Advocacy

​What Happened:Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent shockwaves through the employer community with the announcement of a nationwide ban on noncompete agreements. The controversial and highly-publicized regulation was approved following a 3-2 vote of the commissioners. The rule now enters a 120-day public comment period before being effective.While the media coverage may give the impression this is a done deal, that is hardly the case. Despite the FTC's action yesterday, the ultimate fate of the noncompete agreement regulation remains in serious question. The FTC maintains that it possesses the legal authority to prohibit the use of noncompete agreements (and to ban other business practices and…

Contributing to the Independent Agents Political Action Committee (IAPAC) is one of the most impactful things you can do for the profession that you love. It all comes down to one thing. The most important thing. Without this, nothing else matters.Protection. Every day you help people protect what matters most to them. But what are you doing to protect the future of your agency? Your career? The business we all love so dearly?IAPAC exists to protect you. As a non-partisan political action committee, its singular purpose is to support the election of state candidates who support our profession.You know Big I NY has your back,…

​In response to Big I New York's advocacy work, Kemper Personal Insurance will retroactively reinstate old commission levels for business its agents have produced since last fall. Big I New York learned this news this afternoon during a meeting with representatives of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS.) The carrier should formally notify its agents by the end of this month.The carrier, which announced last summer its intention to exit preferred auto and home markets countrywide, has taken several steps to reduce its volume in New York. These measures did not appear to comply with New York Insurance Law Section 3425. That…