The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey (PIANJ) elected Aaron Levine, CIC, as president at its annual business meeting June 7 to 9 in Atlantic City. Levine is a member agent for LG Insurance Agency in West Long Branch, N.J.
Levine has held successive leadership positions within PIANJ since 2022. He served as secretary, treasurer, vice president, and president-elect before taking the top role. He also serves as co-chairperson of the PIA Northeast Regional Carrier Program.
The association elected a full slate of officers at the same meeting. Lisa Hamm, CIC, CPA, president and owner of Clyde Paul Agency in Summit, N.J., was elected vice president alongside Michael Beckerman, CPCU, a client advisor for Acrisure East Division in Iselin, N.J.
Christopher Powell, a partner at Hardenbergh Insurance Group in Marlton, N.J., was elected treasurer. Casey Yarger, CIC, CRM, a producer for Robert P. Petri & Daughter Agency in Milltown, N.J., was elected secretary. Roger Butler, CIC, steps into the role of immediate past president.
The new leadership takes office as the broader independent agent sector faces mounting pressure. PIA National CEO Mike Skiados has identified technology adoption and talent shortages as the top challenges for state affiliates and their members.
At the same conference, PIANJ awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously to Michael DeStasio Jr. DeStasio died April 2, 2026, after more than a year-long illness. The award recognizes individuals with a sustained record of service and leadership to the association and to insurance consumers.
DeStasio served on every PIANJ committee during his career. He was a past president of the New Jersey Young Insurance Professionals and represented PIANJ as vice chairperson of the New Jersey Automobile Insurance Plan Governing Committee.
He also was a member of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association, the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, and the Inland Marine Underwriters Association.
Outgoing president Roger Butler, CIC, spoke to DeStasio’s standing in the profession.
“Mike was a model for professional, independent agents for decades,” Butler said, adding that DeStasio “was a person who was respected and renowned among his peers.”
The incoming PIANJ president also faces a direct state-level challenge. A proposed New Jersey Department of Labor rule would apply the ABC test to determine whether agents qualify as independent contractors. The life insurance sector has argued the rule would disrupt agent operations and limit consumer choice.
At the federal level, PIA National urged Senate leaders to reject a provision in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would have imposed a 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulation. The association argued the measure threatened the state-based oversight model that has governed insurance for decades.
