ALEXANDRIA, VA, Nov. 21, 2016—IIABA today announced its partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) TM initiative.

Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) seeks to educate the public on readiness and response to extreme weather, water and climate hazards through a series of interactive online tutorials that present age-appropriate information. The safety modules are customized for children ages 10-12 or 13 to adults. Participants can select modules for a variety of disasters and geographical areas. A certificate is presented upon completion of each set of modules.

“The Big ‘I’ is proud to partner with NOAA and so many private and public sector stakeholders on such an important initiative to ensure families and businesses are as prepared as possible in the event of a natural disaster,” says Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “We encourage our member agencies to share the safety modules immediately with their clients and employees and to also consider becoming WRN Ambassadors themselves.”

As a WRN Ambassador, the Big “I” is committed to working with NOAA and other Ambassadors to strengthen national resilience against extreme weather. In effect, the WRN Ambassador initiative helps unify the efforts across government, non-profits, academia and private industry toward making the country more ready, responsive and resilient against natural disasters. The Big “I” has long held that education and preparedness are keys to reducing the financial and collateral damage when disasters strike.

"Ambassadors are critical to building a Weather-Ready Nation," said Louis Uccellini, Ph.D., NOAA National Weather Service director. "We welcome the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Inc., as a new ambassador who is committed to empowering its members with lifesaving information about extreme weather events."