October 5, 2021— The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) installed Kansas’ Bob Fee, president of Fee Insurance Group Inc. in Hutchinson, as 2021-22 Big “I” chairman at the recent Big “I” Fall Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

Fee has held numerous positions at both the state and national level for the Big “I.” At the state association level, he has served on the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents (KAIA) Board of Directors and as the Kansas director on the national association board. He has also served on several KAIA committees, including the Government Affairs Committee, and was the 2007-2008 KAIA president. At the national level, Fee has served on the Government Affairs Committee and the Trusted Choice® Board of Directors, including a term as the Trusted Choice board chairman. He received the Big “I” Chairman’s Citation in 2011.

“Bob’s longtime dedication to the association, along with his commitment to honoring our industry’s roots while forging ahead toward future growth, will serve Big ‘I’ members well,” says Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” president and CEO. “We are fortunate to have him at the helm as the independent agency channel continues to face the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Fee says a hallmark of his chairmanship will be enabling the association to be nimble. “Independent agencies have gone above and beyond the past year and a half in serving their communities through tough times, and that same resilience will carry us through the rapid-fire changes our industry is undergoing,” he says. “During my term, we’ll focus on moving forward and remaining responsive to both challenges and opportunities.”

John Costello, USI Insurance Services, Rochester, New York, was installed as Big “I” chairman-elect and Michael McBride, Mason-McBride Inc., Troy, Michigan, became vice chair. Fee succeeds chair Jon Jensen, of Correll Insurance in Spartanburg, South Carolina, who will remain on the Big “I” Executive Committee for an additional year as immediate past chair.

About the Big "I"
Founded in 1896, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing more than 25,000 agency locations united under the Trusted Choice brand. Trusted Choice independent agents offer consumers all types of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products—from a variety of insurance companies.