Adding Commercial Lines Insurance for P&C Agencies

For many property and casualty (P&C) agencies focused on personal lines, adding commercial insurance is a logical next step for growth. Why? Because doing so can help you become bigger and better by not only growing the agency's profitability but also by building a more resilient book of business and improving client retention. 

Research shows that 3 in 4 agencies are already experiencing revenue growth despite challenging market conditions. Just a few years ago, commercial lines alone increased an average of 21%. Just think of what that could mean for your agency.

Adding commercial insurance to your book of business offers benefits for your:

• Retention, offering clients more value by partnering with your agency across multiple lines
• Revenue, tapping into a new market with increased profit margins versus personal insurance
• Competitive edge, becoming the source for both personal and business insurance

Dive into the possibilities of adding commercial lines to your agency and how tech tools, such as management software and commercial insurance quoting software, can help.

Juggling the Demands of Commercial Lines

Commercial insurance can feel significantly more complicated when you’ve been so entrenched in personal lines. Embrace this new growth phase by rising to the unique challenges of commercial insurance.

Data Collection

Commercial agencies face increased data demands compared to those that exclusively sell personal policies. It’s not just different types of information but also way more of it. All of this changes your workflows, potentially leading to inefficiencies around:

• Manual tasks eating into profit-generating activities
• Navigating multiple carrier portals
• Customer data entry

Learning Curve

Switching or expanding to commercial insurance is more than the flick of a switch. There’s a learning curve that requires agents to adjust their perspectives. You’ll need to know a few basics, such as:

• Which information needs to be collected
• How to put information together
• Which coverages are ideal for different businesses

But you can adapt to add commercial services to your agency. Leaning on technology, including commercial insurance quoting software, will help you navigate the switch.

Which Tools Support Commercial Lines?

Technology for commercial lines supports your agency’s evolution directly and indirectly. Use software to manage in-the-weeds daily operations and make your name known. These tools can help:

Agency Management Software (AMS)

If you don’t use an AMS already, growing your business is the perfect excuse to start! You need a way to make sense of the new data coming your way. Use your AMS to access multiple markets, save time and eliminate duplicate data entry. 

All-in-one software makes it easy to: 

• Prefill information to create quotes.
• Use guided workflows to streamline how you manage submissions.
• Integrate commercial raters.

And if you’re unfamiliar with a prospect's business model, the right AMS can suggest coverages based on the business’s NAICS code.​ Not only does this offer guidance for unfamiliar industries, but it also helps you create more complete coverage proposals.

Commercial Insurance Quoting Software

Feeling out the best opportunities? Use commercial insurance quoting software to find in-appetite markets, apply with multiple carriers and get real-time quotes in one place. Plus, you can save up to 80 minutes per commercial risk line quoted and $50 per risk by integrating your commercial insurance quoting software directly with your AMS.

Digital Marketing Channels

Get the word out that you’re open for commercial business. Digital marketing can help position your agency for growth. Start with a few strategies and expand as you get comfortable:

• Use review sites (Google, Yelp and so on) to build trust and generate referrals that encourage new commercial business.
• Implement email campaigns (newsletters, promotions, milestones) by using customer communication software to generate leads, build loyalty and share content.
• Create search-optimized content (website, articles) to amplify your agency’s SEO and demonstrate expertise so prospects consider your services.
• Get active on social media (X, Facebook, LinkedIn and others) to engage customers with everything from content to timely updates and promote your agency.

Add Value to Your Growing Agency

Expanding your P&C agency to offer commercial lines is exciting! Your team may just have to shift how it approaches data and be open to learning new processes and technologies. 

Try not to get overwhelmed by it. A few quick tips can help make your switch to commercial lines seamless:

Get Organized

Invest in your team’s capabilities. Hire the right talent and offer continuous learning opportunities through regular training, taking time to recognize exceptional effort to drive productivity.

Gain Efficiencies

Reduce acquisition costs and time pursuing prospects and rekeying data. Technology, such as your AMS and commercial insurance quoting software, can automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows to free staff up to service accounts. 

Ready to go commercial? Turn to EZLynx. Our full suite of solutions – from AMS to commercial insurance quoting software – is designed to make your agency more efficient, profitable and successful. Explore our webinar, Invest in Commercial Lines to Stand Out in the Hard Market, for more insights to grow your agency.