Possibly the fallout of the hardening insurance market, insurance agents are less satisfied working with commercial lines carriers than they were two years ago, a survey finds.
The Independent Agents & Brokers of Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania released the results of its bi-annual company satisfaction survey–finding 68 percent of the 457 agents surveyed say their satisfaction with carriers has declined.
This is an 8 point increase over the 2010 results, and the second consecutive time the majority of agents expressed unhappiness with the carriers they work with. Thirty-two percent say their satisfaction has improved since 2010.
“We can surmise that the firming market impacted the agency-carrier relationship over the past several years,” says IA&B President and CEO Rick Russell. “Market shifts affect carriers' appetites, which may put the pressure on agencies, and may account for their lowered satisfaction.”
IA&B says the smallest regional carriers (carriers operating in 1-10 states with less than $100 million in direct premium written) scored the highest satisfaction ratings. Regional carriers with more than $100 million in direct premiums written operating in 1-10 states received the lowest score.
Of the four categories of carrier relationships the survey covered—policy service and claims scored the highest, while technology garnered the least satisfaction.
Respondents rated 84 carriers, but only 39 commercial lines carriers received 15 or more completed surveys and were included in the final results.
The top insurer MMG Insurance with an overall average satisfaction score of 3.615 on a scale of 1-4. At the bottom was State Workers Insurance Fund with a score of 1.961.
Participation in the 2013 Company Satisfaction Index Survey increased 63 percent over the number of commercial lines surveys returned in 2010. IA&B has conducted this bi-annual survey since 2004.
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