THE CONTINUAL PRODUCER DILEMMA written by Catherine Oak , Oak & Associates
The shortage of good insurance producers is still a valid concern for the industry and the problem has only grown worse over time . Oak & Associates must get an average of one call a week with clients and new potential clients , calling to see if we have any good producers with books , looking for a new home .
Does this situation still threaten the survival of the independent agency system ? The short-term answer is yes , but the long-term answer is not clear due to developing changes explained later in this article .
In the short term , this lack of good producers should concern us all . A retiring agency owner without a producer to perpetuate his or her book will have limited options and may not command top dollar in a sale to a third party . Insurance companies should be concerned about their market share if that key producer dies or retires without a backup to retain the accounts .
Youth is the lifeblood of an industry . However , we see very few young property / casualty producers in our seminars / conventions , employed by our clients , or calling in for consulting assistance . There does seem to be an increase in young producers that sell nonstandard auto and employee benefits . Unfortunately , there is very little crossover of producers between these different lines of business .
The young P / C producers we see are usually the children of the principals who are motivated by the desire to follow in their parents ’ footsteps and to perpetuate the family business . For young people with no family ties to insurance , there is little , if any , motivation to get into the industry .
Q : How many children ( from non-insurance families ) say that they want to sell insurance when they get older ? A : None .
18 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER