| For the past 25 years, the Best Practices program has offered benchmarks and research designed to help agents and brokers increase their agency value and operating excellence. The research helps agents better understand their own performance, measure themselves against the best, and identify and improve the factors critical to success.
The 2018 Best Practices Update is now available, and results indicate that thanks to the rapidly expanding economy, modest firming in property-casualty rates, and stabilized post-Affordable Care Act benefits environment, the insurance industry is as healthy as it has been in recent history. Here are a few 2018 highlights from a growth perspective: - Overall, organic growth averaged approximately 4.6%, marking a slight increase from last year.
- Commercial lines was the largest organic growth engine for most agencies, surpassing personal lines and life-health. Some of this growth is was driven by improving p-c rates and an expanding economy.
- Still, organic personal lines p-c growth remains strong, up to 3.3% from 3.1% in 2017.
- As measured by sales velocity, new business increased slightly compared to 2017.
The annual Best Practices report allows any agency to compare their performance against high-performing agencies in areas such as profitability, mergers & acquisitions, and perpetuation. Results are provided in six different revenue categories to allow for apples-to-apples comparison. For more information on what the findings mean to your agency and how you can benefit from them, visit the Best Practices Webinars page, where you'll find brief, on-demand education sessions. Think your firm has what it takes to be a Best Practices Agency and want to know how you can get involved in the next research cycle? Visit the Become a Best Practices Agency webpage. Send questions to Best Practices staff.
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