After more than a decade of hard conditions in the insurance market, rates are now softening, many carriers are looking to grow, and more customers are seeing additional options.
While this offers new opportunities for agents, it also adds complexities, starting with the fact that softening is not uniform across geographies and insurance lines of coverage. Agents need to understand these inconsistencies and nuances of the market as well as individual carrier growth strategies to remain effective. They will need to protect revenues by strategically going after new business, and they will also need to negotiate and leverage technology to deliver the most value for clients.
What follows are five ways independent agents can stay competitive as the market continues.
Understand and align with your carriers’ game plans.
While insurance carriers are eager to grow, independent agents must understand their focus. Carriers can have different strategies for renewals versus new business, personal lines versus commercial lines, and specific to each type of coverage. One carrier may tighten on renewals while aggressively pursuing new business. Another may now focus on certain geographies while exploring lines it has typically ignored. Agents who understand the focus and nuances can work smarter and pursue the right accounts rather than guessing.
Read the full article, written by Erin Osier, Vice President of Strategic Growth, SIAA – The Agent Alliance, Reprinted with permission from the July 14, 2026 issue of Property Casualty 360. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. All rights reserved.