Improving Farm and Agribusiness Downloads for Independent Agents

Farm and agribusiness insurance is a growing market in the industry, projected to increase at a CAGR of nearly 6% from 2025 to 2033. While it’s becoming an increasingly viable niche option for independent agencies, agribusiness has historically been a difficult line of business for agencies to receive via download, and subsequently to manage and track in their agency management system.

But thanks to advancements made in the last several years, true agribusiness downloads are now starting to be sent in a dedicated format by carriers, and accepted by pioneering AMS providers. Let’s talk about the challenges of agribusiness download and how agents can join hands with carriers and technology providers to better support it.

In this article

• The problem: challenges of agribusiness downloads
• The solution: a standard download format
• Benefits of agribusiness downloads

The problem: challenges of agribusiness downloads

As recently as 2024, 75% of agents surveyed by AUGIE Group reported that they struggle to get agribusiness policy data into their agency management systems. Carriers often don’t provide policy downloads for agribusiness, or if they do it may be forced into formats for other lines of business, like commercial packages, business owner policies, or home policies.

The result is a loss of important coverage data and underwriting details, making agribusiness policies more difficult and labor-intensive for agents to manage. It also hinders agencies in tracking their agribusiness policies, or getting insights and analytics on that segment of their book of business.

The solution: a standard download format

Agents have long wanted true agribusiness downloads in a standard format that fits the unique nature of agribusiness policies, but for years adoption remained a problem. Change would require carriers to send downloads differently, and AMS providers to be able to read and display data in the new format.

This chicken-and-egg dilemma made for slow progress, but in the last several years organizations like the AUGIE Group have provided valuable advocation for this issue, uniting forward-thinking carriers and AMS providers to make true agribusiness downloads a reality.

HawkSoft is proud to be one of the first management systems to be able to receive dedicated farm downloads, starting in 2023. With high-profile carriers like Nationwide, Auto-Owners, and State Auto now starting to send true agribusiness downloads, the tide is turning and more carriers and AMS platforms are following suit.

HawkSoft processed over 16,000 farm downloads in 2025, with the number likely to increase significantly this year as more carriers come onboard. “It’s been exciting to see our work pay off as more carriers and platforms adopt agribusiness downloads,” says Jerry Fox  (VP of Carrier Relations at HawkSoft), who was instrumental in getting agribusiness downloads certified at HawkSoft.

Benefits of agribusiness downloads

True dedicated agribusiness downloads provide a host of benefits for agents:

More data, less manual entry
Agribusiness downloads provide accurate policy data without time-consuming manual entry.

Better book of business segmentation
A standardized download type means easier analysis, tracking, and reporting on an agency’s agribusiness segment.

Higher policy retention
With full policy details stored in the AMS, renewal and remarketing is easier and less manual for agencies, leading to better retention.

Improved risk advising
More coverage and underwriting details are available in the AMS, allowing agencies to better advise clients on their agribusiness policies.

Included coverages

Wondering what type of information comes through in agribusiness downloads? They can contain common agribusiness coverages like the ones below, with data that can be pushed to 400-series Agricultural ACORD Forms:

Agricultural Property (AGPR)
Including multiple locations, barns, silos, corn cribs, drying racks, dehydrator buildings, etc.

Home
Full home coverage and underwriting info can be included in an agribusiness package.

Agricultural Liability (AGLIA)
Coverage for farm and personal activities.

Agricultural Personal Property (AGPP) - both scheduled and unscheduled
Livestock blizzard coverage, property in transit, fence coverage, etc.

Pushing agribusiness forward together

Agribusiness downloads were made possible in no small part by independent agencies who helped advocate for, test, and adopt the new downloads. Your agency can help blaze the trail for downloads in emerging areas like agribusiness and cyber by joining industry advocacy groups like AUGIE, insurance associations, and user groups for your agency management system or other insurance technology platforms. Together, technology providers and agents can push downloads forward for more lines of business.