The holiday season is a mix of looking back and looking forward: being thankful for what has been and looking ahead to what will be. We combed through our independent insurance agency resources to uncover a bit of both.
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We came up with was a few interesting facts about working in insurance, many of which showed off the prowess of the industry. We also looked at current trends and how they can predict what’s ahead in 2018 and beyond. Check out our lists below!
Why Insurance is Here to Stay
- Ranked as the largest market globally on a premium-dollar basis, the US insurance industry has one of the highest growth potentials¹
- Total US industry premiums were a whopping $1.1 trillion in 2016 (53% life/health and 47% property/casualty), according to S&P Global Market Intelligence²
- In 2016, there were nearly 6,000 insurance companies in the United States, with approximately 2,500 devoted to property/casualty, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners²
- 6 million people were employed by the US insurance industry in 2016, according to the US Department of Labor²
- The industry totaled $157 billion in revenue so far in 2017, with a steady annual growth rate of 3.7%³
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What to Watch For in 2018 and Beyond
- Reach for creativity and innovation! 67% of respondents to a PwC survey cited these elements as “very important” to their agency success⁴
- Thanks to crash avoidance technology, auto claims could be reduced by as much as 12% by 2034⁵
- However, advanced tech will lead to higher vehicle repair costs: the average cost of repairs jumped up 3.8% in 2016 and continues to rise⁵
- Insured customers value self-service options, according to a recent CallVU report showing 80% of Baby Boomers and Generation Xers preferred accessing and updating their policies online⁶
- But don’t go all digital yet. 57% of respondents to the same survey said they preferred personalized face-to-face interactions or phone calls⁶
How to Move Forward
What do these stats mean for your agency? Now is a good time to take solace in the industry’s staying power and make some changes to help you and your customers reap the benefits. Check out some of our eGuides to help map out changes in your agency. Remember to take one step at a time, using small movements to make big changes.
And, take a look at some of the latest Partner XE extensions: the Partner XE Client Portal and Partner XE Proposal Creator. Both were designed to help agencies and customers harness the power of the digital age while keeping the important customer/agency connection that makes independent insurance so great.
To find out more about Partner XE, including viewing a demo of the system, contact us at 800.747.7005, Option 6 or [email protected].
¹ https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/financial-services/articles/insurance-industry-outlook.html
² https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-industry-overview
⁴ https://www.pwc.com/us/en/insurance/publications/assets/pwc-2017-insurance-top-issues.pdf
⁵ http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2017/03/15/10-trends-impacting-the-insurance-industry
⁶ http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2017/10/18/callvu-study-todays-consumers-prefer-digital-custo
Sarah Deak has been contributing to the SIS team since 2013, covering topics like agency perpetuation, workflow improvements, data security, and marketing. She has a background in small business, working with organizations to improve their online presence and client engagement. Sarah also writes for the SIS newsletters and website, and counts herself lucky to hear from our many passionate, hard-working clients for our client stories. Her favorite part about working for SIS are the dedicated, service-minded people.