While the majority of producers appear to be basically satisfiedwith many key aspects of their dealings with carriers, there isstill plenty of room for improvement–particularly when it comes togiving agents and brokers meaningful input on insurance companyactivities, as well as better compensation and tech support, a newsurvey conducted exclusively by Deloitte for National Underwriterreveals.

The Producer Satisfaction Survey of 1,596 qualified agents andbrokers by Deloitte's Insurance Industry Group–conducted inpartnership with National Underwriter–explored “nine experienceattributes that could impact a producer's decision to increasebusiness or sign on with property and casualty carriers,” Deloittenoted.

The survey identified a trio of “core” attributes characterizedas “very important” by over 60 percent of producerssurveyed–products and coverage (71.5 percent), claims handling(62.9 percent), and policy pricing (62.5 percent).

There were also a series of “differentiating” attributes rankedas very important by between 40 percent and 60 percent ofproducers–those being financial strength (57.1 percent), overallrelationship/business support (55.1 percent), and technology toease work flow (47.5 percent).

Deloitte explained that while “core” attributes are necessaryfor a producer to even consider doing business with a particularcarrier, “differentiating' attributes provide opportunities toestablish longer-term, competitive advantage.”

“Understanding what is important to producers, and then meetingor exceeding these expectations, is a key to carrier growth overthe long term,” said Rebecca Amoroso, Deloitte's U.S. insuranceleader.

Then there were what Deloitte called “ancillary” factors, whichless than 40 percent of producers felt to be veryimportant–compensation, in terms of fees and commissions (34.5percent), carrier brand/reputation (29.1 percent), and theavailability of risk or loss control services (20.9percent).

Among the “core” attributes, the survey found that the mostimportant features are:

o Competitive pricing, timely delivery of policies and ease ofcustomization (for products and coverage).

o Paying claims promptly, adjusting claims fairly and timelynotification of a customer-filed claim (for claims handling).

Among the attributes that “differentiated” carriers, the mostimportant features are:

o Customer retention, personal interaction with carriers andhaving a dedicated underwriter (for overall relationship/businesssupport).

o Technology providing automated underwriting for small personalor commercial accounts, real-time processing and download of keycustomer information to agency management systems. (Deloitte notedthat “surprisingly, only a small percentage of producers foundsocial networking technology important, despite its growing useamong consumers.”)

Overall, the good news, according to Deloitte, is that “as apercentage of the overall sample, the number of producers who saidthey are either satisfied or very satisfied with attributes theyfind important/very important is high. This indicates that carriersare generally doing a good job delivering value on those attributesthat matter to producers.”

Indeed, “80 percent or more of producers indicated they areeither satisfied or very satisfied with six of the nineattributes,” Deloitte reported–those being financial strength,products and coverage, overall relationship/business support,brand/reputation, policy pricing and claims handling.

However, Deloitte noted, “although the majority of producersindicate high satisfaction levels with many aspects of theirrelationships with carriers, a closer look shows that there arestill many opportunities for carriers to drive strongerrelationships with producers.”

One of the biggest problems identified by the survey is that“carriers do not routinely seek input from producers into keybusiness activities,” such as marketing initiatives, productdevelopment, technology, claims and integration of distributionchannels, Deloitte found.

“Qualitative evidence suggests that producers would likecarriers to view them as partners and to jointly develop businessstrategies,” Deloitte observed, while warning that “truepartnership would require greater consistency and commitment fromcarriers.”

Proactive carriers could seize a competitive edge, according toDeloitte, based on another survey result indicating that “the morefrequently carriers seek input from producers, the more satisfiedproducers are.”

For example, of those who said that carriers often ask for theirinput into marketing activities, 36 percent said they were verysatisfied with the overall relationship and support they receivedfrom their insurers, compared to only 11 percent for those who saidthey were never asked for input–a 25-percentage point lift.

Indeed, Deloitte suggested,“carriers can leverage this insight to drive greater satisfactionlevels and build true partnerships in the future.”

The survey also found that 12 percent of producers are eitherdissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their compensation. Indeed,only 9.9 percent said they are very satisfied with what carriersare paying these days.

Insurers might also boost producer satisfaction with better techsupport, as only 13 percent said they were very satisfied withcurrent carrier technology.

There is opportunity for improvement and competitive advantageeven in the many areas where producers indicated they arerelatively happy with their carriers' performance, the surveyfound.

While 80 percent or more of producers surveyed are at least“satisfied” with many of the key points of distinction amongcarriers, the numbers shrink dramatically when you break out thosewho are “very satisfied,” leaving a gap that could be exploited bya superior performer.

For example, in these economically challenging times, the surveyfound that only one-third of producers are very satisfied withtheir carriers' financial strength.

Only one-quarter of producers are very satisfied with theircarriers' products and coverage, along with about one-fifth onclaims handling and brand/reputation. Only one-fifth are verysatisfied with their overall relationship with carriers.

Only 16.3 percent said they are very satisfied with the pricesthey are getting for policies–which, in a relatively soft marketlike this, might explain why less than 10 percent are verysatisfied with the commission-based compensation they're earning onpolicy sales.