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Buyers are more willing to start online. Agents and brokers still matter.
Mutuals still work through agents and brokers. Those partners want clear answers and quick replies. Buyers are more willing to start online. That should not mean going around the agents and brokers.
The path still runs through a broker or agent
People still choose a local advisor they trust, especially in Canada, where many brokers do not rate digital ads or SEO as their main growth tool. They also know they must be findable, and they already spend on websites and social. The useful work is practical: accurate listings, pages for the work you actually write, a site that is easy to contact, and a habit of following up — in support of referrals and community presence, not instead of them.
Buyers are more willing to start online. That should not mean going around your agents and brokers.
What the public figures actually say
These figures describe the market. They are not Insurer Signal results.
In the NAMIC Mutual Factor commercial buyer survey, 41% of commercial buyers preferred purchasing online or via app, 55% preferred to purchase directly from an insurance company, and 39% preferred a local agent.
The Big “I” / Future One 2026 Agency Universe Study found that 47% of respondents ranked social and digital marketing as their top marketing activity, followed by Google Business, SEO and websites.
In Canadian Underwriter’s 2025 National Broker Survey, only 34% of brokers said digital advertising had been important for their business. In the 2026 National Broker Survey, 50% called rapid technological change a strong challenge, up 12 points year over year.
What firms can do about it
- Be findable for the work you actually write, especially in local search and on your own site.
- Make it easy to get in touch, and be clear about the business you want to write, so your staff are not sorting work you would not take on.
- Follow up on inquiries. This page does not attach a multiplier to that habit. General studies on calling web inquiries quickly are not insurance-specific studies.
The first step here is a free strategy call, a website check and a written roadmap — not a score, and not an audit on this page.
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