A new report from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big ‘I’) has found that independent insurance agents place about 62% of all P&C premiums written in the US.
The annual Market Share Report of Big ‘I’ compiles and analyzes P&C premium data from AM Best, to provide insights for agencies and carriers on current market shares by distribution type.
According to the report, which is based on 2021 data, independent agents dominated the commercial lines category as the largest distribution channel, placing nearly 88% of all commercial lines written premium in the US last year.
In terms of personal lines, independent agencies placed 37% of all personal lines premium.
It was noted that of the 765 billion in total premium written in the US in 2021, personal lines accounted for about 50% of the total, followed by commercial lines at just over 38%. The remaining 12% is “unclassified” coverage which cannot be categorized as either personal or commercial lines.
Big ‘I’ did point out that independent agents place about 85% of this “unclassified” business.
“The demise of the independent agency channel has been predicted by various sources for many years, but the Market Share Report affirms the reality that independent agents have and continue to place the majority of all P&C business,” said Big ‘I’ vice president of agent development, education and research Chris Boggs.
When broken down per insurance line, it was found that within the top 10 lines written by independent agents, workers’ compensation was the only line that did not see any growth in the percentage written by the independent agency channel over the five years ending 2021. All other lines saw their percentage written by independent agents either remain steady or grow.
Earlier this month, the Big ‘I’ partnered with Insurance Business America to help the news outlet prepare its sixth annual Hall of Fame 2022 and eighth annual Hot 100 special reports.
