Countrywide, 84 percent of respondents said they use the Yellow Pages advertising; 49 percent said they place print advertisements in newspapers and/or magazines; and about a quarter of respondents said they use direct mail and/or radio ads.

Print advertising is far more popular in the Northeastern states, where 59 percent of respondents said they use it, compared to the Western states, where it is used by only 32 percent.

Agents in Western states, however, lead the country in embracing the Internet as an advertising tool. Thirty-two percent of respondents from Western states said they advertise on the Internet?nationwide, only 22 percent of respondents said they do so.

Overall, the agents said they are confident their advertising dollars are well spent.

Countrywide, 91 percent of respondents said that advertising has helped their agency grow. Last year a quarter of the respondents credited advertising for more than 25 percent of their agency's growth. Another 43 percent of respondents said advertising was responsible for over 10 percent of their agency's growth.

The survey asked agents if they receive consumer referrals from the companies they represent, and about 60 percent said they do.

Agents in the Mid-Atlantic and Western states seem more likely to have access to referrals?about 70 percent said they get referrals?than agents from the Great Plains, Northeast, Midwest, and Gulf regions, where only 60 percent or fewer respondents said they receive referrals.

Progressive said its "ProLeads" referral program, introduced nationwide in May 2001, helped its independent agent force sell more than 45,000 policies.

"It's important for agents to effectively advertise that uniqueness to their community," said Bob Williams, Progressive's agent group president. "As captive writers move their focus away from property-casualty insurance and struggle in a hardening market, independent agents' opportunity for growth is tremendous."