Survey Examines Agents’ Views of Agency Aggregators

About a quarter of independent insurance agents say they work at a firm that belongs to an aggregator cluster. But very few whose agencies don’t already belong to an aggregator want their firms to join one, a fact challenging the trend of the recent, rapid growth in overall aggregator membership.

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 responded to the survey, which was sponsored by Insurance Journal.

Aggregator Value Added for Agents

Twenty-six percent of agents work for an agency that belongs to an aggregator or cluster. Those organizations range in size from having fewer than 10 agency members to having more than 100.

Agents are impressed by what they get from their aggregator membership: Most respondents whose agencies belong to an aggregator think their group provides “some” (38 percent) or “a lot” (50 percent) of added value. Just 11 percent say their aggregator provides either “not very much” (8 percent) or no added value at all (3 percent).

It’s no surprise, then, that fully 88 percent of agents whose firms belong to an aggregator say they are unlikely to leave their organization in the next year, and 72 percent are “very unlikely.” Only 12 percent are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to leave.

Unlikely to Join?

Seventy-four percent of agents work at firms that do not belong to an aggregator. And very few (7 percent) of those agents say they are likely to join such an organization in the next year.

Fully 94 percent of agents whose firms do not belong to an aggregator are unlikely to join one in the near future (45 percent “somewhat unlikely;” 49 percent “very unlikely”).

Thus, has the growth of aggregators peaked?

The full Channel Harvest report looks at what services and products independent agents want for their businesses, including niche marketing help, communications, annual planning process, and various other support areas.

Aggregators that can satisfy these wants still may be able to grow in the increasingly saturated marketplace.