Nationwide Survey Finds Independent Agents in Positive State of Mind

Nationwide recently released its annual report, the Nationwide Economic Impact Survey Report: Independent Insurance Agents. It found 62% of independent agents having a positive view of current business conditions.

That’s up 21 points from the 41% in 2023.

Individually, agents gave a 79% positive rating, up from 73% in 2023. And overall, 65% of independent agents expect to see revenue increase in the next half year. That’s up from 73% in 2023.

Just 10% forecast a drop in revenue.

There are — however — concerns. Agents are very or extremely concerned about the impacts of:

• Inflation — 63%
• Artificial intelligence (AI) technology — 51%
• Market volatility in the U.S and around the world — 49%
• Recession concerns, or an economic downturn — 46%
• High interest rates — 45%
• The upcoming presidential election — 45%

For agents who are company principals:

• Inflation and the rising cost of living — 31%, down 15% from 2023
• Reaching new customers — 29% — up 11% from 2023
• Taxes and government regulations — 22% — up 10% from 2023
• Financial market volatility — 21% — up 7% from 2023

Those statistics have many principal agents looking at alternatives:

• 53% are looking to cut business expenses
• 35% have applied for personal loans
• 34% have applied for business loans in the last six months
• 61% are going to delay technology upgrades

Agents how customers are affected by economic conditions:

• Agents say rates are up for 84% of customers
• 84% of agents report a rise in customers negotiating prices
• 81% of customers are changing coverages
• 55% report seeing policy demand drop over the last six months

AI for growing business and cutting costs:

• 40% of principal agents have invested in generative AI and automation to increase business
• 62% of independent agents say they have already invested in AI
• Many of that 62% say they will embrace the technology as it progresses
• 38% of independent agents say they have adapted an AI platform in the last six months

Nationwide’s chief innovation and digital officer, Chetan Kandhari said this is an exciting time for insurance agents to leverage generative AI.

“Today, customers are expecting a high level of responsiveness, hyper-personalization, and the ability to interact across channels,” Kandhari said. “Agents are seeing where Gen AI can save them time and help them be more effective in delivering a great customer experience.”

The report notes that independent agents and insurance professionals are finding AI helpful with customer service, underwriting, pricing and sales. Nationwide found the benefits to be so important that 41% of agents plan to adopt AI for their businesses in the next six months.

Source link: Insurance Journal — https://bit.ly/3SEUunF