Survey: Revenue Up, Independent Agents Seeking New Carriers

Independent insurance agents continue to grow and want to grow more with the help of new carrier appointments.

This is one of the initial findings of a new national survey of agents conducted by Channel Harvest Research and sponsored by Insurance Journal. The study, “The Carrier Relationship: What Matters Most to Agents & Brokers,” is the ninth in an annual series examining agents’ views on property/casualty insurers and various marketplace issues.

Revenue Is Up

2015 was a good year for independent agents: Two-thirds report their firm’s revenue was higher in 2015 than it was in 2014. In fact, 44 percent of agents — better than two in five — say revenue increased by 5 percent or more.

Another 16 percent say their agency’s revenue was about the same in 2015, and just 12 percent report a decrease in agency revenue.

New Carriers Wanted

Agents want to build on their 2015 growth by adding new carriers.

Most agents who work in personal lines say they are interested in adding new carriers. Thirty-seven percent are “very interested” and 40 percent are “somewhat interested.” Altogether, more than three in four personal lines agents are interested in adding new personal lines carriers over the coming year. Just 23 percent say they are not interested (9 percent “somewhat uninterested” plus 14 percent “very uninterested”).

Similarly, most agents who work in commercial lines want to add new carriers: 37 percent say they are “very interested,” and 41 percent say they are “somewhat interested,” for a total of 78 percent — again, three in four — who are interested in adding new companies. Just 22 percent of agents say they are not interested in adding new commercial lines carriers (11 percent “somewhat uninterested” plus 11 percent “not at all interested”).

To date, more than 1,500 independent agents have taken the survey.

The full Channel Harvest report, due out in late April, will explore how carriers can capitalize on agents’ interest in adding new companies. It also will report agents’ ratings and rankings of the carriers with which they presently do business, and examine views on a variety of issues.

For a copy of the full report, contact John Campbell at john@channelharvest.com.