It’s hard to believe it, but 2026 is just around the corner. A new year means new opportunities, but it’s important to look back at your accomplishments from the previous year. As an independent insurance agent, maybe this was going above and beyond for your clients or expanding the reach of your business. For PIA, we had a slew of major legislative successes and incredible insurance conferences. Let’s look back at what made this year so impactful.
Victories across our five-state footprint
This year, PIA has made incredible progress across our five-state footprint. In Connecticut, PIACT saw E&S reform legislation get passed into law: this pivotal reform eliminates the outdated and burdensome requirement that brokers obtain formal declinations from admitted insurers before placing coverage in the nonadmitted E&S market through unaffiliated surplus lines brokers.
In New Hampshire, after reports emerged of carriers slashing or eliminating producer compensation mid-year and removing access to enrollment materials for certain Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement products, PIANH called on the New Hampshire Insurance Department to investigate. The NHID responded with a bulletin clarifying that these practices, if verified, may violate the law.
In New Jersey, PIANJ is sounding the alarm about proposed regulations that could upend the independent insurance agency system, namely by applying a rigid version of the ABC test across multiple labor laws. In response, a new bill, S-4839, was introduced to protect independent agents from the negative effects of these changes.
PIANY saw important pieces of legislation pass, which include an anti-arson bill and a lawsuit lending reform bill. The former bill repeals the outdated anti-arson application requirements in New York City, while the latter provided reforms for third-party lawsuit lending world and protects vulnerable plaintiffs.
A year of incredible business and networking opportunities
These legislative milestones were not the only thing PIA was working on this year. PIA also held numerous successful conferences and networking events, like MetroRAP and the PIANJ | PIANY Annual Conference. These events support independent insurance agents by providing them a place to network, explore business solutions and achieve valuable education insights.
Looking forward into 2026
PIA achieved many incredible things in 2025—but there’s more work to do in 2026. Across our five-state footprint, legislating e-bike insurance remains a priority. In Connecticut, while E&S reform was achieved, the Connecticut Insurance Department interpreted the change very narrowly—meaning that PIACT will have to go back and fight to broaden them. PIANH will continue to focus on preventing regulatory overreach into producer conduct across the state. For New Jersey, PIANJ is advocating for a personal auto step-down ban to safeguard consumers, and two bills were introduced to achieve that. PIANY is fighting for agents to carry over CE credits and tort reform in the state.
These are just a few of the legislative priorities we’ll be fighting for in 2026. We thank you for your continued support. There’s a lot of work to look forward to in the new year, and PIA and its affiliates will continue to fight for independent insurance agents and their businesses.
Matt McDonough is PIA Northeast's writer, editor and content curator. Matt joined PIA Northeast in September 2023. Before that, he had been an editor for the online entertainment magazine Collider from 2021-23 as a copy editor for its lists section. Matt entered the world of journalism at his alma mater, SUNY New Paltz, writing and reporting for the college's student run newspaper, The New Paltz Oracle. He graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Creative Writing in 2020.
