Agents Win in Commercial Lines

Independent agents once again show they continue to command the commercial insurance market.

The independent agency channel placed 62% of all property/casualty insurance written in the U.S., according to the recently released Big “I” 2022 Market Share Report, which compiles and analyzes property and casualty premium data from AM Best and provides insights for agencies and carriers on current market shares by distribution types.

While independent agencies are the clear leaders in commercial lines, there is plenty of opportunity for growth within the personal lines sector. The report revealed that independent agencies place just 37% of all personal lines premium in the nation.

The other property/casualty insurance distributors pale in comparison to independent agencies: exclusive captives represent just 21% of the total P/C premium while direct channels represent 16%. Other distribution accounts for 1.% of the market.

“The demise of the independent agency channel has been predicted by various sources for many years, but the Market Share Report affirms the reality that independent agents have and continue to place the majority of all P&C business,” says Chris Boggs, Big “I” vice president of agent development, education and research. “In particular, independent agents continue to prove their dominance in commercial lines.”

Of the $765 billion in total premium written in the U.S., personal lines accounted for about 50% of the total premiums, just over 38% comes from commercial lines, and the remaining 12% is “unclassified” coverage that cannot be easily categorized as either personal or commercial lines. Independent agents place approximately 85% of this “unclassified” business.

Within the top 10 lines written by independent agents, workers’ compensation was the only line that did not see at least some growth in the percentage written by the independent agency channel over the five years ending in 2021. All other lines saw the percentage written by independent agents remain steady or grow.