In 2017, NU forged an alliance with the National Association ofProfessional Insurance Agents (PIA) and Flaspöhler |NMG to conduct the inaugural Independent Agent Study — aresearch project designed to annually take the pulse of independentProperty & Casualty insurance agents throughout the U.S. andprovide revealing insight into the demographics, books of businessand challenges they face, and reveal their most highly ratedcarrier partners.

Today, independent agents weigh in on whether they plan toremain doing business with the carriers they now use; whether theyshould keep some and delete others; bring additional carriers intothe mix; or consolidate their book aming fewer carriers. (See theaccompanying chart for a look at their responses.)

Interestingly, nearly 1 in 10 respondents said they planned toconsolidate their business among fewer carriers, while about 1 in 4said they wished to keep the same number of carriers, but add someand delete others. Less than half said they planned to keep thecarriers they now use.

This could be due to a variety of factors, not the least ofwhich is that many independent agents say they no longer have thesame type of personal working relationships they previously enjoyedwith their carrier partners.

Flaspöhler has long conducted its own larger annual study ofagents (the Flaspöhler | NMG Producer Study) on behalf of keyP&C carriers, which use the results to help them best meetagent needs. The data included in the study featured in NU and onPropertyCasualty360.com this month are extracted from Flaspöhler'slarger research study (upward of 300 pages), which the firm makesavailable to rated P&C commercial lines carriers. (Contact[email protected] for moreinformation.)

Stay tuned to PropertyCasualty360.com throughout the month as weshare the findings of this in-depth study of America's independentagents.