If the universe sizing answers "how big," the operational data answers "how modern." The 2024 numbers set the tech-and-carrier floor a buyer reads in diligence — and they show an industry digitizing fast on the agency side while carriers and access channels shift underneath. The universe-sizing companion is the universe & M&A data.
§ 01 · Technology adoptionDigitizing fast on the agency side.
Agency-side technology is near-saturated and still climbing: 95% use at least one electronic technology, e-signature reached 70%, and the standout shift was commercial-lines download, up 14 points to 61% as hard-market operational pressure pushed CL-side digitization that had lagged personal lines.
| Technology adoption | 2022 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Any electronic technology | 89% | 95% |
| E-signature (internal) | 61% | 70% |
| Commercial-lines download | 47% | 61% |
| Texting with clients | 65% | 69% |
| Direct-bill commission download | 45% | 52% |
The bottleneck for fully-digital workflows sits on the carrier side: carrier e-signature lagged at 55%, below the agency-internal rate, and "multiple carrier interfaces" was the top technology challenge at 45% — every carrier its own portal and download configuration.
§ 02 · Carriers & market accessLeaner books, more intermediaries.
The universe-wide average carrier count fell from 18.3 (2022) to 17.2 (2024) — agencies running leaner portfolios — even as reliance on intermediated market access surged. Wholesale-broker, MGA, and agency-network usage all jumped, with MGA usage the largest shift (+12 points). Smaller agencies route the majority of their excess-and-surplus placements through MGAs.
| Market-access provider (commercial) | 2022 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale brokers | 53% | 61% |
| MGAs / program administrators | 30% | 42% |
| Agency networks | 50% | 60% |
| Agency clusters / producer groups | 38% | 34% |
| Internet market access | 15% | 20% |
The MGA and wholesale growth connects directly to the structural expansion of the MGA and wholesale channel — as direct carrier-appointment paths tighten in a hard market, intermediated access expands.
§ 03 · Placement & carrier asksClaims first.
When agencies decide where to place a risk, claims performance is the #1 driver at 93% — narrowly ahead of responsiveness and competitive pricing, both at 91%. The claims experience outweighs rate. And the issues agencies most want carriers to address all intensified from 2022: new personal-lines products (57%), cyber risk (31%), and API/AMS integration (30%) each rose nine points — the hard market and digital transformation squeezing the carrier relationship from several directions at once. Social media slipped as a top marketing activity (62% → 56%), the only declining marketing channel.
- Agency tech near-saturated. 95% use some electronic technology; e-signature at 70%.
- Commercial-lines download surged. +14 points to 61% — the largest tech shift.
- Carrier-side tooling lags. Carrier e-signature at 55%, below the agency-internal rate — the digital bottleneck.
- Leaner carrier books. Universe average fell 18.3 → 17.2 appointments.
- Intermediated access surged. MGA usage +12 points; wholesale and networks up too.
- Claims is the #1 placement driver. 93%, ahead of pricing.
The benchmark is the baseline, not the price.
Operational data doesn't value an agency — it sets the diligence floor a buyer measures a target against. A 2024-era target should clear the universe-wide tech adoption rates (e-signature ~70%, commercial-lines download ~61%); a target meaningfully below them reads as operationally lagging and carries integration cost. On carriers, the universe-wide trend toward fewer appointments means a stable or growing carrier count is now itself a quality signal, and a carrier mix weighted toward strong-claims carriers reads better than one chosen on commission alone. The top-quartile carrier-concentration counterpart is the BPS carrier-strategy data.
What the study measures. Whole-universe operational adoption across the independent-agency market — self-reported by 1,269 respondents.
"At least one" measures. Permissive: using any single tool counts toward the adoption figure; granular per-tool rates are more diagnostic.
Self-reported. Adoption rates may overstate implementation depth versus actual usage.
Cadence. Biennial since 1983; the 2024 wave. Milly Books refreshes this brief with each new wave.