Agents

The pandemic rollercoaster continues to rattle the insurance industry as we ride into 2022. One of the bright spots for our industry was the acceleration of technological innovation. All the uncertainty and changing consumer habits are fueling substantial changes in how insurance is marketed and sold by independent agencies.

Technology investment is showing no signs of slowing down, M&A continues at a torrid pace and the composition of the independent channel is shifting with generational changes. One thing remains certain: the independent channel has a lot to look forward to in the coming year.

Forty-six percent of consumers are open to pay-per-mile and 45% are interested in a program that rewards safe driving with discounts, according to a Nationwide survey. Yet only 45% of agents offer telematics to a quarter or fewer of customers.

In other news: Liberty Mutual launches insurance agency; Neptune Flood releases carbon-neutral plan; New York Life announces CEO-elect.

Five strategies that insurers can use to cut friction from the customer journey as they work towards digitally transforming their business.

In other news: Algorithm calculates number of good health years; Hiro rebrands to Locket; Alliant launches diversity initiative.

Commercial insurance distribution platform is co-founded by At-Bay veterans.

By executing the time-consuming and often tedious back-office processes that constitute much of agency work, automation can expedite agents’ workflows.

Carriers who succeed will have found ways to harness their customer-interactions and data to optimize product pricing and features to address customer need.

‘Misalignment and poor execution’ at agent carriers prevented proper pandemic adaptation.