Independent insurance agents and brokers must understand that nearly all industries today are powered by technology in some way. Here are a few steps to get started:

Evaluate: Evaluate your current business and product offerings first. Look at what is selling, what your needs are, and where you can improve. It is a standard part of examining and improving business, but it is particularly important with innovation to help you find what fits your needs. Include customer insights as well as how your customers may be using technology as part of your assessment.
Identify: Look for where better products may exist, if there is anything new you should consider, and how you can make improvements or changes. For example, if an agent or broker sells a lot of homeowners policies, see where you can enhance your homeowners insurance offerings — where you can expand, or do something better, bigger or differently.
Plan: A concise, clear idea of where and how you'll adapt to technology or make changes will help you avoid some of the challenges, mistakes and pitfalls common with adopting new innovation. Make sure that it is flexible and open to new learnings. Even with extensive research and effort, there are still learning processes and curves.
Start Small: A common misconception about technology and new ideas is that they require a big, expensive effort. That is not always true, even with enterprise solutions. Take advantage of free trials, demos, and other ways to test and try technologies before you buy or go further. It will help you see what is best for your needs.
Experiment: Explore new lines of business. Do things in new ways. For example, if you're selling homeowners insurance, see if adding a separate schedule for jewelry insurance resonates with your customers or drives sales. Many independent agents and brokers are changing from captive to independent, making it imperative they seek out new opportunities to help grow the business.
Learn: Tech-driven tools and solutions typically offer data that is or can be distilled down to help you make more informed decisions with real potential for success. Get to know the analytics capabilities and reporting, and other insights of the technologies, programs and platforms you use. Monitor regularly for feedback to make adjustments and fine-tune.

Change is inevitable for insurance industry agents and brokers. It's clear those who want to be most successful in the market will embrace change by leveraging evolving technologies. The Universe Study indicated that 51% of agencies were seeking more operating efficiencies to help service their customers. Nearly half (47%) of agents and brokers offered more digital solutions to their clients during the pandemic. These trends are likely to remain strong and on the uptick. For agents and brokers, the potential to benefit can be great.

Instant Insights /

7 ways to utilize technology and grow your agency

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