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Is this the trend that changes insurance?

By   ·  2 minute read

This month I wanted to focus on some eye-opening industry research.

Agent surveys have taken the spotlight yet again this year, offering a more comprehensive view into the mindset of an average insurance agent. Using data from three leading industry surveys (Big i, Ivans, and Appulate), I was able to compile a list of trends found in each survey that every market should get ahead of in 2025.

Tracking Agency Trends: Ease of Doing Business

It is no surprise that agents want easier ways to work with markets, but what does that mean specifically and what is the impact? All three surveys found that ease of doing business was a primary concern for agents, with the vast majority of agents prioritizing automation over other factors such as commission.

For example, “Dealing with multiple carrier interfaces continues to be the top technological challenge in 2024.” – Big I 2024 Agency Universe Study

Additionally, 90% of Appulate users reported that they would explore writing new lines of business if they are offered on the Appulate platform.

So, what are the top methods for improving ease?

  1. Faster Quoting Process- Both Ivans and Appulate found that a faster quoting process was the top trending priority for agents. Specifically, over 80% would like a quote to be returned within a day. This means that markets have to reduce friction during the underwriting and quoting process. An automated underwriting process was a critical consideration for agents, with all three studies showing a need for features such as instant appetite indications, e-sign capabilities, and faster responsiveness.
  2. Less Manual Entry- All three surveys found a strong need for less manual entry overall, but more specifically with the initial submission process. Appulate’s top feature was the ability to ingest data from any ACORD PDF. This is a simple tool that substantially reduces the time it takes to get insured data to a market and also removes the need for manual entry for an underwriter. Additionally, agents reported leaving markets that require agents to manually complete supplementals or proprietary PDF applications.
  3. Availability on Third-Party Platforms: The #1 technology challenge agents face is dealing with multiple carrier portals (Big i). Ivans found that agents give more business to carriers that integrate quoting with an agent’s management system. Appulate found that agents were three times more likely to find a new market to work with if available on a quoting platform rather than only through a market’s dedicated portal. Ivans also found that 55% of agents use a carrier direct portal, Ivans and Appulate both found that only 32-34% prefer using these portals.
  4. Finding Markets Faster: While agents are trending towards expanding their markets each year, they seem to still struggle to find the best markets for their needs. Ivans reported, “over 50% of agents spend over 30 minutes or more per day searching for markets… with 12% spending over an hour.” Adding that “76% of agents said they cannot win an opportunity because they can’t find or access a market that will quote the risk…”. Appulate found similar results with agents prioritizing platforms that help investigate potential markets which beat both social media and all search engines.

In summary…

With increased pressure from insureds, agents are looking for better products at a better price. That has resulted in agents adopting technology more than ever to help reduce the time it takes to find, investigate, submit, and ultimately quote new business.

This has also led to agents being more open-minded about the types of markets they prefer to work with, where agents have reported either “no preference” or stronger preference towards wholesale, MGA, and specialty markets over the traditional carrier-direct route.

The caveat is that markets need to now react to these trends by working towards being more accessible where agents prefer to submit, reduce manual entry, and automate the underwriting and quoting process wherever possible.

For access to the reports and to learn more, please use the following links:

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