Results Stem from New Joint Survey from Semsee and TrustedChoice.com
A new survey from Semsee and Trusted Choice takes stocks of independent agents’ thoughts about the future of commercial insurance business and how IAs can win new business in this marketplace. Approximately 350 P&C agents were surveyed online in March and April of this year. According to the results, a little more than half (53%) of all agents surveyed said that they are expecting a “a significant increase” in online commercial insurance buyers within the next three years.
“Winning and placing new business is a particular challenge for agencies that offer commercial. Business leaders have told us that they want to see multiple policy options from agents. Yet finding markets and getting quotes can be such a time-consuming process for agents. Three-quarters of agents told us they’re using online portals to get this information, meaning they’re entering data multiple times,” said Philip Charles-Pierre, CEO, Semsee. “Many agents said they also rely on experience with specific carriers to place business today, a process that is not likely to work well in the future as insurance products change and they target new markets.”
Overall, 42% of agents surveyed say they are seeing an increase in commercial opportunities since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. And while the survey found that agents are generally pleased with the marketing and sales technologies they’re using today, many recognize they need to make significant improvements to become even more digital. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), new and faster ways to assess insurer appetite, and efficiently obtaining quotes from multiple carriers were all cited as areas needing the most improvement.
“The survey shows that agents have clearly become more digital in the last two years, especially in terms of leveraging virtual communications technologies like videoconferencing and e-signature tools, which is a testament to the adaptability of the IA channel,” explained Chip Bacciocco, CEO, TrustedChoice.com. “And when it comes to sales and marketing, there are still opportunities to expand what they’re doing, both in terms of finding new business opportunities and efficiently closing those deals.”
Room to Grow
Another tidbit from the survey found that more than half—60%—of agents rate their digital customer-facing capabilities as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ today. When it comes to carriers’ agent-facing technologies, however, they are slightly less enthusiastic. Approximately, 47% rate them ‘good,’ 35% ‘average,’ and just 6% ‘excellent.’ Agents cite lack of consistency from portal to portal, limited interaction with underwriters, and no up-front indications about whether or not the carriers will accept new business as the biggest concerns.
One opportunity noted for finding new business was SEO. The survey found that only 49% currently use SEO. Lack of time to plan and the fact that no one in the agency understands it are the biggest SEO issues agencies face. The majority of respondents (51%) don’t have an SEO strategy or are not sure whether they have one.
When it comes to winning and placing insurance business, 56% of agents say they are challenged to find a market that matches the need, and 52% explain that getting quotes from carriers, MGAs and wholesalers is a barrier to getting new business.
For those interested in reviewing the new study of independent agents it can be accessed here.
