Young Insurance Agents Opinion Survey 2019

Young agents and brokers: Who are you? What do you think about your career? How happy are you with your compensation and working conditions? Do you want to be an owner someday or are you already one? What do you think of the industry's public image?

This is a survey exclusively for licensed property/casualty insurance agents and brokers in the U.S. who are 40 years of age or younger. The survey takes only a few minutes to complete. The questions solicit your views on your career, your own agency and the agency system, the P/C industry, the future and more. All individual replies are CONFIDENTIAL. Aggregate results will be reported in Insurance Journal magazine on April 15 and on www.insurancejournal.com later. Have fun and thank you for participating.

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* 1. Are you a licensed property-casualty agent or broker who is 40 years or younger and working in the U.S.?

Yes

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* 2. Would you best describe yourself as an:

Independent agent

Captive agent

Direct writer agent/employee

Other (please specify)

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* 3. Please indicate your age range.

under 20 years old

20 to 25 years old

26 to 30 years old

31 to 35 years old

36 to 40 years old

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* 4. How long have you been an independent agent or broker?

Less than 3 years

3 to 5 years

6 to 10 years

11 to 15 years

More than 15 years

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* 5. Do you consider insurance to be your permanent career?

Yes

Not sure yet

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* 6. Which segment of the property/casualty business are you primarily involved in?

Commercial Lines

Personal Lines

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* 7. Please indicate the size of your agency/brokerage in annual property/casualty premium volume.

Under $1 million in premium

$1 million to $5 million in premium

$6 million to $10 million in premium

$11 million to $25 million in premium

$26 million to $50 million in premium

More than $50 million in premium

Not sure

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* 8. Which of the following describes your agency or brokerage?

Privately-held

Public company

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* 9. Is your agency or brokerage family-owned?

Yes

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* 10. Are you a member of the family that owns your agency or brokerage?

Yes

N/A

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* 11. Please share your thoughts on the following statements:

I believe being in a family-owned firm provides more opportunities to grow in my career.

I believe being in a family-owned firm provides fewer opportunities to grow in my career.

I do not think it matters in terms of career opportunity whether my employer is family-owned or not.

N/A

Other comments:

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* 12. Please indicate if these statements ring basically true or basically false based on your experience in the agency/brokerage business.

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* 13. Which of the following tools and activities do you participate in?

Attend local business or community meetings

Volunteer in my community

Get involved in local politics

Use Facebook

Use LinkedIn

Use Twitter

Write a blog

Utilize insurance coverage or other checklists

Take insurance courses on the Internet

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* 14. Rate the following factors in the agency or brokerage where you work.

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* 15. How optimistic are you about the following?

	Very Optimistic	Optimistic	Cautious	Not Optimistic
Your own career as an independent agent	Your own career as an independent agent Very Optimistic	Your own career as an independent agent Optimistic	Your own career as an independent agent Cautious	Your own career as an independent agent Not Optimistic
Keeping your current job	Keeping your current job Very Optimistic	Keeping your current job Optimistic	Keeping your current job Cautious	Keeping your current job Not Optimistic
Your 2019 income will be greater than it was in 2018	Your 2019 income will be greater than it was in 2018 Very Optimistic	Your 2019 income will be greater than it was in 2018 Optimistic	Your 2019 income will be greater than it was in 2018 Cautious	Your 2019 income will be greater than it was in 2018 Not Optimistic
The future of the independent agency system	The future of the independent agency system Very Optimistic	The future of the independent agency system Optimistic	The future of the independent agency system Cautious	The future of the independent agency system Not Optimistic
The U.S. economy in 2019	The U.S. economy in 2019 Very Optimistic	The U.S. economy in 2019 Optimistic	The U.S. economy in 2019 Cautious	The U.S. economy in 2019 Not Optimistic
Your agency's ability to attract quality talent	Your agency's ability to attract quality talent Very Optimistic	Your agency's ability to attract quality talent Optimistic	Your agency's ability to attract quality talent Cautious	Your agency's ability to attract quality talent Not Optimistic
Independent agents' ability to grow commercial lines market share	Independent agents' ability to grow commercial lines market share Very Optimistic	Independent agents' ability to grow commercial lines market share Optimistic	Independent agents' ability to grow commercial lines market share Cautious	Independent agents' ability to grow commercial lines market share Not Optimistic
Independent agents' ability to gain personal lines market share	Independent agents' ability to gain personal lines market share Very Optimistic	Independent agents' ability to gain personal lines market share Optimistic	Independent agents' ability to gain personal lines market share Cautious	Independent agents' ability to gain personal lines market share Not Optimistic
Independent agency channel’s ability to advance in technology use	Independent agency channel’s ability to advance in technology use Very Optimistic	Independent agency channel’s ability to advance in technology use Optimistic	Independent agency channel’s ability to advance in technology use Cautious	Independent agency channel’s ability to advance in technology use Not Optimistic

Comment

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* 16. Please rate the property/casualty industry in the following areas:

