Tom Barrett, CIC, AAI, Regional President – SIAA Midwest & Southeast, shares his perspective on what the future looks like for successful insurance agencies.

As of mid-year 2019, mergers and acquisitions continue to occur at record pace. The larger agencies are getting larger, the captive agency world is becoming obsolete, and local independent agencies are under increased pressure to respond to a wide variety of economic, social, and technological upheavals, many of which will become the new “realities” of tomorrow. As we look at the future, there are a number of changes that must be faced for an agency to remain competitive and successful.

A word of warning is in order here – some of you are not going to like my observations. But as I see it, our industry is going through the most significant metamorphosis that I have seen in my forty-year career in the industry. There are “yea-sayers” and “naysayers.” There are those who scream, “it will never happen,” and those who believe that it will; agencies that embrace opportunity, and those that never see the train that is coming down the track. Let’s pretend that I’m the engineer on that train. The caboose has a little different view. Here’s what I see as I look at the world in front of me.

Read the full article, published in the Fall 2019 issue of Resources magazine.