PIA Northeast has two state bipartisan political action committees—Agents Advocacy Coalition, the official PAC of PIANY and New Jersey PIAPAC. Each of these supports legislators and candidates from their respective state offices (such as the state Assembly and state Senate) who support and represent the insurance industry.
Additionally, PIA National’s PIAPAC, supports U.S. congressional incumbents and candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, who support and represent the insurance industry.
While all three organizations are political action committees and make political contributions to legislative candidates, the three organizations operate at different levels of government and serve different constituencies.
Below is a chart outlining these differences.
| Agents Advocacy Coalition, the official PAC of PIANY | New Jersey PIAPAC | PIA National’s PIAPAC | |
| Type of political action committee | A state political action committee operating only in New York state. | A state political action committee operating only in New Jersey. | A federal political action committee operating on the federal level. |
| Who the PAC supports | AAC donates to New York. state legislators and candidates. | NJPIAPAC donates to New Jersey state legislators and executive candidates. | PIAPAC donates to U.S. congressional candidates from across the country. |
| Donations to the PAC | Donations to the AAC can be personal or from a corporation (your agency). Insurance carriers also are permitted to donate. | Donations to NJPIAPAC can be personal or from a corporation (your agency). Insurance carriers also are permitted to donate to PACs, but donating directly to campaigns is not permitted in New Jersey. | Donations to PIAPAC must be personal, not from corporations. |
| How donations are used | Donations to AAC stay in New York. They are used to support state legislators and candidates who understand the state issues facing agents and the insurance industry. | Donations to NJPIAPAC stay in New Jersey. They are used to support state legislators and candidates who understand the state issues facing agents and the insurance industry. | Donations to PIAPAC are used to support federal legislators and candidates from across the country who understand the federal issues facing agents and the insurance industry. |
| Donation limits | Any individual can donate up to $138,600 per calendar year to a party of constituted committee (this limit is set annually by the New York State Board of Elections). While $5,000 is the limit from a corporation, LLC, or PLLC. | Any individual or agency can donate up to $15,200 per election. | Any individual can donate up to $5,000 a year to a political action committee. |
| How to donate | Click here to donate or call (800) 424-4244. | Click here to donate or call (800) 424-4244. | Click here to donate or call (800) 424-4244. |
| Fiscal year | Jan. 1-Dec. 31 | Jan. 1- Dec. 31 | Jan. 1- Dec. 31 |
| Who to contact with questions | Bradford J. Lachut, Esq., director of government & industry affairs, govaffairs@pia.org, or (800)-424-4244 | Bradford J. Lachut, Esq., director of government & industry affairs, govaffairs@pia.org, or (800)-424-4244 | Corey Weeks, PIA National manager of government relations & press secretary, cweeks@pianational.org, or (703) 518-1364 |
Shirley Albright, CPIA, CISR
Shirley Albright, CPIA, CISR, has been a cornerstone of PIA since joining the association in 1983. Over the decades, she has contributed meaningfully across numerous departments, demonstrating unwavering dedication and leadership. In 1995, Shirley played a pivotal role in launching the Industry Resource Center, where she led the development of a comprehensive software system designed to log and manage all incoming and outgoing member inquiries—an innovation that transformed the center’s operational efficiency. As director of the Industry Resource Center, Shirley oversees the center’s daily operations, including the triage and resolution of thousands of member inquiries and multiple database updates, ensuring timely and accurate support across the organization. Her industry accomplishments include earning her New York state property/casualty broker’s license and has obtaining the CPIA and CISR professional designations, underscoring her deep expertise and commitment to excellence in the insurance industry.