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Customer service	Customer service Excellent	Customer service Good	Customer service Fair	Customer service Poor
Public image	Public image Excellent	Public image Good	Public image Fair	Public image Poor
Treatment of employees	Treatment of employees Excellent	Treatment of employees Good	Treatment of employees Fair	Treatment of employees Poor
Professionalism	Professionalism Excellent	Professionalism Good	Professionalism Fair	Professionalism Poor
Ethics	Ethics Excellent	Ethics Good	Ethics Fair	Ethics Poor
Career attractiveness to young professionals	Career attractiveness to young professionals Excellent	Career attractiveness to young professionals Good	Career attractiveness to young professionals Fair	Career attractiveness to young professionals Poor
Use of technology	Use of technology Excellent	Use of technology Good	Use of technology Fair	Use of technology Poor
Marketing and advertising	Marketing and advertising Excellent	Marketing and advertising Good	Marketing and advertising Fair	Marketing and advertising Poor

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* 17. Please rate yourself in the following areas:

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Technology knowledge and skill	Technology knowledge and skill Excellent	Technology knowledge and skill Good	Technology knowledge and skill Fair	Technology knowledge and skill Poor
Insurance technical knowledge/understanding	Insurance technical knowledge/understanding Excellent	Insurance technical knowledge/understanding Good	Insurance technical knowledge/understanding Fair	Insurance technical knowledge/understanding Poor
Relationship and communication skills	Relationship and communication skills Excellent	Relationship and communication skills Good	Relationship and communication skills Fair	Relationship and communication skills Poor
Professionalism	Professionalism Excellent	Professionalism Good	Professionalism Fair	Professionalism Poor
Ethics	Ethics Excellent	Ethics Good	Ethics Fair	Ethics Poor
Leadership skills	Leadership skills Excellent	Leadership skills Good	Leadership skills Fair	Leadership skills Poor
Marketing and advertising skills	Marketing and advertising skills Excellent	Marketing and advertising skills Good	Marketing and advertising skills Fair	Marketing and advertising skills Poor

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* 18. Which of the following do you believe is your biggest challenge?

Finding new markets

Finding new employees

Finding new customers

Finding new motivation

Finding new efficiencies

Other (please specify)

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* 19. What is your gender?

Male

Female

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* 20. How best would you describe your ethnicity?

White/Caucasian

Black

Hispanic/Latino

Asian

Native American

Do not wish to say

Other (please specify)

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* 21. How would you describe your political affiliation?

Republican

Democrat

Libertarian

Green Party

Independent

Do not wish to say

Other (please specify)

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* 22. Do you think the industry offers men more opportunity than women?

Basically True

Basically False

No Opinion

Other Comments:

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* 23. Which of these best describes your status with your current agency/brokerage?

Sole owner

Share ownership with other partner(s)

Not presently an owner

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Quality of agency technology in general	Quality of agency technology in general Excellent	Quality of agency technology in general Good	Quality of agency technology in general Fair	Quality of agency technology in general Poor
Quality of agency management system	Quality of agency management system Excellent	Quality of agency management system Good	Quality of agency management system Fair	Quality of agency management system Poor
Quality of laptops, phones and other devices	Quality of laptops, phones and other devices Excellent	Quality of laptops, phones and other devices Good	Quality of laptops, phones and other devices Fair	Quality of laptops, phones and other devices Poor
Mobile technology capabilities for customers and employees	Mobile technology capabilities for customers and employees Excellent	Mobile technology capabilities for customers and employees Good	Mobile technology capabilities for customers and employees Fair	Mobile technology capabilities for customers and employees Poor
Quality of rating and quoting system(s)	Quality of rating and quoting system(s) Excellent	Quality of rating and quoting system(s) Good	Quality of rating and quoting system(s) Fair	Quality of rating and quoting system(s) Poor
Quality of management	Quality of management Excellent	Quality of management Good	Quality of management Fair	Quality of management Poor
Use of social media	Use of social media Excellent	Use of social media Good	Use of social media Fair	Use of social media Poor
Use of technology tools to help with sales, marketing and prospecting	Use of technology tools to help with sales, marketing and prospecting Excellent	Use of technology tools to help with sales, marketing and prospecting Good	Use of technology tools to help with sales, marketing and prospecting Fair	Use of technology tools to help with sales, marketing and prospecting Poor
Agency website capabilities	Agency website capabilities Excellent	Agency website capabilities Good	Agency website capabilities Fair	Agency website capabilities Poor
Employee compensation and benefits	Employee compensation and benefits Excellent	Employee compensation and benefits Good	Employee compensation and benefits Fair	Employee compensation and benefits Poor
Opportunities for advancement	Opportunities for advancement Excellent	Opportunities for advancement Good	Opportunities for advancement Fair	Opportunities for advancement Poor
Administrative support	Administrative support Excellent	Administrative support Good	Administrative support Fair	Administrative support Poor
Opportunities for educational improvement	Opportunities for educational improvement Excellent	Opportunities for educational improvement Good	Opportunities for educational improvement Fair	Opportunities for educational improvement Poor
Telecommuting/flexibility with work-life balance	Telecommuting/flexibility with work-life balance Excellent	Telecommuting/flexibility with work-life balance Good	Telecommuting/flexibility with work-life balance Fair	Telecommuting/flexibility with work-life balance Poor