Survey of 500+ P&C insurance agents finds more seamless, digitally optimized carrier support channels are needed
NEW YORK, April 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Glia, the leader in customer interaction technology, today released its 2024 State of the Insurance Agent Experience Report. The company surveyed over 500 independent P&C insurance agents to evaluate agent-carrier interactions and how the support experience influences agents’ business decisions. Findings touch on agents’ channel preferences, top producer frustrations, leading factors for where agents place business, and the effectiveness of carrier portals.
“Most P&C insurance carriers depend on independent agents for their business, and our research reveals a widespread disconnect with how carriers interact with agents and offer support compared to what agents prefer,” said Dan Michaeli, CEO and Co-Founder of Glia. “We found that when deciding where to place their clients’ business, response time and ease of doing business matters just as much as price for agents. Producers want a more seamless experience from carriers – and carriers who want their business should take note.”
Key findings from the survey include:
Over 50% of the time, agents still need live carrier support despite an increase in self-service capabilities. More than half of agents reported needing frequent assistance with underwriting, checking a claim status, and submitting a claim. For licensing and commission issues or submitting a quote, agents still need assistance 40% of the time.
66% of agents want more digital channels for communicating with insurers – and their preference for phone and email is declining. Despite the majority of agents today still connecting with carriers for assistance via phone (86%) and email (85%), approximately 35% of agents indicated that phone and email were not their preferred channels to use for assistance, with channels like chat, text, and screen sharing on the rise.
Younger agents prefer newer and faster support channels. 69% of younger agents (45 and under) compared to 46% of older agents (46 and older) rated live chat as their preferred channel for assistance, even higher than email and phone. They also showed a stronger interest in capabilities like text, screen sharing, and video.
Agents’ top frustration is an inability to complete all tasks within the portal. 79% of agents are always or almost always in the carrier’s portal when they reach out for live support, and 67% of agents access five or more agent portals a week. Carriers should also take note that agents are likely to compare portal experiences, and their level of frustration within different portals.
More than 50% of agents are not getting the instant support needed to be effective. Almost half of agents surveyed said underwriter response time exceeded two hours on average. Comparatively, 70% of agents surveyed said it should be instant or within a few minutes, leaving insurers with slower response times at risk of losing new business opportunities to competitors.
“It is clear that the current channel mix offered by carriers isn’t enough for what agents want—especially younger agents,” said Ryan Baillargeon, Senior Marketing Manager, Insurance at Glia. “The carriers that offer more seamless agent portal experiences and digital interaction options can help agents become more productive, accelerate sales, and ultimately grow business for both parties. With older agents aging out of the workforce, it’s more important than ever for carriers to consider the technology needed to attract and retain the next wave of agents, who have different expectations and preferences than previous generations.”
The full 2024 State of the Insurance Agent Experience Report is available for access here. To learn more about Glia’s 2024 State of Agent Experience Report and the trends shaping the agent experience sign up for our webinar on Wednesday, April 17th at 2:00 pm ET here.
Survey Methodology
Survey conducted in December 2023 at 95% confidence, +/- 3% margin of error.
522 independent insurance agents, selling property and casualty insurance
Lines of insurance agents sell
Large commercial (56%)
Small commercial (68%)
Personal (74%)
Age of participants
Under 25 (1%)
25 – 35 (19%)
36 – 45 (46%)
46 – 55 (18%)
55+ (16%)
About Glia
Glia is the leader and pioneer of Unified Interaction Management—redefining how companies interact with their customers. The Glia Interaction Platform unifies voice, digital customer service, and AI with a unique ChannelLess™ architecture that eliminates data silos, dropped context, and frustration for customers and representatives. With Glia, companies can easily shift volume between channels, and customer connections can evolve naturally. Glia helps its customers harness the power of customer interactions to drive efficiency, loyalty, and revenue.
Glia has partnered with over 500 insurance companies, banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions worldwide to improve the customer experience and drive business results. Named a Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ company for a third year in a row and a Great Place to Work (with a 97% employee satisfaction rating), the company has raised over $150 million in funding from top investors and was recently valued at over $1 Billion. Learn more at glia.com.
SOURCE Glia
