Despite challenges with technology, customer expectations and staffing, working as an insurance agent continues to be financially rewarding, according to the 2024 Independent Insurance Agent Survey.
More than a third of respondents (31%) reported that agency earnings grew by more than 10% in the last year, and just under a third (28%) reported earnings growth of between 6% and 10%.
Just under 12% of respondents reported some degree of agency losses over the past year.
Consider these first-person responses from survey respondents:
"[This is the] greatest business in the world! Learning about all different types of business and being able to help people appropriately protect their exposures via the professional advice that we provide is extremely satisfying."
"I enjoy the combination of responsibility and flexibility the insurance industry gives to me personally. In addition, the income potential is hard to match in other industries."
"I love this business. While there always new struggles, it's been very good to me."
Each year since 2017, PropertyCasualty360.com has teamed up with the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA National) to explore the business challenges of today's insurance producers. This year's survey opened on Feb. 1, 2024, and closed on Feb. 23, 2024. It generated about 550 responses. A sampling of survey questions also went out via LinkedIn.
Four themes bookmarked this year's survey: demographics, business challenges, finances and technology. The graphics above illustrate how respondents are managing financially.
Besides earnings growth, this year's survey responses indicated that overall agency production also experienced year-over-year growth. In 2024, 29.0% of respondents reported that over the past 12 months, their overall insurance production increased by more than 10%. Around 25% of respondents in 2023 reported a greater than 10% increase.
However, not every survey respondent is flourishing, and some are clearly struggling.
"I started my insurance carrier due to the pandemic," one wrote. "I left that captive in 2023 and now work as an independent. I'm also working 2-3 part time jobs to pay the bills during this hard market… Pretty stressful."
For many, differentiation from the competition is key to staying afloat. This goes back to the one truism of independent insurance agencies: They are in a people business built by relationships. Nine out of 10 respondents said they outpace the competition through strong customer relationships. Others said that service (81.9%), expertise (73.0%), and advice (67.3%) keep their customers coming back.
"I get to help people in their time of need," one respondent reflected. "This is a noble profession!"
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