Independent insurance agents and brokers are small businesses that sell policies on behalf of multiple insurance companies. They compete in the insurance marketplace against agents that represent only the companies that employ them (for example, State Farm and Allstate agents.) They also compete against companies that sell insurance over the phone and the Internet and do not employ agents, such as GEICO.
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America compiled the 2009 market share study from premium data provided by A.M. Best Co. In personal insurance (policies sold to individuals and households, not including life and health), the study showed that insurance companies selling policies through independent agents and brokers had a 38.05 percent share of the premiums in New York in 2009. This was nearly four percent better than the national average of 34.3 percent. In commercial insurance (sold to businesses, governments and other organizations), independent agency companies had a 79.71 percent market share in New York, compared to a national average of 79.43 percent.
For personal and commercial insurance combined, independent agency companies had a 2009 market share of 62.24 percent in New York, well above the national average of 56.8 percent.
“This study proves that New York independent insurance agents and brokers are doing a great job at meeting the needs of their clients,” said Richard A. Poppa, president and chief executive officer of IIABNY. “Their competition spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on advertising. Independent agencies don’t have marketing budgets anywhere near that size, yet they still write larger shares of the business in New York than do their peers in the average state.”
“Independent insurance agents and brokers offer their clients a mix of professional advice and several companies from whom to buy coverage,” Poppa added. “These results show that insurance buyers in New York appreciate and trust the expertise that independent agents and brokers offer.”