Tonya Thomason

President

David A. Crotts & Associates

Greenwood, South Carolina

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of South Carolina (IIABSC) has won the InsurPac “Triple Crown” three years in a row after consecutively raising the most InsurPac contributions of any state, the most from young agents and the most from past presidents. 

Thomason is the co-chair of the South Carolina InsurPac and the current chair of IIABSC. In 2022, she was honored with the Barney Burns Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual for InsurPac advocacy.

President of her agency, she has been in the insurance industry since she was 19 years old and realized pretty quickly that what she was doing made a difference in the families she touched. “I wanted to learn as much as I could so that I could make sure I was doing my part and helping them secure their future,” she says.

What is the secret to winning the triple crown?

It’s about getting everybody involved. I say piquing that curiosity is key, because we can get up on the stage and we can talk about InsurPac, what it’s doing and how it’s doing it, but most people—unless they see it or feel it—find it difficult to comprehend. 

Why is political involvement important at the state level?

There’s no cookie-cutter policy that’s going to fix everything for every state, but having relationships with our local representatives or our senators helps a lot in politics, as it does in insurance.

How does it feel to make a difference?

I’ve seen firsthand what our advocacy does, especially the small business tax deduction for pass-throughs. Our agents were not only able to save money because of this, but it allowed them to enrich their agencies. They could expand, they were able to increase salaries, add benefits—things that really help their footprint. 

It was very nice to see that what we do here on our state level has an impact and helped other agents. It would be nice if more agents could come to Washington, D.C. and see what our InsurPac money actually does and see how hard the Big “I" government affairs team works for us. I'm very proud to know them.

How did you become IIABSC InsurPac co-chairman?

I served on the IIABSC board, of which this year is my first year as chair, but when the chairs of the InsurPac were ready to pass the baton, Robbie and I agreed that we would do it together. We knew we had some pretty big shoes to fill because South Carolina had been leaders in InsurPac, but we definitely wanted to make it bigger. And I think we did a good job in making that happen.

What does it take to be co-chair?

You have to have a good partner. You have to have someone that you can work really well with. Robbie and I mesh pretty good together. It's a team effort.

How is South Carolina raising the bar in fundraising?

I'm really strong on the relationship factor. It sounds cliche, but it's true. When Robbie Nalley, IIABSC InsurPac co-chair, and I took over, we wanted to make history—but we had no idea how we could make it happen. At the South Carolina Spring Conference, I had a conversation with one of our key carrier partners who agreed to help us get more people involved by paying for a trip. If it weren't for having that relationship, I don't think that conversation would've ever taken place. That's part of the secret. The other is you have to make it fun. If people aren't having fun, they're not going to participate.

Olivia Overman is IA content editor.