About a quarter of independent insurance agents say they work at a firm that belongs to an aggregator cluster. But very few whose agencies don’t already belong to an aggregator want their firms to join one, a fact challenging the trend of the recent, rapid growth in overall aggregator membership.
This is one of the findings of a recent national survey of independent insurance agents conducted by Channel Harvest Research. The study, “Key Success Factors in Agent/Carrier Relationships,” is the eighth in a series examining agents’ views on property/casualty carriers and various marketplace issues. More than 2,200 agents responded to the survey, which was sponsored by Insurance Journal.
Aggregator Value Added
Twenty-six percent (26%) of agents work for an agency that belongs to an aggregator or cluster. Those organizations range in size from having fewer than 10 agency members to having more than 100.
Agents are impressed by what they get from their aggregator membership: Most respondents whose agencies belong to an aggregator think their group provides “some” (38%) or “a lot” (50%) of added value. Just 11% say their aggregator provides either “not very much” (8%) or no added value at all (3%).
No surprise, then, that fully 88% of agents whose firms belong to an aggregator say they are unlikely to leave their organization in the next year, and 72% are “very unlikely.” Only 12% are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to leave.
Unlikely to Join?
Seventy-four percent (74%) of agents work at firms that do not belong to an aggregator. And very few (7%) of those agents say they are likely to join such an organization in the next year. Fully 94% of agents whose firms do not belong to an aggregator are unlikely to join one in the near future (45% “somewhat unlikely;” 49% “very unlikely”).
The full Channel Harvest report looks at what services and products independent agents want for their businesses, including niche marketing help, communications, annual planning process, and various other support areas.
Editor’s Note: For more information on obtaining the survey report as well as the raw data, contact John Campbell, principal of Channel Harvest, at john@channelharvest.com.
Related:
- Why Now Is a Good Time for Agency Network Growth
- Independent Agents Identify Business Opportunities for Carriers: Survey
- Independent Insurance Agents Defying Doomsayers
Topics Agencies
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Undercover St. Louis Officer Beaten by Colleagues Awarded $23.5M 
Survey Shows Majority of Florida, California Homeowners Seeing Higher Insurance Costs 
North Carolina Adjuster and Son Charged With Embezzlement in Roof Jobs 
Cargo Owners in Baltimore Disaster Face ‘General Average’ Loss Sharing, MSC Says 
