Ohio Insurance Agents Association Enhances Partnership with Indium to Provide Independent Agents Mar

GAHANNA, OH – Ohio Insurance Agents Association, Inc. (OIA) creates strategic partnership with Indium to provide agents expanded market access options and growth solutions.

Two Ohio-based, independent agent led organizations have come together in a strategic partnership to support the growth of the independent agency system. OIA, which has always had an ownership interest in Indium (formerly MarketSource), purchased a majority interest in the organization.

“The independent agency system must change to compete in the modern marketplace. Through this strategic partnership with Indium, independent agents will have access to market access, technology, and training resources to propel their businesses into the future,” stated Jeff Smith, CEO of OIA.

“OIA and Indium have been connected from the beginning of Indium’s founding in 2005 when volunteer agents worked tirelessly to create a leading market access solution that would be agent-led and maximize agent value.”

“We all know our industry is evolving at a rapid pace, and on all fronts. We sit in a unique position, where we see firsthand what agents, carriers, vendors and our peers are going through to remain relevant. Every aspect of the insurance supply chain is confronting significant disruption, all at once. It’s an extraordinary time for our industry, really. And as we’ve reinvented ourselves to meet the demands of our industry, we’ve also been looking for strategic partners with a common mission focused on helping independent agents stay independent, both now and in the future,” remarked Chad Eddy, CEO of Indium.

Since inception, Indium has helped hundreds of agencies in Ohio and across the country grow their business and maintain their independence. To date, Indium supports nearly 400 agency partners across 10 states, with 85 percent located in Ohio.

“OIA and Indium share common missions, visions, values, cultures, agent leadership, staff, priorities, growth strategies and agency partners and members, so coming together makes great sense,” said Matt Simon, CIC, CPCU, Chairman of the OIA Board of Directors and Principal with Hill and Hamilton Insurance Agency in Bellefontaine.

“As an association, we need to evolve and ensure we are providing value to our agents, and our strategic partnership with Indium solidifies our value proposition. Through this partnership, our agent and carrier partners can expect continued support for Indium’s market access solutions and technology solutions, strengthening an agent-led partner to grow the independent agency system and compete in the modern insurance marketplace.”

“Bringing together agent led organizations who share the same mission, to help independent insurance agents grow and prosper, ensures that our agents’ success is always the focus of our partnership. We have complimentary services for independent agents, which makes this partnership a natural fit with our collective mission to promote, protect and progress the independent agency system,” said Eddy. 

“This partnership is an exciting opportunity to provide independent agents with market access solutions, local ownership and a focus on improving services and offerings,” said Smith.

For more information on this alignment please see OIA and Indium's joint letter.


About Ohio Insurance Agents Association

Ohio Insurance Agents Association (OIA) is the collective voice of 1,300 independent agencies that employ nearly 10,000 Ohioans. We promote, progress and protect the professional advice and guidance only independent insurance agents provide. OIA members write 82 percent of the commercial insurance policies and 44 percent of personal insurance policies in Ohio. OIA helps agents by providing agency valuation, succession planning, generational health, operational benchmarking reports, other business solutions and industry thought leadership.

About Indium

Indium (MarketSource Agency Network, LLC) was founded in 2005 out of the OIA, who assembled a team of thought-leading independent insurance agents to develop an innovative solution for the purpose of helping independent insurance agents stay independent. This team of agents – our founding fathers – volunteered their time to collaborate, cooperate and strategize for each other’s benefit and to strengthen the independent channel and developed MarketSource Agency Network to provide independent insurance agents access to the standard markets they needed to grow their insurance agencies without the burden of ever-increasing production requirements of carriers, or giving up control of their business.

In 2016, we changed our company name to Indium (Why Indium) to reflect the vision and energy of our new “indie agent” brand. In staying true to our founding principles, Indium is a leading market access provider whose focus is to facilitate enhanced revenue and profitable growth opportunities for our agency partners and companies. We are still owned and directed by independent agents, and we support agency partners across the country who have placed over $50 million in written premium with our company partners.

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