Through our annual industry digital connectivity survey, engaging nearly 1,500 agencies, carriers, and MGAs, we've tapped into the latest trends in agency-carrier connectivity, uncovering the essential role of digital capabilities and the enduring value of personal connections. Download our report and explore the insights and trends below (including exclusive expert interviews) to unlock the secrets to elevating your partnerships, skyrocketing profits, and slashing time. Don't miss out on finding out how you can meet your industry partners right where they are!
Key Insights
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An Appetite for Better Ways to Find New Partners
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Seeking Seamless Submissions & Quoting
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What’s Trending in Operations & Servicing
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Data to Drive Decisions & Efficiency
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An Appetite for Better Ways to Find New Partners
Both agents and carriers have told us that finding and placing risks can feel like an obstacle course, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a huge opportunity for agents and carriers to leverage the latest appetite technology to boost productivity, yield more profits, and meet their industry partners where they are.
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76% of agents said they cannot win an opportunity because they can’t find or access a market that will quote the risk, up 3% from last year. This means a greater opportunity to offer technology that will help satisfy agents’ appetites.
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Next-Step Appetite Tech
The latest updates to appetite solutions provide full support for expressing appetite, defining conditional behaviors or mapping classifications to NAICS codes from any supported edition. Additionally, having an appetite tool that can communicate with book roll tech can help with evaluating books of business to quickly enter new markets, diversify business and build strong relationships. Combined with business intelligence solutions like the newest in Ivans technology, Ivans Marketing Insights™, carriers and MGAs easily find the right agency partners that align with their goals, and new reports provide uniquely valuable insights and metrics not available anywhere else.
Listen to Bill talk about the importance of appetite tools like Ask Kodiak and provide other insightful thoughts about what he looks for from carriers.
Seeking Seamless Submissions & Quoting
More agents, carriers and MGAs are realizing the value of offering digital quoting, meaning more competition and more opportunity all at once. With so many more agents leveraging comparative rating solutions than ever, they are expecting more from their carriers when it comes to digital connectivity. It’s the carriers and MGAs that are bridging the gap to reach agencies where they are that are seeing more profits and better partnerships.
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Next-Step Submissions & Quoting Tech
Agents, carriers and MGAs are on the lookout for strategies to minimize the time spent on policy submissions and quotes while also reducing declinations. Ivans’ digital quoting and submissions technology uses APIs to seamlessly integrate into agencies’ rating and management systems, complete with appetite evaluation. This technology enables the industry to efficiently market, quote, and issue policies for the right commercial clients, minimizing manual workflows.
Additionally, the technology's scope is broadening to support various lines, including Excess & Surplus (E&S), Cyber, Directors & Officers (D&O), Errors & Omissions (E&O), Umbrella, Inland Marine, and Professional Liability, among others. Another factor is AI – which has the power to help streamline processes like identifying upsell and cross-sell opportunities when quoting business.
2024 Spark Award Winners
Ivans recognizes carriers and MGAs that are driving connectivity with their agency partners to spark better partnerships and experiences. See who won in 2024.
This is what some of our Spark Award recipients had to say about the power of digital connectivity:
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"Central is enhancing digital connectivity by transitioning from traditional batch download to real-time downloads, enhancing agency experiences with commercial lines comparative raters, and exploring the potential of leveraging Ivans Insights and Ivans Bookroll. Our goal is to provide seamless interactions, expedited submissions, and more tailored agent experiences."
Pam Leis, CPCS, AIM, API, AINS, Digital Product Manager II, Central Insurance
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“Westfield is committed to understanding the evolving needs of our agencies. Through collaboration with organizations like Ivans, we strengthen our ability to deliver timely solutions that position agencies for success.”
Chris Cargill, AVP, Agency Technology & Digital Distribution, Westfield
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"Our agency partners give us the feedback for us to decide what to do and where to go next. While many of these capabilities discussed above can sometimes be commonplace amongst standard companies, they are seldom in the E&S world. Our goal is to always leverage technology to make more meaningful work for our team and our partners to provide the best MGA experience out there."
Rob Pienta, CPCU, Vice President of Sales - New England Region, Johnson & Johnson, Inc.
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“We are proud to have qualified for this honor in commercial lines for the last five years, and excited that personal lines transformation is also being recognized. Bringing modern digital connectivity to our agents, policyholders and associates is a top priority so we can provide innovative insurance products and an elevated level of service.”
Kiley Shafer Assistant, Vice President, Agency Training & Marketing, Encova
Operations & Servicing
Agents and carriers have both expressed a need for seamless integration between different management systems and portals to save time and improve workflows. Addressing the disconnects between agency management systems and carrier portals and using technology to connect paves the way for improved workflows, significant time savings, and enhanced collaboration across the board.
A Rise in E&S Business
48% of agencies say they are placing more business with E&S companies.
The E&S market is growing rapidly and is expected to surpass $100 billion in written premiums in 2024.
Discover how Excess and Surplus Lines are shaping the future of insurance in our blog post. Hear more from Kat on the E&S market:
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Connected Agencies
We had 20% more connected agencies recognized this year for providing connectivity with their partners, with over 3,600 agents recognized – a testament to the industry embracing technology and the power of the latest digital tech. And 19 agencies were recognized for qualifying six years in a row. Check out our blog post to find out more about our connected agencies.
Data
In a world where partnerships power success, data is key to enhancing relationships and improving workflows, saving costs and time along the way. Throughout the insurance lifecycle, carriers have gaps in understanding new agency partners, profitable lines of business, and new areas for growth, but the latest tools remove that guesswork.
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Next-Step Data Tech
Our newest data insight technology allows carriers to say goodbye to endless agency visits, juggling numerous apps. With the latest tools available, carriers and MGAs can understand their agencies like never before and appoint agency partners that align with their goals. With increasing access to AI-enabled technology to help streamline insurance workflows, we believe this is just the beginning.
Agents and carriers are both looking for better ways to access the data they need to inform their decision-making when it comes to partnerships and daily workflows. The latest tech is helping the industry make data-driven decisions based on the insights they’ve been looking for.
Unlock Your Digital Potential
In an era where digital innovation defines success, the insights from our exploration into agency-carrier connectivity reveal a roadmap to transforming challenges into opportunities. By embracing the latest technologies and nurturing personal connections, industry professionals can unlock unparalleled growth and efficiency. Download our eBook for more data and insights that will help you discover what your partners are looking for and inform decisions that will steer your company toward success in 2025 and beyond!