Agents rank automation above price, Ivans survey finds

August 26, 2026

Ivans, the insurance technology provider behind the Ivans Exchange platform, has published the results of its 2026 Insurance Agency-Carrier Connectivity Trends survey report.

The findings show that friction within the submissions process has overtaken product and pricing as the leading reason independent agents choose where to place business.

According to the report, 90% of agents have cut back business with a carrier because of submission-related friction, with re-keying risk data across multiple carrier portals identified as the most common frustration, named by 74% of those surveyed.

The survey also found that commercial submission automation is the capability agents most want carriers to offer, selected by 79% of respondents. This was followed by demand for real-time agency management system (AMS) data upload, cited by 61%, and automated delivery of claims loss runs, wanted by 44%.

Separately, 76% of agents said that the quality of digital submission and policy servicing experiences now outweighs commission when deciding where to place business, with easy quoting and submission (86%) and faster binding and issuing (75%) ranked as the digital outcomes agents value most.

The report further highlighted that commercial lines-focused agencies experience these problems more acutely than their personal lines counterparts. These agencies re-key data at a rate of 70%, compared with 62% among personal lines-focused firms, and lean much more heavily on email for submissions, used by 49%, rather than dedicated submission capture software, used by just 7%.

The 2026 Ivans Connectivity Survey gathered responses from 702 independent agents between April and May 2026, via a voluntary online survey covering digital connectivity preferences, workflow pain points and technology usage. The report draws on nine years of trend data, alongside data from the Ivans Exchange platform and interviews conducted with an executive advisory council.

Applied Systems Carrier president Michael Streit said, “This year’s survey findings confirm that our technology investments are focused exactly where agents say the value lives: experiences that make working with carriers easier. We continue to invest heavily in removing friction for agencies and carriers alike, and more carriers are getting on board every day.”