IBA West Members To Vote On Name Change

IBA West is entertaining a name change.

The group, which represents several thousand brokers and agents and is comprised of 31 affiliated local associations, announced a special meeting slated for Oct. 12 to consider a recommendation by the association’s board of directors to change the name of the corporation.

The board of directors at its July meeting unanimously agreed to recommend that the association name be changed from the current IBA West, short for Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West, to the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of California (IIABC).

IBA West is merely changing its name, and maintaining its already existing affiliation with the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA); no other affiliation changes are being considered along with the name change, according to the group.

IBA West was created in 1995 by the consolidation of the Western Association of Insurance Brokers and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of California.

The name IBA West was selected to reflect the regional focus of the new association that represented members in California, Alaska, Oregon and Washington. The regional reach was expanded a few years later to include Hawaii.

The meeting will be held at 11:50 a.m. PDT, Oct. 12 at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina Hotel. Each regular member firm in good standing, and in attendance, is entitled to vote on the question to amend the Articles of Incorporation to change the association name.

“The new name will better label the non-profit trade association as a California insurance producer association within the insurance industry, the general public, and most importantly, in the California Legislature,” IBA West President Steve Shea said. “As the state’s largest independent producer trade organization, the new name will better reflect the association’s dominance in the California independent insurance agent and broker community.”

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