Today's independent insurance agents are overcoming challenges to serve clients and grow their businesses. (Adobe Stock)
More than half of respondents to the NU/PIA 2023 Independent Insurance Agent Survey said their ability to deliver insurance products digitally is extremely or very important to their success. This is up from 48.5% in the 2022 Agent Survey.
The Independent Insurance Agent Survey is conducted by NU Property & Casualty magazine, PropertyCasualty360.com and ALM Intelligence in partnership with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. The Seventh Annual Independent Insurance Agent Survey was produced by NU Property & Casualty and the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA). It was fielded between November 2022 and January 2023. Nearly 750 respondents contributed to the survey.
Among the many insights that this research revealed: Technology challenges persist, and many of them will not be surprising to industry insiders. More than 46% of respondents said that keeping adequate records across multiple communication channels, and 45.2% cited lack of integration between website and agency management systems as a challenges.
It also appears that agencies are torn about the importance of having an app for customers. Overall, 45.6% say an app is moderately important, 34.3% say it's not important at all, and 20% swear by their apps, saying they're very important. Meanwhile, digital security is top of mind for today's insurance businesses. More than 62% of respondents reported that data security and compliance are chief concerns for their clients.
Business and coverage risks
Professional independent insurance agents generally said they did very well in 2022 and are optimistic about their prospects for 2023, according to the NU/PIA Independent Insurance Agent Survey. At the same time, agents are aware of their ongoing challenges as well as their strengths. Among the biggest coverage concerns: Flood risk. Seven out of 10 respondents said this is the biggest gap in their clients' insurance programs.
Ted Besesparis (tbesesparis@pianational.org) is senior vice president of communications for the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. Executive Editor Elana Ashanti Jefferson (ejefferson@alm.com) manages NU Property & Casualty magazine.
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