2010 is the early-recovery snapshot — premium roughly flat off the recession floor, and the channel substitution that defined the decade continuing in the background. The full 25-year arc is the channel-share trends tactical; this is the single-year reading.
§ 01 · Personal linesThe substitution continues.
The independent agency channel held a combined 33.8% of personal lines, essentially flat year over year. Beneath that, the steady trade played on: direct response rose to 13.1%, captive carriers eased to 53.1%, and within the IA channel the regional segment (23.7%) continued to carry the national one (10.1%).
| Personal lines (2010) | Share |
|---|---|
| National IA carriers | 10.1% |
| Regional IA carriers | 23.7% |
| IA channel combined | 33.8% |
| Captive / exclusive | 53.1% |
| Direct response | 13.1% |
§ 02 · Commercial lines & autoThe moat holds.
Commercial lines stayed firmly advisor-mediated — the IA channel held 79.6% and direct response remained below 1%. Private passenger auto kept its slow grind: direct response to 16.6%, captive easing to 51.7%, the IA channel near 31.7%.
| Channel | Commercial lines | Private passenger auto |
|---|---|---|
| IA channel combined | 79.6% | ~31.7% |
| Captive / exclusive | 19.5% | 51.7% |
| Direct response | 0.9% | 16.6% |
§ 03 · The signalA holding pattern with a trend underneath.
On the surface 2010 was a quiet year — aggregate channel shares barely moved. But the personal-auto substitution that began in the 1990s kept compounding a point a year, and the IA channel's defense of personal lines continued to depend on regional carriers offsetting the national retreat. The commercial moat, as ever, held.
- Early recovery. Premium stabilized after the 2009 trough.
- IA personal-lines share flat. 33.8%, held by regional carriers offsetting national retreat.
- Direct response keeps climbing. Personal lines to 13.1%, personal auto to 16.6%.
- Captive erosion continues. Personal-lines share eased to 53.1%.
- Commercial moat intact. IA at 79.6%, direct response below 1%.
The benchmark is the baseline, not the price.
Channel share doesn't value an agency — it frames the structural weather a book competes in. 2010 reaffirms the durable read: a commercial-led book sits in an 80%-IA-share channel insulated from substitution, while a personal-auto-heavy book carries a slow but compounding headwind. A buyer prices line mix through that lens; the long-run pattern is the subject of channel-share trends.
What this measures. Direct written premium by distribution channel, classified by IIABA from A.M. Best data into national IA, regional IA, captive/exclusive, and direct response.
Channel definition. A.M. Best has no native "direct response" category; IIABA assigns carriers to channels, so some affiliate premium is approximate.
Restatement. A.M. Best applies retrospective adjustments, so a given year's figures can differ slightly across editions.
Frequency. The report publishes annually. Milly Books refreshes this brief with each new edition.