New Survey Identifies Opportunities for Carrier-Agent Marketing

Most independent insurance agents are interested in adding new carriers to those they place business with — but very few independent agents are interested in adding new products to the selection of products and services that they offer customers.

This is one of the findings of a recent national survey of independent insurance agents conducted by Channel Harvest Research. The study, “Key Success Factors in Agent/Carrier Relationships,” is the eighth in a series examining agents’ views on property/casualty carriers and various marketplace issues. More than 2,200 agents provided their responses for the survey, which was sponsored by Insurance Journal.

Agencies Want to Grow

Last year was a good year for independent agents: Fully 51 percent of agents report that their agencies’ revenue grew by 5 percent or more in 2014, and another 19 percent saw an increase of less than 5 percent. Just 7 percent of agents report a decrease in agency revenue.

Agencies also grew in terms of the carriers with which they place business. About half (48 percent) of agents reported that their firms added new carriers in 2014. Most agents hope to follow up this growth by adding even more new carriers in 2015: Nearly three-in-10 are “very interested,” and 42 percent “somewhat interested,” in adding new carriers. Only 29 percent of agents are “somewhat interested” or “very uninterested” in working with new carriers.

The full Channel Harvest report identifies which subgroups of agents are more or less interested than agents as a whole in adding new carriers. These subgroups are good targets/lesser opportunities for carrier-to-agent marketing because they are more or less likely than their independent agent colleagues to bring on new carriers.