2020 Best Practices Study

Created in 1993, through a joint initiative between Reagan Consulting and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) , the Best Practices Study (BPS) is designed to deliver critical financial and operational industry benchmarks and strategies to member agencies. For nearly 30 years, this comprehensive annual publication has helped agencies optimize their performance and built its reputation as one of the industry’s most consistently effective, reliable , and valuable information resources. Every three years, the Big “ I ” asks insurance companies, state association affiliates, and other industry organizations to nominate agencies they consider to be among the best in the industry for each of the BPS ’ s revenue categories. Nominated agencies are then invited to participate and must complete an in-depth survey detailing their financial and operational year-end results. Results are then scored and ranked objectively to determine which agencies earn the Best Practices agency designation.

The 1993 Best Practices Study

In 2019, the beginning of the current three-year (2019-2021) BPS cycle, over 1,000 independent agencies throughout the U.S. were nominated and 267 of the participating agencies became Best Practices agencies. Their results served as the foundation for the 2019 Best Practices Study . This year, the 2020 Best Practices Study continues to examine these same top performers who maintained their Best Practices status by submitting annual data. Participation in the Best Practices Study is a prestigious recognition of superior accomplishments. Agencies who believe they have the qualities of a Best Practices agency and wish to be nominated for the next cycle (2022-2024) can have their state association or an insurance carrier nominate them or can self-nominate.

The 2020 Best Practices Study is composed of three primary sections:

1. ReThink: Embracing the Challenges of a Post-COVID World — Agencies must prepare now for the time when the yellow “Caution” flag comes down and they face the transformed economic landscape

2. Executive Summaries — Key benchmarks and perspectives summarized for each of the six revenue categories

3. Cross Category Comparison — The complete array of Best Practices benchmarks for all six revenue categories, arranged in a side-by-side format that allows for quick comparisons of metrics across categories

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