Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of California (IIABCal) is a nonprofit trade association and an influential community of knowledge and resources that offers members vision, leadership, and innovation. IIABCal is the leading and most effective lobbying association for California independent insurance agents and brokers. The organization helps members solve problems, be more productive, and be more profitable. Its members are independent insurance agents and brokers who own their businesses and represent more than one insurance company.

IIABCal members sell commercial, personal, life, and health insurance, as well as other specialty lines of insurance. Consumers and business clients often choose to work with independent insurance agents and brokers because they are not tied to a specific insurance company. As a result, they have multiple insurance company options available for crafting an insurance coverage and pricing program that fits their clients' needs. When it comes to insurance, "one size does not fit all," says Clark Payan, who is Chief Executive Officer and has been with IIABCal for 20 years.

IIABCal supports its members in a variety of ways. One important and recent example involved helping shape Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), a California law that goes into effect on January 1, 2020 and limits the use of independent contractors. First, some background. In April 2018, in what became known as the Dynamex Decision, the California Supreme Court adopted a new legal standard called the ABC test for classifying workers as employees or as independent contractors.

According to JD Supra, "Employers may only classify a worker as an independent contractor if the hiring entity satisfies all three conditions of the test: (A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact; (B) that the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business; and (C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed."

AB 5 codifies the ABC test and extends its reach to numerous additional California employment laws. The law will affect almost all companies that rely on independent contractors in California, according to Corporate Compliance Insights. Thanks in part to IIABCal, the law going into effect next year is different than the one originally proposed.

"AB 5 was a big issue for independent insurance agencies," says Payan. "Because of our lobby influence in Sacramento, we were the first industry to be granted an exemption from the Dynamex ABC Test."

The association was established in 1907 in Oakland. Its events are industry-oriented and designed for IIABCal members and prospective members. Its events include InsurPATH, which is scheduled annually the first week of November and the Blue Ribbon Conference held annually in Hawaii each May.

IIABCal moved to Hacienda in January 2019. It chose Hacienda for office space that was a better fit for its needs, including a central location near BART, hotels, restaurants, and more. Five employees work from its Hacienda office; several others work from home. The association works with the Greater Bay Area chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and several other Make-A-Wish chapters across the state.

For more information about Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of California, please visit www.member.iiabcal.org.