Trusted Choice campaign seeks to change Big I image.(Brief Article)

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America has been hard at work changing the image of its members.

The Big I introduced its new branding program, Trusted Choice, with campaigns in the cities of Seattle and Louisville, Ky., in February, and it plans to go national next year.

Talk of a new image for independent insurance agencies began at the IIABA in 1998, and the Alexandria, Va.-based association hired a branding firm the following year. The IIABA supports the new program with funding from 16 regional and national insurance companies and fees from participating agencies.

The IIABA developed the new program out of necessity, said Robert Rusbuldt, IIABA's chief executive officer. The new image comes in response to outside research that revealed that consumers had negative views of the terms ``independent,'' ``insurance'' and ``agent.'' According to the IIABA, consumers viewed the terms as meaning ``small,'' ``not affiliated with major brands'' and ``an agent of the company.''

``The Big I logo did not connote anything to consumers,'' Mr. Rusbuldt said. ``Consumers surveyed in the study decided that the Trusted Choice logo was preferred, even over the Big I,'' he said, though the IIABA plans to keep using the logo for …