“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” — Albert Einstein (Image credit: Walija/Adobe Stock)

We are neck high in the holiday season now: Decorations hung; gift lists readied (and maybe even slayed!); and calendars overflowing with parties, pageants, parades, recitals and “Ugly Sweater” contests.

Even folks who reject the commercialism or non-secularity of the winter holidays can appreciate how things begin to slow down as December shrinks, giving way to time devoted to family and friends, and the rest and renewal ushered in with the New Year.

In insurance and elsewhere around the business world, the holidays are a time to reflect on the year’s success, celebrate cherished clients, colleagues and partners, and strategize around goals for the year to come.

This is where findings from the 2025 edition of PropertyCasualty360’s Independent Insurance Agent Survey are especially prudent to insurance professionals. Whether an agency is looking for fresh ways to tackle personnel challenges; struggling with digitization, AI and data management; or doubling down on its commitment to clients and community, this year’s survey results provide a window onto what’s happening inside insurance businesses around the U.S. It’s also a measure of where today’s insurance agencies need to go, and how carriers and vendors can best support them.

I’ll chat with PIA National CEO Mike Skiados about the survey and the state of today’s independent insurance agencies during a live, complimentary webcast on Wed., Dec. 17, 2025, titled “Masters of Uncertainty.”

This year’s survey findings saw agency demographics shifting and agencies continuing to grapple with modernization tools and training. Many respondents also lamented the industry’s persistent talent gap.

As the findings also illustrated, insurance businesses today must negotiate a patchwork of regulatory and compliance demands while dodging a myriad of litigation risks. It follows that many survey respondents lamented the current political and economic climate in the U.S.

Sitting with the weighty issues facing today’s insurance businesses was for me a reminder of why people need the kind of break that holidays provide; the time to pause, reflect, and tap into the good in order overcome the bad. Because no matter the circumstances, there are some absolutes in life and in work. Among them:

  • Satisfaction and frustration will always coexist.
  • Nothing worth having comes easy.
  • Many hands make light work.

With that, I’ll close this final editor’s note of 2025 with some timeless advice from Albert Einstein: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

But first, have a very merry holiday season!

(Image credit: Walija/Adobe Stock)

Opinions expressed here are the author's own.

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