A recent survey from Socotra showed 99% of insurance agents are looking for ways to stand out amongst the competition, and many of them believe relationships are the key to achieving this – even more important than who has the best rates. The top ways producers said they differentiate themselves from their direct competition included: |

• Their advice/ consultative approach (37%)
• Their relationships with customers (34%)
• Better rates (27%)
• Quality and fast service (26%)
• Better coverage (25%)
• Offering a large variety of insurance products (23%)

"100% of the agents and brokers surveyed said it was important to be able to quote, bind, and deliver policies online. This was remarkably consistent. Our survey respondents also prioritized paying premiums and filing claims online, suggesting these features are now necessary for carriers expecting to attract and retain the best producers," Dan Woods, Socotra's founder and CEO, said in a release. Technology also plays a large part in how agents select carriers, and the top digital tools agents said were essential for a carrier to gain their interest included a user-friendly agent portal (54%), a self-service customer portal (50%), digital claims processing (42%) and online quoting and binding capabilities (22%). In the slideshow above, we'll look at the top attributes agents and brokers look for when selecting carriers according to the Socotra survey.

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