Market Focus - Insurance Agents : Shine the Silver Lining

Van Aartrijk offers some numbers to chew on: "Small agencies might generate commission/fee revenue of $75,000 per person. Larger firms will be in the $200,000 range. Successful life insurance agents will be well past $150,000 a year."

Marketers looking to earn a piece of the pie will do well to pay attention to the industry's vastly segmented landscape. The industry comprises various subcategories, and each has its own way of responding to marketing  efforts. "There are probably a couple million people on the insurance distribution side of the business. You have to look at it in segments, and they are run differently," van Aartrijk reports.

One of the greatest segments has to do with the type of product sold. Life and health agents deal with protection against the death of the insured, Hassan explains. The other category, property and casualty, is described thusly in the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics "Career Guide to Industries," as "Insurance [that] protects against loss or damage to property resulting from hazards such as fire, theft and natural disasters." Notable companies dealing with this type of coverage include the industry standards-State Farm, Allstate and Nationwide, van Aartrijk contributes.

The insurance-agent sector can be further subdivided according to working situations, like if an agent is working for a firm or is an independent salesperson, says van Aartrijk. The "Career Guide to Industries" breaks it down similarly: "The insurance industry consists mainly of insurance carriers (or insurers) and insurance agencies and brokerages." Insurance carriers, such as the "big guys," provide insurance and assume policy-related risks, while independent agencies are free to sell policies from a variety of carriers, the report says. But the disparity between large and small is considerable. In describing his magazines' target audience, Luke says, "Both publications cater to Fortune 100 organizations, all the way down to family-run businesses."

Despite a wide range of outlets, however, one thing is fairly common across the board. "The ownership of these firms is still dominated by males, although females are increasing in ownership. Currently, I estimate 10 [percent] to 20 percent of firms are owned by females," van Aartrijk adds. When it comes to industry publication subscribers, Hassan finds the same holds true. "We would say that only 20 [percent] to 22 percent of the agents and brokers reading these publications are females," he reports. 

A former Inside Direct Mail staffer, Christen Gruebel is currently senior editor at sister publication Promo Marketing. She can be reached at cgruebel@napco.com.