In today’s fast-moving insurance en- (AI), customer analytics, improved agency management systems (AMS), and predictive modeling are transforming the way insurance agencies operate. But not all agents have equal access to this revolution. For many exclusive agents, the reality is a tech ceiling. While their parent carriers invest in AI for underwriting or marketing at the corporate level, individual agents are often left with limited visibility into their own book of business. Their customer data is siloed. Their marketing is dictated.
Their strategic decisions are filtered through what the carrier deems important. Independent agents, on the other hand, are embracing technology on their own Captive Agents: Operating with Limited Vision Captive agents represent a single carrier. In exchange for brand name recognition and support, they often give up autonomy, including access to the data that could help them grow
Captive Agents: Operating with Limited Vision
Captive agents represent a single carrier. In exchange for brand name recognition and support, they often give up autonomy, including access to the data that could help them grow.
They may receive performance reports and sales goals, but they rarely have direct access to the raw data behind those metrics. The carrier owns the client. The carrier decides what technology can be used. The carrier controls which products are offered and which risks are acceptable. This leaves many captive agents adjusting their strategies based on the carrier’s shifting priorities.
In contrast, the shift to data-driven operations in the independent channel is reshaping what it means to be an insurance professional.
Read the full article authored by SIAA’s Chief Marketing Officer, Doug Coombs, published in the Summer 2025 issue of NAPAA ExclusiveFocus.