More than one in five people say they don’t really belong or don’t belong at all. At the same time, 86% say economic pressure since the pandemic has made it harder to build real connections, according to research from the Belonging Forum. The study also found that opportunities to participate in community life are becoming harder for many, yet everyday relationships remain the strongest foundation of belonging.
That’s where the real work is. And it’s exactly where best-in-class BIGN agencies like EAB Insurance Group have chosen to live.
During the Spring 2026 Exchange in Orlando, Dee Zampella, president and CEO of EAB Insurance, described how EAB is “designing growth” through belonging. She and her team have embedded themselves in the life of their community — supporting more than 25 local nonprofits, serving on boards, and showing up consistently where help is needed most.
Not for visibility. For impact. And something shifted.
Over time, the community responded. People didn’t just recognize the EAB Insurance name; they trusted it. They saw it in the places that mattered to them. They experienced it through shared work and shared purpose. The agency became part of the fabric of the community, not just a vendor within it.
That changed the business.
Today, more than 80% of EAB Insurance Group’s growth comes from referrals. That’s what belonging looks like when it compounds. It’s what happens when relationships are built long before a policy is quoted.
Their niche in nonprofits — now more than 30% of their commercial business — didn’t come from chasing a vertical. It came from standing alongside organizations, understanding their world, and earning the right to advise them.
Here’s the shift worth noticing: belonging didn’t just strengthen their culture. It sharpened their strategy.
When you’re embedded in a community, you hear things earlier. You understand risks differently. You’re invited into conversations others never reach. You don’t have to chase business; business finds you.
In a time when people feel more disconnected than ever, this is the opportunity in front of every agency. Not to sponsor more events. Not to check a box. To participate. To be known. To build the kind of everyday relationships that make people feel like they belong, and in doing so, create a business that does too.
Belonging isn’t something you claim. It’s something people feel when you show up often enough that they start to count on you.