Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of SC

07/02/2026

InsurPac is on the frontline when it comes to flood insurance and disaster mitigration 🛡️

Two issues on our Congressional agenda this year deserve attention from every agent in SC, regardless of what lines you write.

First: the National Flood Insurance Program expires September 30. This isn’t the first time it’s been up for reauthorization - since 2017, it's been extended on a short-term basis 35 times. During one government shutdown, the NFIP lapsed for 43 days, right near the peak of hurricane season. Property sales couldn’t close. Clients couldn’t get coverage. It wasn’t hypothetical.

The Big "I" is pushing for a long-term reauthorization before September 30, along with the Continuous Coverage for Flood Insurance Act (H.R.6620). That legislation clarifies that a consumer can obtain a private flood policy and then later return to an NFIP policy without losing grandfathered rate status - which matters a lot to clients trying to shop the private market.

Second: wildfire and disaster mitigation. Natural disasters are more frequent and more severe, and the insurance market feels it every year in the form of reduced capacity and higher premiums. The Big "I" is supporting bipartisan legislation to improve forest management, reduce wildfire risk, and fix the federal tax code so that homeowners aren't taxed on grants or rebates they receive for disaster mitigation improvements. If we want people investing in resilience before a disaster, we shouldn't be taxing them for doing it.

These are the conversations our team is having in Washington, and your donations help ensure those conversations happen. Click the link in the comments to support InsurPac's efforts!

06/29/2026

You can count on InsurPac to take the fight to Capitol Hill 🥊

"One of the issues we took to Capitol Hill this year is one that doesn’t get enough attention in the industry because it’s directly connected to what your clients are paying in premiums.

Third-party litigation funding (TPLF) is a practice where outside investors - increasingly, foreign sovereign wealth funds and hedge funds - finance personal injury lawsuits in exchange for a cut of the award. These investors profit when lawsuits are larger and more frequent. So they have every financial incentive to push for bigger verdicts and drag out cases as long as possible.

The result: insurance claims grow, litigation becomes more frequent, and premiums rise. Not for the investors. For your clients.

What makes it worse is that, in most jurisdictions, defendants must disclose their insurance coverage in litigation. Plaintiff attorneys and their outside funders know exactly what limits they’re working with. But TPLF funding agreements don’t have to be disclosed at all. One side of the table has information, the other doesn’t, and it’s the side with the financial motive to push the lawsuit as far as possible.

The Big "I" is pushing Congress to pass the Tackling Predatory Litigation Funding Act (H.R.3512/S.1821), which would require disclosure of outside funding agreements and eliminate the preferential tax treatment that TPLF investors currently get. We’re also backing the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act (H.R.2675/S.3180) to shut down foreign governments’ ability to weaponize our court system for profit.

These aren’t abstract legislative issues. They’re showing up in your clients’ renewals."

If this the kind of fight you want SC agents represented in, check out the link in the comments to learn more!



LINK IN THE COMMENTS

06/26/2026

Ever wondered what InsurPac-funded advocacy looks like? 🧐

We want to share a recent example because this one is directly relevant to a lot of our members!

For the past couple of years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had been enforcing property insurance requirements on federally backed mortgages that were creating real problems for agents and their clients. They were requiring replacement cost value (RCV) coverage on roofs for condominiums and single-family homes - a standard that was increasingly difficult to meet in a hardening property market, and that was putting some properties out of mortgage eligibility entirely. The IIABA went to work. They joined regular calls with Fannie and Freddie, gathered data from agents across the country, and engaged the Big "I" Technical Affairs Committee. When Fannie and Freddie were slow to move, our legislative team worked with Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC) and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) to get more than 45 House members and 19 senators to sign letters to the Federal Housing Finance Agency urging changes.

And it worked!

The FHFA has now directed Fannie and Freddie to accept actual cash value (ACV) coverage on roofs for single-family homes and condos. They’ve simplified the per-unit deductible rules, expanded the exemption from review for condos, and streamlined master policy deductible requirements - a long-running concern as wind and hail deductibles rose and some buildings risked losing eligibility.
If you’ve had clients caught in this situation, this is direct, real-world relief, and it happened because agents showed up, provided expertise, and funded the relationships that made legislators listen.
Click the link in the comments below to learn more about InsurPac and enter our $250 for 250 Years raffle to win some awesome prizes! 🎆

06/25/2026

Thank you to Selective Insurance for sponsoring the 2️⃣ Day Ultimate Account Manager HYBRID class! The first day has come to an end with 8 attendees in person and 32 online!

