Roy adds that agents need to take some initiative and begin working to regain a generation of buyers who prefer doing business online with a few clicks of the mouse that can secure a policy and produce an insurance card within 30 minutes. The challenge, he points out, is to develop a simplified technology system that agents and carriers want and that attracts the younger generation to buying insurance through independent agents.

He says one problem is that the industry is trying to drive a solution “to a generation you have not gotten yet.”

The advantage independent agents have on the commercial side of the business is that clients have bought into the value independent agents bring to the transaction as risk managers and trusted advisors.

The same can't be said on the personal-lines side, where individuals can easily go online and manage their account from purchase, to payment, to changing information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Jeff Yates, CEO of the Agents Council for Technology and moderator of the session titled “Online Service Not Just For Customers: How Agents Put It To Use,” says that the only way agents will be able to overcome this challenge is by understanding the technology advantages of their competition and demanding insurers offer the same.

Besides offering an application online to secure an insurance policy, the technology needs to include bill paying, claims reporting and the ability to update information, Yates says, adding that agents need to go to their carriers and say, “We want you to do this.”