LOBs and opportunities for independent agencies to consider in 2024

It’s easy to be discouraged by the reality of hard market conditions persisting into 2024, including skyrocketing home and auto premiums and carriers pulling out of some markets and states altogether. While premium increases may bring some much-needed relief to the market by 2025, independent agencies are buckling in to ride out another year. But even in a tough market, agencies can find new opportunities for growth, expansion, and diversification. We’ve taken a look at what industry experts are projecting for 2024 to provide insights on new opportunities for agencies to consider focusing on this year.

In this article:

• Coverage opportunities for diversifying LOBs
  • Life, health, & retirement products
  • Workers' comp & employee benefits
  • Cyber products
  • Surety bonds
• Other areas for agency focus in 2024
  • Focus on coverage & education
  • Hone in on staff satisfaction & support
  • Identify places where technology can increase efficiency

Coverage opportunities for diversifying LOBs

While personal lines are being hit hard, diversifying your agency’s offerings can help bring in additional revenue streams while bolstering retention. Here are a some LOBs expected to have good growth opportunities in 2024 that personal lines agencies may want to consider adding to the roster.

Life, health, & retirement products

• PropertyCasualty360 notes “the life insurance segment is seeing stronger demand for savings and retirement products. In emerging markets revenue growth is expected to reach 5.1% on average in 2024 and 2025…Millennials and Gen Z will become the beneficiaries of the greatest wealth transfer in history over the next two decades. Their values-driven approach to investing will disrupt retirement and create new opportunities for life/annuities.”
• Big I’s Agents Council for Technology (ACT) recommends agents consider getting a securities license in order to offer a wider range of products, including variable life insurance and annuities.
• Agency Performance Partners provides resources and scripts for cross-selling life insurance products in 2024.
• HawkSoft Solution Partners such as BackNine Insurance and CoverRight provide easy software solutions for managing lines like life insurance and Medicare.

Workers’ comp & employee benefits

• Insurance Thought Leadership points to Workers’ Comp as an area of growth, with workplace injury rates holding steady and work-related illnesses increasing since 2021, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• They also mark Employee Benefits as one of the 20 areas to watch in 2024, due to expanding specialty health solutions like family planning benefits, age-inclusive benefits, financial and mental wellness plans, and more.

Cyber products

• PropertyCasualty360 anticipates “the cyber market will triple in size over the next three to four years,” due to increasingly sophisticated cyberattack risks for businesses, and shares that 27% of business executives pointed to cyber as their key risk in 2024.

Surety bonds

• ACT recommends surety bonds as an additional cross-selling area that can be profitable for agents in 2024, with more software and resources now available to agencies wishing to move into the space.

Other areas for agency focus in 2024

Aside from diversifying product offerings, there are a few other areas where agencies may want to focus this year for maximum results in this year’s market. Here are some of the top trending recommendations for agencies to focus on in 2024.

Back to the basics: focus on coverage and education

Big I shares this shocking fact: the number one reason agencies are currently being sued, according to 2017-2022 data from their E&O program, is failure to procure coverage, followed by failure to adequately explain or disclose policy provisions, inaccurate information provided to the carrier, failure to recommend correct coverage type, and failure to recommend adequate value or limits.

There are many reasons agencies may currently be struggling to identify, recommend, and educate clients on the best coverages for their needs, including staff turnover and shortages since the pandemic. However, this highlights how crucial it is for independent agencies to focus on the essentials: advising clients on coverages. Agencies may want to renew their focus this year on training new or inexperienced staff to ensure you can provide valuable recommendations and education on coverage to your clients. This not only avoids E&O exposure, but bolsters customer satisfaction, retention, and referral rates.

Hone in on staff satisfaction & support

The hard market is taking its toll on employees in all roles at independent agencies, with staffing challenges remaining at the top of the list for insurance businesses. With clients upset over rate hikes and the volatile market, it’s more important than ever to make sure your agency’s staff feels supported and satisfied in their roles. That could mean making sure they have resources like checklists or scripts for talking to clients on difficult topics, providing growth and development options to help employees feel valued long-term, or small incentives to keep up morale.

Identify places where technology can increase efficiency

With the ever-increasing amount of work on an agent’s plate, technology can help pick up the slack and even decrease the need for new hires. AI solutions are at the forefront this year, providing new ways to streamline a number of insurance processes, and tools that simplify the requoting or aid in connecting to carrier data will be extra helpful heading into another year of hard market conditions.

The beginning of the year is also a good time to take stock of all the technology solutions your agency is paying for and seeing if they’re delivering ROI or need to go to the chopping block. Catalyit provides a checklist for an annual “tech-up” to evaluate and maintain your agency’s technology.

New year, new opportunities

The insurance industry is notorious for being stuck in its ways, but when the market changes, independent agencies must change along with it. Taking some time to identify a few new areas for your agency to focus on this year can help realign your business with its goals and identify golden opportunities for growth.