Check out the education calendar for our other in-person classes or hybrid classes for the rest of 2026. Classes include CIC, CAT, RUBLE, and more!

📅 https://members.iiabsc.com/eventcalendar

06/24/2026

This year, instead of just asking for an InsurPac donation, we’ve created an event to give you the chance to win prizes! $250 for 250 is IIABSC’s InsurPac fundraiser for America’s 250th birthday. Through July 4th, you can donate in $25 or $250 increments. Every $25 gives you an entry in the raffle for prizes we’ve lined up with the help of our generous sponsors. Donate $250 to get an entry for the grand prize of a getaway to the Grove Park Inn.

Thank you to our sponsors: Liberty Mutual Insurance, CRC Tapco, AmWins, Allied Trust, System Search, US Premium Finance and Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Co.

What InsurPac Actually Does

A lot of people in this industry have heard of InsurPac but aren’t sure exactly how it works. That’s part of why we’re running this campaign, so let’s explain it.

InsurPac is the federal political action committee for independent insurance agents and brokers across the country, operated by IIABA out of Washington. When you donate, you’re not funding a political party - InsurPac is and has always been bipartisan. You’re funding relationships and access with the members of Congress who make decisions that affect your business and your clients.

The clearest way to put it: InsurPac doesn’t buy votes. It creates conversations.

Legislators are busy. Their staffers are busier. The reason our advocacy team gets meetings - the reason calls get returned - is that we’ve built relationships with them over years, and those relationships take resources to maintain.

South Carolina has led the country in InsurPac fundraising for 7 consecutive years. That’s not just a number we’re proud of. It’s the reason SC agents have credibility in Washington that agents from many other states don’t. It’s why our team gets in rooms that matter.

The issues on the table right now - lawsuit abuse, flood insurance, disaster mitigation, terrorism risk, affect what you and your clients pay for insurance. The only way we influence those outcomes is by being in the room when decisions are made.

See comments for contribution links

06/22/2026

06/16/2026

Join us this Thursday for our Agents Happy Hour in Greenville! 🍸

Where: 155 N Buncombe Rd, Greer, SC 29651
When: June 18th, 5 PM - 7 PM

Hosted by our IIABSC Young Agents, ALL agents are welcome to stop by the Southern Growl for some good drinks and conversation! Thank you to our amazing sponsors, Amwins, iSurity, Property Plus - Water and Fire Damage Restoration , and The Hanover Insurance Group , for helping us put on this event.

We hope to see y'all there!

06/10/2026

Special thanks to Rhett Orr with Heritage Insurance for dropping by with breakfast for our staff meeting this morning! 🥐

Heritage is one of our Gold Palmetto Partners. They provide personal and commercial residential coverage in 16 states through a trusted network of experienced agents! Rhett also brought his son, Brooks, along, and it was delightful to speak with them both! Brooks is a rising junior at Clemson University and is interning with Smart Choice this summer. We look forward to following his journey and appreciate the Smart Choice SC team for encouraging and training up-and-coming talent in the insurance industry!

06/05/2026

The IIABSC Young Agents are raising money for the SC ! Please check out their page and consider donating to help make wishes come true for SC Wish kids!

⭐ Learn more: https://secure2.wish.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=7433&team_id=58452

Good games, even better memories - helping to make AJ's wish come true made a huge impact!

"AJ's favorite way to spend time with friends and family is playing video games, and his new space allows him to do just that (and homework at a cool desk and computer, when needed)! He is able to feel more independent and wants to sleep in the bed and climb the ladder of the bed himself. The gaming system makes him extremely excited. He enjoys the fridge and the lights on the bed. After watching him in some of his most challenging days in the hospital, to now seeing him beyond excited each day to play the game, shows the true impact of AJ’s wish."

🎮Donate here to help make more wishes come true for our SC Wish Kids: https://secure2.wish.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=7433&team_id=58452

Trusted Choice Make-A-Wish South Carolina Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of SC

06/02/2026