2011 is the year the regional independent-agency carriers did the work. The IA channel's personal-lines share rose to a recovery-period high — entirely on the regional segment — while captive carriers slipped below half of personal lines. The full arc is the channel-share trends tactical; this is the single-year reading.
§ 01 · Personal linesRegional carriers lift the channel.
The IA channel reached 35.7% of personal lines — a recovery high — as regional carriers jumped to 26.3%, more than offsetting the continued national retreat to 9.4%. Captive carriers dropped below 50% (49.3%), and direct response edged up to 13.6%.
| Personal lines (2011) | Share |
|---|---|
| National IA carriers | 9.4% |
| Regional IA carriers | 26.3% |
| IA channel combined | 35.7% |
| Captive / exclusive | 49.3% |
| Direct response | 13.6% |
§ 02 · Commercial lines & autoThe advisor channel holds.
Commercial lines stayed firmly in the IA channel at 78.4%, direct response below 1%. In private passenger auto, regional carriers held a strong 26.3% while direct response advanced to 17.4% and captive eased to 48.4%.
| Channel | Commercial lines | Private passenger auto |
|---|---|---|
| IA channel combined | 78.4% | ~33.0% |
| Captive / exclusive | 18.3% | 48.4% |
| Direct response | 0.9% | 17.4% |
§ 03 · The signalThe regional engine.
2011 makes the channel's central dynamic explicit: the independent agency channel defends and even grows personal-lines share, but it does so through regional carriers, not national ones. The national-carrier retreat from personal lines is structural; the regional carriers are what keep the channel competitive in the line where direct response is hunting hardest.
- IA personal-lines share at a recovery high. 35.7%, led by regional carriers at 26.3%.
- Captive PL dipped below 50%. 49.3% — a milestone in the long erosion.
- National IA kept retreating. Personal-lines share down to 9.4%.
- Direct response advanced. Personal lines 13.6%, personal auto 17.4%.
- Commercial moat intact. IA at 78.4%, 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. 2011 sharpens the carrier-appointment read: a personal-lines book anchored to regional carriers gaining share sits in a structurally better position than one tied to retreating national personal-lines carriers — a distinction a buyer weighs in carrier-concentration diligence. 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.