Carrier Reach Without the Headaches: Solving the Market Access Problem for Growing Agencies

There’s a paradox many independent agents know all too well: You can’t grow without carrier access, but you can’t get carrier access with limited direct appointments, production thresholds, and shifting carrier appetites.

“It’s an interesting time as a retail agent,” says Doug Penley, President of ISU Steadfast.

“For the first time in six years, really since pre-COVID, carriers are saying they want to focus more broadly on new business growth again, but they’re also asking for bigger commitments that a lot of agencies can’t realistically make.”

This push-and-pull is exactly where having the collective scale of a network like ISU Steadfast in your corner can help: by providing agencies with access to markets, helping them grow profitably, and remaining independent and in control.

Key Takeaways

• Independent agencies struggle to grow without stronger carrier access and scale.

• Production minimums, consolidation, and shrinking commissions make profitability harder to sustain.

• MGAs and aggregators offer access, but often at the cost of control and commission.

• ISU Steadfast provides access to 100+ carriers through one streamlined network relationship.

• Members gain leverage, efficiency tools, and profit-sharing opportunities — without giving up independence. The result: growth, stronger market positioning, and autonomy.

The Real Cost of Limited Market Access

Over the past several years, carriers were focused almost entirely on profitability. Appetites tightened while carriers sought rate adequacy. “Now carriers have significantly changed direction,” Penley explains. “They’re focused on green business again. But with that focus comes commitment levels that not every agency can — or should — promise.”

Production minimums and volume requirements continue to pose significant barriers, especially for small to mid-sized agencies, and, increasingly, for larger agencies as well.

According to the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”), while independent agents still write the majority of U.S. property and casualty (P&C) business, competitive pressures are intensifying. That pressure is compounded by declining commissions: In 2024, the national average commission rate across all P&C lines was 11.5%, with personal auto averaging just over 8%, making scale and market access more critical than ever to sustaining profitability.

These challenges are being amplified by ongoing carrier consolidation and market contraction, which continue to reduce the number of viable options available to independent agents. As carriers merge, exit certain classes, or pull back from specific geographies, the remaining markets are often more selective, raising the bar on appointments and underwriting expectations. 

For agents, there are fewer choices and less negotiating leverage, particularly for agencies without scale. In this environment, the ability to access markets through trusted relationships and collective scale is no longer a “nice to have” but a practical necessity for placing business and maintaining client choice.

“Volume matters. Size matters,” Penley says.

“When you’re part of a larger organization, you’re able to go to market as a group instead of standing alone, and that changes the conversation with carriers.”

See Our Carrier Partners

Why Most Access Solutions Fall Short

Managing general agents (MGAs), wholesalers, and aggregators can help solve access issues, but often at a cost. Lower commissions, reduced control, and a disconnect from the actual carrier relationship are common trade-offs.

“There are good MGAs out there writing on solid paper,” Penley says. “But it’s just a different experience. Many times, you’re working through another layer, and you don’t really have that direct relationship with the carrier.”

For agents looking to pivot into niches such as construction, hospitality, senior care, cyber, or management liability, the challenge is even greater. Everyone says “specialize,” but getting established without an existing book is easier said than done.

“You don’t have the volume yet,” Penley notes. “You can’t walk into a niche carrier and say, ‘Trust me.’ That’s where agencies really struggle.”

Too often, agents feel forced to choose between autonomy and access, and neither option feels great.

Find Out More About Our Memberships

How ISU Steadfast Simplifies Carrier Access

ISU Steadfast approaches market access differently. With relationships spanning more than 100 commercial and personal lines carriers nationwide, ISU Steadfast brings agencies to the table as part of a vetted, respected collective.

“We go to market as one group,” Penley explains. “Carriers know our vetting process. I’ve had carriers say, ‘If they’re an ISU Steadfast member, we know they’re a quality retail agent.’ That credibility matters.”

Through the ISU Steadfast network, members can, in many cases, gain carrier access without meeting carrier production minimums. Consolidated producer codes provide leverage, often enabling better commissions and supplemental compensation (profit sharing) opportunities that individual agencies might not otherwise qualify for.

ISU Steadfast also invests heavily in operational efficiency. Our Commercial Lines Submission Engine allows agents to quote multiple carriers in a single entry or upload documents, with the system automatically populating the submission.

“It’s an agency efficiency play,” says Penley. “You’re able to provide multiple quotes with far less time, effort, and energy.”

For written business, real-time IVANS AL3 downloads support smoother integration with agency management systems, reducing rekeying and administrative drag.

See Our Carrier Partners

Growth Without Sacrifice: What Sets Us Apart

ISU Steadfast isn’t about growth at any cost. It’s about growth without giving up who you are.

Beyond compensation, members also benefit from discounted access to key vendors, a proprietary errors and omissions program, and technology partners that help agencies operate more efficiently.

“Additionally, one of the biggest advantages is our community,” Penley says. “We have councils and peer groups that meet regularly. It’s not about ISU Steadfast — it’s about each agency’s business and the industry. Our members are constantly learning from each other, sharing best practices, asking questions, and solving real agency problems together. It goes well beyond carrier access.”

And through it all, agency independence stays intact.

“We’re fiercely defensive of the independent agency channel,” Penley says. “You keep your brand. You keep your clients. Our goal is to help you be the best independent agent you can be — and have a little fun doing it.”