January 2016 - Agents and brokers continue to play a key role in the distribution and servicing of insurance products. As carriers have seen shifts in customers’ needs and expectations over the past few years, many agents and brokers have been in a position to closely observe and reflect on these changes—a perspective shaped by both personal consumer interactions and broader community engagement.

At the same time, changing demographics and advances in technology have brought a new set of expectations and challenges to the agent-carrier relationship as well. This report discusses agents’ and brokers’ relationships with their customers, their carriers, and their industry as a whole.

This report is based on a survey of 150 agents and brokers from 43 US states about their processes, pain points and opinions of carriers.

Table of Contents

• Figures and Tables...2
• Introduction...3
• Key Findings...4
• Communication Channel Changes...5
• Essential Tools...6
• What Agents Really Want...10
• What Agents Don’t Want...11
• Market and Customer Changes...13
• Concluding Thoughts...19
• Next Steps and Related Research...19
• About Novarica...20