(DeWitt, New York, May. 5, 2014) — New York insurance agencies’ opinions of the insurers they represent are little changed from year-ago levels, an insurance producer trade group reported today. The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York (IIABNY) said that the IIABNY Industry Index, a measure of agents’ and brokers’ satisfaction with insurers, rose for personal insurance companies and fell for those providing commercial insurance.
“Insurance agents and brokers continue to seek strong partnerships with insurance companies,” observed Kathy Weinheimer, IIABNY’s senior vice-president of industry relations. “The 2014 IIABNY Industry Index scores indicate that they have mixed feelings about how insurance companies are helping them transition to a marketplace dominated by Internet shopping and competitors who have huge TV advertising budgets.”
Continuing the trend of the past few years, producers gave higher marks to regional and super-regional companies than they did to the large national companies. (Regional companies do business only in New York State; super-regionals do business in several states but not countrywide.) These smaller companies scored 4 points better than their larger peers in commercial insurance and 6 points better in personal.
The index for personal insurance (insurance sold to individuals and households) rose 0.7 points from 2013. Super-regional companies saw their scores jump 3.2 points. The scores for national companies and regional companies were little changed.
The index for commercial insurance (coverage sold to businesses, governments and other institutions) dropped 2.14 points. A decrease of almost 7 points for regional companies drove that result.
Scores for regional companies in both personal and commercial insurance were heavily impacted by dissatisfaction with one company that has reported financial trouble. Excluding the scores for that company, regional companies saw a small increase in personal insurance and a 2-point drop in commercial.
The IIABNY Industry Index, which IIABNY publishes in the winter or spring each year, measures performance in areas such as: Underwriter empowerment; ease of use of technology; honest and fair treatment of agencies and customers; responsiveness of company personnel; and fairness of compensation arrangements. Companies scored highest in the area of honest and fair treatment, though this score rose for personal insurance and fell for commercial. They scored lowest in fairness of compensation arrangements, though again this score increased for personal and declined for commercial. Scores for empowerment, technology and responsiveness were little changed.
In addition to overall rankings, the index rated individual companies. The companies with the best scores will receive Outstanding Company Partner Awards at a ceremony during IIABNY’s annual business meeting on May 15. They are:
Commercial Insurance
- National: CNA
- Super Regional: Merchants Insurance Group
- Regional: Dryden Mutual Insurance Company
Personal Insurance
- National: Safeco Insurance
- Super Regional: The Andover Companies
- Regional: Dryden Mutual Insurance Company
IIABNY and research firm Vincent McCabe, Inc., calculated the index based on the results of a survey taken over a period of several weeks. More than 207 respondents from 178 insurance agencies participated in the survey. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percent.
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. has represented the common business interests of independent insurance professionals since 1882. More than 1,750 agencies and their 13,000 plus employees currently rely on the DeWitt, New York-based not-for-profit trade association for legislative advocacy, continuing education and other means of industry support. In addition, most IIABNY members proudly identify themselves as Trusted Choice® agents and brokers, a national consumer brand uniting more than 21,000 independent agencies across the United States. For more information, go to www.trustedchoice.com or www.iiabny.org.
Based in Skaneateles, New York, Vincent McCabe, Inc. is a full-service marketing and product research company specializing in the use of advanced methods to assist clients in rapid and efficient strategic decision-making and goal attainment. For more information, visit www.vincentmccabe.com.