The new year is around the corner. You’ve likely had this sentiment in the back of your head for the last month as the fourth quarter quickly settled in. With the end of the year near, independent agents are grappling with pushing through 2024 and kicking off 2025 with a bang. Before we can know where we are going, we should understand the current state of the market for independent agents.
Market Challenges and Opportunities
The insurance market remained challenging throughout 2024, with many agents opting to diversify their service offerings as commercial lines proved more fruitful than personal lines. Personal lines became slightly easier to write through the second half of the year, but carriers are still hesitant to write business in particularly challenging states. Many carriers are prioritizing writing business in areas where they have experienced consistent opportunity at reasonable rates and will continue to expand in those areas throughout 2025.
As independent agents have learned in the last few years, a challenging market still offers an abundance of opportunity. Clients may be left wondering why their insurance costs have increased, offering agents a reason to connect with them and share expertise. Once clients understand the factors impacting their insurance policy costs, such as construction or repair costs, insurance agents can leverage their know-how to focus on the factors they can control through telematics or higher deductibles, for example. Clients will appreciate the transparency and insight, and they will also begin to view their agent as a resource willing to explore options.
Read the full article, published December 13th, 2024 in The Standard. Reprinted with permission from The Standard, Copyright 2024, Standard Publishing Corporation, Boston, MA. All rights reserved.