The number of independent insurance agencies fell slightly from 39,000 in 2024 to 37,000 in 2026. Good news is that most independent agencies reported profitability across both personal and commercial lines, with significantly fewer agencies reporting revenue decreases compared to 2024, down from 12% to 8%.
That’s according to the Big I’s 2026 Agency Universe Study on behalf of Future One, a collaboration of the Big “I” and 16 independent agency companies. The primary focus of the Agency Universe Study is to provide information on the size and characteristics of the independent agency system
Key highlights include:
- Average size of agency staff is larger than in 2024. On average, agencies report 9.9 staff members across all positions, up from an average of 8.2 in 2024. While 1 in 3 agencies say their employee count has increased in the past two years, hiring depends on size. Small agencies are least likely to have added employees, while jumbo agencies are most likely.
- About 7 in 10 agencies report increases in personal lines revenue and 2 in 3 in commercial lines revenue from 2024 to 2025.
- Nearly half (46%) of agencies report using AI, up significantly from 15% in 2024. Uses include marketing content generation (49%), coverage form analysis (43%) and contract reviews (35%). Lack of knowledge about capability (60%) and security and privacy (48%) were the top two barriers to AI adoption, both increasing by 10% compared to 2024
- Average marketing budgets rose from $14,300 in 2024 to $20,600 in 2026. Social media and digital marketing lead the most cited marketing activity, with 47% ranking it as their top activity. It is followed by Google Business, search engine optimization (SEO) and websites. Facebook still dominates channels (70%), ahead of Instagram (46%) and LinkedIn (35%).
The biggest technology challenge for agencies was, as in previous years, dealing with multiple carrier interfaces. Most agents (86%) continue to prefer that customer service go through their agency via phone or other non-online methods. Less than a quarter prefer online self-service via a carrier website or app. However, agencies are comfortable with self-service options for policy documents, billing and claims, but not for purchasing policies or obtaining quotes.
The survey found that the top challenges overall for agencies were finding and screening job candidates with strong potential (45%); keeping up with the latest in AI (43%), which was a new entry; and growing personal lines business (41%).
As the market softens, concerns about carriers’ market commitment eased to 41%, down from 56% in 2024.
Interestingly, more than half (57%) said there is a significant need for training to help customer service representatives (CSRs) and producers sell on value rather than price.
“Independent agencies are successfully navigating a changing insurance landscape and the surge of AI,” says Charles Symington, Big “I” president & CEO. “As the market evolves, agencies are investing in AI and other technologies without losing sight of what distinguishes the channel: trusted advice, choice and personal relationships.”
The Agency Universe Study was first conducted in 1983. Since 2002, the study has been completed biennially. Since 2004, the Agency Universe Study has relied on internet data collection. In total, 1,376 respondents were included in the 2026 study, conducted by Zeldis Research in cooperation with Future One.
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