Why 90% of agents reduce business with their carriers: Ivans

For independent insurance agents, the technology used to connect agencies and carriers can have a direct impact on efficiency. Manual data entry, fragmented workflows and slow submission processes can create friction for agents.

According to a new Ivans report on agency-carrier connectivity, 90% of agents have reduced business with a carrier due to workflow challenges. 

Just over half of agents, 51%, identified automated data prefill as their top AI request, followed by faster AI-powered submission review at 16% and real-time appetite matching in the AMS at fourteen percent. According to Ivans' findings, the desire for AI is significantly different in commercial lines versus personal lines: while 94% of commercial lines agents say they are open to using AI tools, 22% of personal lines agents say they do not want to use AI at all. 

The survey found that agents want more automation from carriers. More than one-third, 79%, of agents want commercial submission automation, 61% want real-time agency management system (AMS) data upload, 44% want claims loss-run delivery and 20% said they want automated book transfers.

"This year's survey findings confirm that our technology investments are focused exactly where agents say the value lives: experiences that make working with carriers easier," said Michael Streit, president of Applied Systems Carrier, in a press release. "We continue to invest heavily in removing friction for agencies and carriers alike, and more carriers are getting on board every day."

Ivans, a connectivity network for insurance organizations, surveyed over 700 independent agents between April and May 2026, with support from the Big "I" Agents Council for Technology and Applied Systems .