Future success for independent agents depends in part on them continuing to fight for their share of the private-passenger auto-insurance market, and to do so, they cannot continue to cede domination of the Internet and mobile communication to direct writers, a new report says.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) released its “2013 Market Share Study,” which analyzes 2011 year-end industry market-share and company-expense data from A.M. Best. While IIABA reports mostly good news for the industry and independent agents — property and casualty premiums grew in 2011 across all lines, with national and regional independent-agency carriers seeing 3.1 percent and 4.8 percent premium growth respectively — the association highlights continued challenges for independent agents in the personal-auto space.

In 2011, IIABA says, direct writers' market share in personal auto crossed the 17 percent mark. “One in every six dollars in personal-auto premiums generated was through the direct-response channel in 2011,” IIABA says.