WOODBRIDGE, N.J.—To grow and improve revenue, producers cannot depend on renewals and price changes in the insurance marketplace, but rather must proactively recruit the best sales force and pursue business, the president of agency-consulting firm Marsh, Berry & Co. Inc. says.
John M. Wepler, speaking before the American Association of Managing General Agents here, says typically a hard market will last two-to-three years, followed by prolonged soft-market conditions. While rate increases today are gradually taking root, Wepler says, “This industry has done nothing to drive predictable organic growth.”
The question for an agent, he says: Will he or she be a shepherd or a producer? The shepherd rests on the strength of renewals and makes no effort to expand the book, he explains, while a producer has a strategy for growth, hiring agents and growing outside of the hard-market cycle.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
