2024 KAIA MEMBERS ’ VIEWPOINT SURVEY
A SUMMARY OF YOUR FEEDBACK written by Dave Hulcher , KAIA
Thank you to all our members that took the time to complete the 2024 Members ’ Viewpoint survey . There were over 400 survey respondents from around the state that participated in the survey . KAIA ’ s pledge to contribute $ 5 per survey competition generated over $ 2,500 for the Young Agents of Kansas initiative to support breast cancer research . Our goal with this survey was to gain a better understanding of member challenges , get perspective on market conditions , and identify areas where we can advocate to make the independent agency system the best version it can be .
RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
Location The survey participants offered an excellent spread of agents from around the state . Members in central Kansas represented the largest proportion at 39 % followed by 34 % hailing from the Northeast section of the state . Western Kansas had 16 % of the respondents while agents in the southeast were 11 %.
Agency Size Agencies of all sizes completed the survey with 55 % of respondents from agencies with 10 or fewer employees . 30 % of responds came from agencies with 21 employees or more .
Agency Role and Experience The survey was created with a unique set of questions
based on the respondent ’ s position in the agency . |
These positions included the following : principal / |
owner , producer , CSR / account managers , operations |
managers , |
administrative / clerical |
support , |
and |
others . |
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The results offer a nice spread of responses with 36 % from principals / owner , 24 % from producers , and 25 % from CSR / account managers . The responses came from a very experienced group of industry professionals with 43 % of respondents having 15 years or more of experience . In fact , 73 % of respondents had 5 years or more of experience .
CHALLENGES FACING AGENCIES
The top four challenges identified by principal / owners and operations managers over the next three years were :
1 . Changes in carrier appetites / coverage accessibility / changes in terms ( 80 %) 2 . Hiring , training , and retaining talent ( 55 %) 3 . Narrowing profitability margins ( 36 %) 4 . Increasing workload ( 35 %)
Coverage Accessibility The changes in carrier appetites and policy terms have significantly increased the workload of agencies due to greater activity around the underwriting
30 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER