Best Practices: Benchmarks and Data Jennifer Becker
V irtually every industry has a model for comparing results to other businesses in the same field. For the independent agency system, that model is IIABA’ s Best Practices program.
Best Practices resources gather data from highly qualified agencies that have demonstrated real, measurable success. Other agencies can use these metrics to compare their own information and statistics to those recognized as the best, applying appropriate resources for self-improvement while celebrating areas of high achievement.
Using Best Practices resources forces agents to work on their business instead of just in it— and that can pay for itself many times over. If agencies follow Best Practices metrics year after year, they can validate processes and update procedures when it becomes necessary in the future.
Let’ s take a closer look at what the Best Practices Study includes, and how this data can be beneficial to agency operations and planning.
Apples-to-apples comparison. Agencies can compare their own metrics to those of firms in six specific revenue categories, from those with less than $ 1.25 million in annual revenue to those with more than $ 25 million.
Three main focus areas. 1. Brokerage Industry Perspectives: This section analyzes the four key challenges facing the insurance brokerage industry, and outlines how Best Practices agencies are responding to each.
2. Executive Summaries: This section provides concise key benchmarks and insights for each of the six revenue categories.
3. Cross-Category Comparisons: This section offers the entire spectrum of Best Practices benchmarks for all revenue categories in a side-by-side format, allowing for a quick comparison of metrics across all revenue categories.
Variety of benchmarks. Agencies and brokerages can view data on regional distribution, corporate structure, revenue distribution, average revenues, employee productivity spreads and book of business. They can also learn which Net Unvalidated Producer Payroll( NUPP) and Rule of 20 formulas can help them create a performance dashboard specific to their own firm.
Definitions of key terms. These help visualize meaning, in addition to useful infographics throughout.
Use Best Practices resources to benefit from the success of agencies that have generously opened their playbooks and operations. Improving yours will be well worth the time investment to evaluate, compare, contrast and create your own dashboard.
Learn more about Best Practices and purchase the 2016 Best Practices Study online at independentagent. com / bestpractices or email bestpractices @ iiaba. net with questions.
Jennifer Becker is the Director of Education Programs at the IIABA.
24 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | January- February 2017 |