In 2017, NU forged an alliance with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) and Flaspöhler | NMG to conduct the inaugural Independent Agent Study — a research project designed to annually take the pulse of independent Property & Casualty insurance agents throughout the U.S. and provide revealing insight into the demographics, books of business and challenges they face, and reveal their most highly rated carrier partners.
Today, independent agents weigh in on whether they plan to remain doing business with the carriers they now use; whether they should keep some and delete others; bring additional carriers into the mix; or consolidate their book aming fewer carriers. (See the accompanying chart for a look at their responses.)
Interestingly, nearly 1 in 10 respondents said they planned to consolidate their business among fewer carriers, while about 1 in 4 said they wished to keep the same number of carriers, but add some and delete others. Less than half said they planned to keep the carriers they now use.
This could be due to a variety of factors, not the least of which is that many independent agents say they no longer have the same type of personal working relationships they previously enjoyed with their carrier partners.
Flaspöhler has long conducted its own larger annual study of agents (the Flaspöhler | NMG Producer Study) on behalf of key P&C carriers, which use the results to help them best meet agent needs. The data included in the study featured in NU and on PropertyCasualty360.com this month are extracted from Flaspöhler's larger research study (upward of 300 pages), which the firm makes available to rated P&C commercial lines carriers. (Contact [email protected] for more information.)
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Shawn Moynihan
Shawn Moynihan is Editor-in-Chief of National Underwriter Property & Casualty. A St. John’s University alum, Moynihan has earned 11 Jesse H. Neal Awards, the Pulitzers of the business press; seven Azbee Awards, from the American Society of Business Press Editors; two Folio Awards; and a SABEW award, from the Society of American Business Editors & Writers. Prior to joining ALM, he served as Managing Editor/Online Editor of journalism institution Editor & Publisher, the trade bible of the newspaper industry. Moynihan also has held editorial positions with AOL, Metro New York, and Newhouse Newspapers. He can be reached at [email protected].
