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9 June 2022 Insurance

MGA & agency staff head for higher pay; industry turnover jumps to 20%

A full 20% of the MGA and insurance agency core workforce may have changed jobs over the past year, chiefly in pursuit of higher pay, a move that forced pay raises on principals and owners.

“One in five of our survey takers reported changing companies in the past 12 months, and financial considerations—such as salary and bonuses—were the main drivers,” authors of Vertafore's fifth annual insurance workforce survey claimed.

Of the job changers, 49% said they had sought more bonus pay, 44% more salary and 36% more benefits. But non-compensatory factors also played a role: 30% claimed to have sought more time off, 27% sought remote work opportunities, 25% spoke of more professional development and 11% sought flexible scheduling.

Owners and principals appeared to offer a somewhat easier view of the retention side of the job market, albeit at a cost. A full 58% claimed no change in turnover and another 20% claimed retention had improved. For all the rise in declared job changes (up ca. 2/3 from 2017 levels), just 18% of principals/owners admitted to increased attrition and only 3% called it “significant.”

They may have paid for that sense of comfort. 41% of owners/principals reported having issued pay raises for improved retention, over 30% offered remote, work, flexible schedules and/or bonus pay. Only 21% of owners/principals got off the hook in 2021 with no changes in HR policy. Or so they claimed.

“In the face of staffing challenges, nearly 80% of agency owners and principals report making changes to retain their employees, including increasing compensation and offering flexible schedules and remote work options,” authors wrote.

Once staff departs, the real problems begin. On the list of most prevalent problems, finding qualified candidates came in just ahead of finding any candidates at all. For those that found candidates worth negotiations, nearly a third failed the pay requirements of the would-be recruits.

Some 1,300 agency and MGA employees, chiefly with tenure in excess of 10 years and chiefly customer-facing or in leadership, participated in the survey.

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