Key findings include:

• Program business premiums increased 10.8 from 2011's $24.7 billion, an almost threefold increase over the growth in direct premiums for commercial lines, which increased by only 3.3 percent.
• Carriers and program administrators report an estimated 2,075 individual programs–an increase of 3.5 percent from the 2,000 individual programs estimated for 2011.
• The number of confirmed organizations in the U.S. that meet the definition of program administrator remained relatively unchanged, from 950 in the 2012 survey to 1,000 for this year's survey.
• As in previous years, program administrators are optimistic about growth, in spite of a generally challenging market place. They are also optimistic that this growth will continue in the future.

However, respondents reported that in spite of the robustness of the program market, challenges exist. For administrators, issues revolve around carrier partners, with the top concern being the lack of patience and long-term commitment by carriers, especially in working to develop new programs and carriers' unwillingness to consider smaller programs.

For their part, carrier respondents named the soft market, technology and underwriting skill and discipline as their top challenges in the program space. Both segments agreed that technology is a key challenge, with some players finding it difficult to keep up with and leverage technology.

For more information, go to the TMPAA website at http://targetmkts.com/.