6 Ways the 2024 hard market impacts insurance agency staff

Slideshow July 05, 2024 at 07:00 AM

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Insurance professionals in 2024 embrace their calling to assist insureds during difficult times and are enthusiastic about forging a place in their communities despite mounting business pressures, according to Vertafore's 2024 Insurance Agency Workforce Report. "Vertafore works with about 15,000 independent agencies, so we've got a good pulse on what's happening in the industry," Alison Betts, the company's senior director of marketing communications said in a recent interview with PropertyCasualty360. "We're interested in how we can empower their success." Vertafore examines the state of insurance agencies annually in order to find out the bright spots and pain points behind the business. "It's also an opportunity to showcase the great work that independent agents are doing" and examine year-over-year trends, Betts said. The report's findings were compiled from the responses from nearly 2,000 insurance-agency professionals. It breaks down how producers, owners, account managers and customer service representatives are experiencing the hard market, technology's role in their work, and hiring and retention trends. Respondents also shared how they got into insurance, how they feel about their work and what the industry can do to attract new talent. The report reveals that while many insurance agency staffers find meaning and purpose in their work, fewer of them are likely to recommend insurance as a career than in the past. "People are feeling really invested in the work that they're doing," Betts said. "At the same time… they are feeling an additional level of stress because their job has gotten harder." The slideshow above illustrates a half-dozen ways the current hard insurance market — in which prices are up and coverage options are tight — directly impacts insurance agencies, according to Vertafore. "The industry is shifting, and there are things that agencies can do to get ahead," Betts concluded. But "our biggest takeaway is that we have really passionate people in this industry." Related: