distribution News
Research & Trends: Top Webinars of 2018
Over the recent holidays we witnessed a rise in webinar viewing and can only assume some of you finally found a quiet moment in the office to catch up on topics of interest. For those of you who ...
Reflections of a Middleman
Praise rarely rains down on the middleman. The role is frequently trivialized and unfairly characterized as adding an extra layer of cost without also adding value. Since the advent of sales inserts ...
Alive and Well: Reports of the Death of the Independent Agent Were Greatly Exaggerated
When I began my career as a journalist covering the insurance industry back in 1981, many of my early stories reported on dire warnings in a series of studies and expert pronouncements predicting the ...
Captive vs. Independent Agents: Carriers Are Committed to Multiple, Evolving Distribution Channels
Despite the grim outlook forecasted for U.S. agents in a 2013 report by McKinsey & Company, both captive and independent agents remain a viable segment of carrier distribution channels. Even with ...
The Future of Small Business Insurance Distribution: What Can We Expect?
In the United States today, there are almost 28 million small businesses, all requiring a wide array of insurance coverage to confidently conduct daily business. Insuring these businesses has always ...
The Distribution Debate: There Will Be a Role for the Agent/Broker
In the 1990s, even when it took a slow dial-up connection and less sophisticated search engines to maneuver the information superhighway, there was discussion of how the Internet could impact future ...
Disrupting Distribution: What’s Changing, and Why Digital Marketing Is More Important Than Ever Before
Independent agents and brokers play a critical role in the insurance ecosystem. According to the Insurance Information Institute, independent agents and brokers account for more than 40 percent of ...
The Role a CEO Should Play in Carrier-Agency Relationships
Years ago during a particularly challenging time for Arbella, the trust we had built with our independent agents was severely tested. On the advice of Arbella's vice chairman and my long-time mentor, ...