Enhancing agent relationships is key to carriers’ revenue growth

What can insurance carriers do to enhance their relationships with independent agents? (Photo: denisismagilov/Adobe Stock)

Independent agents (IAs) continue to drive direct-to-consumer insurance sales, especially for commercial lines. A 2020 report noted that IA companies wrote nearly 85% of all commercial line premiums. Carriers that up their value proposition to IAs by providing them market information and modern technological tools are best positioned to tap into this growing revenue stream.

Consumers are not just demanding but are expecting the efficiency and ease of online shopping. Knowing there is a human behind that online experience matters when buying insurance, particularly in the world of small-midsize commercial lines. However, online customer experience and efficiencies often fall on the shoulders of independent agencies that make a very small amount of commission on these policies. They seldom have the luxury of time and an IT department to develop solutions that allow them to scale their operations appropriately to be profitable in this low-margin segment of the industry.