2011 may not have been a great year for the U.S. economy, but it was a very good year for Independent Agents and their carriers, according to a new report by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association.
After years of market contraction, all property‐casualty insurance premium lines grew in 2011. Independent agents and brokers (IAs) were well poised to capture their share of the market. Many regional and national IA carriers expanded their shares by double digits. Furthermore, overall IA share grew in several states and regional IAs outpaced market growth in many business lines nationwide.
The report also showed that homeowners market expanded by $3.1 billion in 2011, closing the year at $73.0 billion – a 4.5% increase over 2010. Independent agents have been making significant increases in homeowners insurance market share over the past six years, growing from 22% to 26% of the total market. Almost all of that increase in market share has come at the expense of the large captive agency companies.
Based on data from A.M. Best, the report also includes information on commercial insurance sales and market share, and is full of valuable information for any agency personnel interested in the big picture.