2026 Connect & Educate Symposium

Cheryl L. Koch is a powerhouse in insurance education. As President & CEO of Agency Management Resource Group—and holder of more than a dozen industry designations—she brings unmatched expertise from her background as an agency owner, carrier AVP, author, and nationally recognized speaker. Smart, energetic, and highly engaging, Cheryl delivers training that sticks.

Cheryl L. Koch will deliver 3 dynamic sessions focused on topics designed to elevate your expertise and empower you to better serve your clients:

• Billion Dollar Disasters: How Catastrophic Losses Impact the Insurance Marketplace

From wildfires to hurricanes to derechos and beyond, there seems to be no end in sight for widespread destruction that is funded by the insurance industry. What were once events that resulted in millions of dollars of damage, today’s losses only begin at the billion-dollar mark and go up from there. This session will examine some of these recent weather-related events and other factors wreaking havoc on the property insurance market, including the challenges of underinsurance.

• Legs, Regs, and Judicial Review: How the Law Impacts and Influences the Insurance Industry

Like it or not, there’s no escaping the fact that our system of laws has a huge impact on our industry and marketplace. Whether it’s regulatory restrictions, new laws or court cases, insurance professionals must stay abreast of legal developments to be proactive with customers and explain how changes directly affect the price consumers pay. We’ll explore the concepts involved in social inflation, new and emerging legislative trends, and recent court cases that are presenting a challenge to agents, insurers and the customers they serve.

• How The Best Agencies Do It: 8 Key Elements to Create and Sustain the Ultimate Independent Agency

In this session we will discover what sets extraordinary agencies apart from the rest. We’ll go beyond “best practices” and dive into the specifics that create agencies where everyone wants to contribute, where customers know they are so well cared for there’s no point in ever talking to another agency, and where insurance companies wish to place their loyalty to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. It can be done, and we’ll discover how!

Enjoy all-inclusive meals and a Thursday night after-party hosted by NextGen! This is your chance to learn, grow, and connect with peers in a beautiful, relaxed setting.