By Roger Sitkins

AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

I’m sure you’re familiar with the opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …” I believe this may apply to today’s independent insurance agencies as well.

It’s the best of times because agency values have never been higher and the United States economy is doing very well. But it also may be the worst of times for some or all of the following reasons:

• Declining market share in certain areas
• Shrinking commission rates
• Increased competition from direct writers
• The growing challenge to find new sales and service talent
• Anemic pipelines

On top of all that, there’s digital disruption in both commercial and personal lines. Although this is something that was barely recognized a decade ago, there are now hundreds of companies worldwide that are developing digital distribution for the insurance industry.

As a result...