Declaration of Independents: Scott Gray

• By: Will Jones
• April 1, 2026

Scott Gray

Owner

SouthGroup Insurance Services

Meridian, Mississippi

Last year, Scott Gray was honored with the Barney Burns award at the 2025 Big “I” Legislative Conference for his dedication, passion and leadership in government advocacy for the independent insurance agency system.

“Anytime you’re recognized for your work and your effort, it’s humbling,” he says. “I was speechless… and I’m not a speechless kind of guy.”

Looking ahead to the 2026 Big “I” Legislative Conference, to take place April 22-24, Gray is eager to join hundreds of other Big “I” members to talk to legislators with a unified voice.

Advocacy in action?

The 199A 20% pass-through tax deduction. It was enacted during Trump’s first administration and made permanent last year. About 95% of agency owners saw a direct benefit, often in the range of $25,000 to $30,000 per year, from that single provision. The Big “I” was instrumental in securing that outcome.

Message on flood insurance?

There needs to be a long-term fix. As long as any federally supported insurance product is tied to legislation that requires periodic reauthorization, it’s always at risk. Every time the government shuts down, we lose the ability to write that flood insurance. That uncertainty hurts consumers and the market.

What do you enjoy most about meeting With Legislators?

I’ve been going for almost 20 years. At first, I went alongside people from other industries, just to observe, participate and understand how the process works. When you come back home, you can speak with real knowledge. You were there. You saw it. You were part of it.

Most urgent issues at this year’s conference?

Every state has challenges with legal system abuse, but we’ve been extremely fortunate in Mississippi. We went through tort reform battles years ago, and that has done wonders for our business community and for the ability to predict, actuarially, how to quote insurance in the commercial world.

Preserving state regulation of insurance?

In a free-market environment, when legislators think they can solve a problem by demanding that something happen, companies that don’t want to operate under those demands can simply leave.  And when that happens, fewer options exist, prices increase and conditions get worse.

Maintaining a free market and a healthy government environment that supports fair competition has been very beneficial in Mississippi. We’ve been able to avert some of the problems other states are facing. Our insurance commissioner, who is elected, has allowed companies to make the changes needed to stabilize the market. That gives customers a little more skin in the game when it comes to things like roofs and wind and hail deductibles.

Why is advocacy important?

It takes time and you have to stay diligent and stay at the table year after year. We’ve been talking about flood insurance for the entire 20 years I’ve been coming to Washington. It may seem monotonous, but during that 20 years there have literally been 1,000 new congressmen. If we don’t stay engaged, lawmakers who often don’t have insurance backgrounds won’t have the expertise they need. That’s where we come in.

How does advocacy show up in an agency’s day-to-day?

In the previous administration, new labor and financial rules were introduced that would have required small businesses to report extensive employee data and comply with a range of new mandates. Through advocacy, we were able to get independent agents removed from that requirement. That alone would have added 12 to 15 hours of compliance work. And if you had to involve your accountant, that meant another 10 to 15 billable hours. The Big “I” led the charge to exempt insurance agencies from that reporting requirement.

How did it feel to receive the Barney Burns award?

I was completely humbled. I would have been humbled if my state had recognized me. I would have been humbled if my family had recognized me. Anytime you’re acknowledged for your work and effort, it’s incredibly gratifying and humbling.

I was almost speechless, which you can tell is not something that happens to me very often. I got emotional and did my best to keep it together. Fortunately, I didn’t have to say anything. I just waved and went back to my seat. But it was incredibly moving.

Why do you do it?

I don’t do this for recognition. I do it for agents everywhere, for agents in my state, and for my community. I’ve coached nine years of high school soccer and two years of girls’ high school volleyball, all for zero pay, simply because I like to give back. I’m also a scoutmaster. All of it comes from the same place: a desire to give back.

There were people in my life who helped make my life better, and I believe it’s my duty to pass that along. One of the things we need more of in this country is a sense of civic responsibility. We need to vote, and we need to educate ourselves about what we’re voting for and who we’re voting for. That’s part of the obligation of being a citizen.

How can agencies get involved with political advocacy?

The first and easiest way to get involved, if you can’t commit time, is to give. Your InsurPAC dollars come back to you many times over, in some cases 10-fold. There are more battles ahead. Third-party litigation funding is a major issue. We’ve already been outmaneuvered once by plaintiffs’ attorneys. If we lose this next battle, we’ll continue to see shrinking limits on umbrella and excess liability coverage. It will only get worse because nobody wants to get burned by a mega lawsuit.

Will Jones is IA editor-in-chief.