose tens of thousands of dollars or more of value by assuming that every agency is worth the same 'multiple.' Others don't prepare themselves or their successors until very close to ownership conversion--too late to be very effective. Sadly, many never plan for a crisis requiring immediate perpetuation--the very thing that they counsel their own clients to avoid. Agency Journey Mapping addresses all of these issues and more without divulging anything about the individual agencies."

Agents using the Agency Journey Mapping program will learn about agency valuation, internal perpetuation methods, external perpetuation methods and contingency buy/sell agreements. They will learn how to maximize their retirement income when they leave their agency while protecting their family's income should they die or become disabled before then.

Agency Journey Mapping began as a series of live seminars held in cities across the country. That live program has been recorded and is now available on-demand along with an extensive resource library that agents can use to create a perpetuation plan that is personalized to their agency.

Agents who prefer a live seminar to the on-demand option can indicate that on the Agency Journey Mapping website. They will then receive a personal invitation when a live seminar is scheduled near them. The live seminars generally qualify for 4-hours of continuing education (CE) credits--the on-demand seminar does not. Live seminars also include a 30-minute private consultation with PIA's perpetuation partner, Al Diamond of Agency Consulting Group.

The PIA Partnership is a joint effort of leading insurance carriers and PIA. PIA and the companies belonging to The PIA Partnership work together to develop hands-on tools for PIA members and agents appointed by Partnership carriers, specifically addressing areas of opportunity in the agency-company partnership.

"The PIA Partnership has long identified agency perpetuation as important to the continued viability of the independent agency system," said 2019 PIA Partnership Chair Tom Hamilton, CLU, ChFC, from the Sales Division of Erie Insurance. "The group introduced Perpetuation Central back in 2007."

"Perpetuation Central was a self-service, online resource that has long been among the most popular Partnership programs," said 2020 PIA Partnership Chair Ryan Dawson of The Hanover. "In rejuvenating that toolset, we saw the opportunity to add live seminars to the program and to reorganize the offering around those seminars. The resulting program is both comprehensive yet easy for agents to understand and utilize.

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Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance, but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses. PIA members are Local Agents Serving Main Street America SM.PIA's web address is www.pianet.com.