When our industry changes, our relationships matter more than ever.

Last week’s news that Health Net will exit the California commercial market is a major development for our industry, and for many of us it is also personal.

Over the years, Health Net representatives have been familiar faces at CAHIP NorCal membership meetings, educational programs and social events. They have answered our questions, helped us solve problems for clients, sponsored our programs, shared their expertise and in many cases become our friends.

Our thoughts are especially with our Health Net colleagues as they navigate the uncertainty and disruption that this decision may create for them and their families.

For brokers, the months ahead will bring a different kind of challenge. Every affected Health Net group will need guidance through a transition to new coverage. That means reviewing alternatives, educating employers and employees, preparing proposals, managing enrollments and helping clients make consequential decisions, all while continuing to serve the rest of our books of business.

It will be a tremendous amount of work.

It will also reshape the California benefits marketplace. Carriers and general agencies will be competing for substantial new business, and brokers will be deciding where to place thousands of affected groups.

As those decisions are made, we encourage our members to remember the industry partners who invest in our professional community, support CAHIP NorCal, participate in our programs and show up for brokers throughout the year. Client needs must always come first, but relationships, accessibility, service and a demonstrated commitment to the broker community matter too.

And this is exactly why being together in person still matters.

A carrier representative you met at a CAHIP NorCal event may soon be the person helping you solve a difficult transition. A general agency colleague you talked with over breakfast may become an important resource during an unexpectedly busy renewal season. A broker you met at a membership social may have experience with a product or situation you are confronting for the first time.

Those conversations cannot always be replicated by an email, webinar or website.

Over the coming months, lean on the relationships you have built through CAHIP NorCal, and keep building new ones. Attend the meetings. Talk with the carriers and general agencies. Introduce yourself to someone you don’t already know. Ask questions. Share what you are learning. Help a colleague when you can.

Our marketplace is changing, but none of us has to navigate that change alone.

CAHIP NorCal will continue bringing together brokers, carriers, general agencies and benefits professionals so that our members have the relationships, information and professional community they need to serve their clients through this transition and whatever comes next.

This is what an association is for.

If you’re not yet a member, or your membership has lapsed: there’s rarely been a clearer moment to join. Join or renew today. Right now, strength in numbers is the difference between an industry that reacts to disruption and one that shapes what comes after it.