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.

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. Flaspöhler distributes the expanded questionnaire toNU's proprietary lists of independent agents nationwide aswell as PIA's national membership (in return for the exclusiveright to publish highlights of the findings), resulting in the mostreliable and scientifically sound sample available.

Among the insights gleaned this year: The exodus of talent onthe agency side remains concerning. Forty-five percent ofour independent-agent study respondents, most of them principals orowners, said they planned to retire in the next nine years.