Search for Nation’s Top Independent Insurance Agencies Commences

With some 60,000 privately held independent agencies and brokerages nationwide, locating the most successful ones is a tough job but some company’s got to do it. That company is Insurance Journal.

Insurance Journal is on the lookout for the nation’s leading privately-held property casualty independent agencies and brokerages for its popular Top 100 P/C Independent Insurance Agencies and Brokerages report, which it will publish in early May.

“Independent agencies don’t get enough credit for their success,” maintains Mark Wells, publisher of Insurance Journal, whose brand is known for its five regional print magazines, industry web site, daily emailed industry newsletters and online educational seminars. “This is our attempt to identify the most successful agencies and give them the recognition they deserve.”

Agencies and brokers that make the Top 100 attract the best insurance partners, customers and prospective employees, according to Wells. “These are the agencies others look up to and everyone wants to do business with or even merge with because they are among the best and most successful,” he said.

Wells noted that the large public insurance brokers get a lot of attention — both good and bad — but Insurance Journal “wants to shed some positive light on the private agencies that make up the foundation of the American Agency System.”

Other industries regularly tout their leading performers while the insurance agency business tends to operate with a low profile, according to the veteran publisher. “It’s time to change that,” he said.

Insurance Journal began the search for the Top 100 last year and wants to improve and refine the listing this year. To get the job done, Insurance Journal needs the cooperation of the very top performers it seeks to recognize. “We are hopeful that agents in every state will recognize the benefits to the industry and to their own agencies of stepping forward and sharing their success,” Wells added.

Insurance Journal is inviting all independent agencies to submit brief Top 100 qualification forms. Firms are ranked according to their estimated property casualty written premium. The deadline is April 22.

The Top 100 form can be found in recent print editions of Insurance Journal and on the firm’s Web site at https://www.insurancejournal.com. Agencies can also receive a faxed form by calling 1 800 897-9965.

For editorial information, contact Andrew Simpson at asimpson@insurancejournal.com or (617) 325-6245. For advertising information, contact a regional Insurance Journal representative or Mitch Dunford at 800 897-9965 ext.123 or mdunford@insurancejournal.com. The media kit is also available online.