Big 'I's Market Share Report is released every two years and can help users understand the current insurance marketplace and opportunities and evolving areas, review historical changes and verify assumptions. The 2022 report is based on 2021 data.
Independent agents were the largest distribution channel in the commercial lines category last year, accounting for nearly 88% of all commercial lines written premium in the US. In the personal lines market, independent agencies placed 37% of all personal lines premium.
Personal lines accounted for approximately 50% of the total premium written in the United States in 2021, followed by commercial lines at slightly more than 38%. The remaining 12% is "unclassified" coverage that cannot be classified as personal or commercial lines.
Big 'I' did point out that about 85 percent of this "unclassified" business is placed by independent agents.
“The demise of the independent agency channel has been predicted by various sources for many years, but the Market Share Report affirms the reality that independent agents have and continue to place the majority of all P&C business,” says Chris Boggs, Big “I” vice president of agent development, education and research. “In particular, independent agents continue to prove their dominance in commercial lines.”
When the top ten lines written by independent agents were broken down by insurance line, it was discovered that workers' compensation was the only line that did not see any growth in the percentage written by the independent agency channel over the five years ending 2021. All other lines saw their percentage of sales written by independent agents either stay the same or increase.