Contributed
Jerald L. Tillman, an independent agency owner and founder of the National African American Insurance Association, is the 2025 Alonzo Herndon Award winner.
The award recognizes a person dedicated to supporting diversity and inclusion efforts in the insurance industry.
Board members of BI’s ALL INsurance platform select the winner from nominations received from people and organizations across the insurance sector.
Tillman owns JL Tillman Insurance Agency, a multiline agency in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.
He began his career as a sales representative for Aetna Life & Casualty in 1974, after graduating from Miami University of Ohio, and founded his agency three years later.
Tillman has been involved in professional insurance and African American insurance associations throughout his career.
In 1997 he founded the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA) with the goal of providing a platform for Black insurance professionals to connect, learn and develop their careers. The organization now has 2,500 members and 24 chapters across the United States.
The award is named in honor of Alonzo Herndon, a visionary businessman who, more than 100 years ago, founded what would become the Atlanta Life Insurance Co., one of the United States’ largest and most successful Black-owned businesses.
Herndon was born into slavery in 1858 and worked as a laborer from a young age. With almost no schooling and no money, his perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit drove him to great success, opening service businesses in Atlanta that were joined to form a landmark company. Today, the Alonzo Herndon Foundation honors his legacy and supports programs and policies in keeping with his vision.
The award will be presented to Tillman at the Business Insurance ALL Insurance Conference on Oct. 1 in Chicago.