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News & Awards

Thousand Islands Agency

May 2017: Heather L. Paquette recognized as 2017 ACSR of the Year by IIABNY.

Heather Paquette of Thousand Islands Agency in Clayton, has been awarded the Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) of the Year Award for 2017 by the Independent Agents and Brokers of New York (IIABNY). The award was announced at IIABNY's annual business meeting held on May 11th in Syracuse, New York. The IIABNY ACSR of the Year Award was formed to acknowledge the crucial value that the customer service representatives bring to the independent agency system and the millions of customers they serve. Providing and delivering superior customer service is one of the most important things that any insurance agency can do to enhance its value to customers. Heather has been with Thousand Islands Agency since 2002.


Brendan Higgins featured as guest insurance expert on WCNY's weekly Financial Fitness

December 2013: Brendan Higgins was recently a guest panelist on WCNY's weekly Financial Fitness. Financial Fitness is a live weekly program designed to help people make the most of their money. Click on the link below to watch the one hour Q&A where Brendan and two other insurance experts discuss practical risk management and personal insurance issues.

Watch the video here


Thousand Islands Insurance earns Best Practices

November 2012: Thousand Islands Agency has retained its status as part of an elite group of independent insurance agencies around the United States participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) “Best Practices” Study Group. Each year since 1993, IIABA and Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based management consulting firm, join forces to study the country’s leading insurance agencies in six revenue categories. The agencies comprising the study groups are selected every third year through a comprehensive nomination and qualifying process and awarded a “Best Practices Agency” designation. The selected “Best Practices” agencies retain their status during the three-year cycle by submitting extensive financial and operational data for review each year. This year concludes the current three-year study cycle in which more than 1,200 independent agencies throughout the U.S. were nominated to participate. Only 224 agencies qualified for the honor. Thousand Islands Agency and MacIlvennie & Brown Insurance Agency were founded in 1947 and maintain insurance offices in Adams, Clayton and Cape Vincent, New York.

Best Practices

Brendan Higgins featured on Good Morning America

December 2010: abcnews.go.com

Brendan Higgins helps the Gunn Family in Oswego save money and improve their personal insurance program as part of Elisabeth Leamy’s Savings Makeover.


Jessica Towles receives Customer Service Representative of the Year Award

February 2009: During the inaugural Capital Event at the Crowne Plaza Albany-City Center, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc., recognized Jessica Towles as the winner of the 2009 Accredited Customer Service Representative of the Year Award. The ACSR designation honors the professionalism and tremendous contributions made by customer service personnel to the success of an independent agency. Jessica has been with Thousand Islands Agency in Clayton, New York since 1999.


Thousand Islands Insurance wins inaugural National Technology Award

June 2008 - Thousand Islands Agency was selected as the inaugural winner of National Underwriter's Technology Award. The award is given each year to one agency in the country who has best leveraged technology in their insurance agency to sustain profitable growth. Click Here to read a full copy of the article about this award. Inaugural National Technology Award


Thousand Islands Insurance Featured in IA Magazine

March 2007


Thousand Islands Insurance Featured in IA Magazine

July 2000