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T
HE
2003 B
EST
P
RACTICES
S
TUDY
E
XECUTIVE
U
PDATE
For First Time Readers of the Study
The annual
Best Practices Study
originated in 1993 as an initiative to help independent agents
build the value of their most important asset, their agencies. By studying the leading agencies
and brokers in the country, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA)
hoped to provide member agents with meaningful performance benchmarks and business
strategies that could be adopted or adapted for use in improving agency performance, thus
enhancing agency value.
The IIABA retained the principals of Reagan Consulting to create and perform the first study of
The Best Practices of the Leading Independent Insurance Agencies in the United States
. Today,
the annual updates continue to provide important financial and operational benchmarks, and the
study is recognized as one of the most thoughtful, effective and valuable resources ever made
available to the industry.
The leading agencies included in the annual study must be nominated for participation. Once
every three years, the insurance companies participating in the IIABA’s Council for
Best Practices
and the Executive Directors of IIABA’s state association affiliates nominate the agencies they
believe to be among the best. The 700-800 nominated agencies are then invited to participate
and asked to complete an in-depth survey detailing their most recently completed fiscal year end
results. From the 300+ agencies submitting data, the top 30 in each revenue category are
included in the study for the next three years and earn the status of a “
Best Practices
agency.”
They are scored and ranked objectively for inclusion on the basis of Account Retention Rates,
Revenue Growth, Productivity, Profitability, and Financial Stability. Participation in
The Best
Practices Study
has become a prestigious recognition of the superior accomplishments of the top
insurance agencies in each of the six size categories studied.
About This Year’s Results
The 2003 Best Practices Study Executive Update continues to follow the performance of the 180
agencies selected as Best Practices agencies in the 2001 study. Since 2001, banks or national
and regional brokers have acquired 5% of those agencies.