An article ran in Newsday recently reporting that Travelers had ceased writing new homeowners policies on Long Island. The company refuted the information, reached out to its agents directly and through the trade associations, and no doubt asked Newsday to retract the article. In fact, by 10:00 the same morning the story ran, Travelers had communicated assurances to its agents that Travelers Personal Lines has not changed or modified the property guidelines that we put into effect on September 4, 2006, and that we are in fact accepting new homeowners business in most areas of Long Island.

Initially, I found some solace in the companys reassurances. I knew Travelers information was good, since I had written three new homeowners policies with the company that very day. And, I was armed with literature from the company so I could put my clients anxieties at ease.

But, as a few days went by, I became more and more concerned. Where was the retraction? I missed it completely, but an eagle-eyed friend, who is also an invested independent agent, told me that the paper did print a two-line correction hidden next to the classifieds the next day. Doesnt that figure " if the storys sensational, it gets front-page placement, regardless of accuracy. When they have to correct themselves, almost nobody could find it.

Whats worse (although a bonus for me), I picked up more homeowners business, and even a huge commercial account, from customers who had Travelers policies and called me because they read the Newsday story and figured theyd better start shopping their accounts. It may seem like a left-handed observation, but my gain was at the sacrifice of another Travelers agent, victimized by the misinformation. How many of my accounts were shopping around too? Thank God I had the forethought to contact my Travelers clients to dispute the story.

That just shows the power of the media. Theres not an agent out there who will dispute what that little gecko, which enjoyed a reported $500 million in advertising from Warren Buffets wallet last year, has done for GEICOs business. It explains why companies like Travelers, which in more than 200 years of business had never advertised on television before, began a branding campaign last year; and why Allstate, an advertising heavyweight, just announced it is searching for a creative agency for its Encompass division. The Hartford also announced recently that it will increase its advertising budget by 25 percent this year.

Fancy advertising campaigns are certainly in our future. But more than that, we are witnessing a new business paradigm emerge for the industry. Why? Some may say that ubiquitous ducks, cavemen, and lizards have caught the attention of the insurance companies partnering with independent agents. Others may argue that the independent agents have finally reached their companies. Whatever the motivator, this trend of increased advertising is a harbinger of the dawn of a new division of our industry " into haves and have nots.

This year will set the course of independent insurance agents fate. The smaller guy, who either fails or is unable to take advantage of cooperative advertising opportunities, is going to lose out. Major insurance agency giants will win. Back in the day (yes, I was around in the day), there were at least a dozen large, national insurance companies. Now, a few decades later, only a handful still exist. The same thing will happen to independent agencies in this decade. Two issues will decide who survives: profit sharing and marketing. Unfortunately, the latter will play the biggest part in who gets the gold.

The trade associations recognized the importance of agency marketing. Theyve been doing their part to help independent agents for years: offering marketing kits, calendars, and ads for agents to use. Just this past week, PIANJ held its annual CEO/Advantage conference on this very issue, with a panel discussion entitled, Maximizing Your Partnership: The Collaborative Sales Process. The message is clear: the time to partner with your companies in some cooperative advertising is now. Heck, it may even be yesterday. By nature, independent agents are salespeople. By necessity, we must become marketers. The trade associations cant compete for us. They can give us the tools, but whoever uses them best will win. We have to fight for ourselves.

As companies and agents go into partnerships with co-op advertising, the savvy agents are the ones who will survive. Those who fail to recognize the power of the media are going to go the way of the dinosaur. Thats not my term. It was used by a staffer in Governor Eliot Spitzers office to describe independent agents. If you think regulators, policy setters, and companies arent being exposed to advertising, you probably have already missed the bus.

N. Stephen Ruchman is president of Ruchman Associates Inc. in Rockville Centre, N.Y. and a past president of the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. He is also vice president of the PIANY political action, government affairs and industry liaison committees, and he sits on the producers advisory panel for Utica First Insurance Co.

PIANY has created a Take Back Personal Lines campaign consisting of marketing pieces, editorial support, and other resources that highlight the benefits of purchasing insurance policies through an independent agent. Agents interested in utilizing these tools can visit www.pia.org/NY and click Take Back Personal Lines under Favorites.