Inside the 2026 Agency Universe Study 

• September 22, 2026

On this episode of Agency Nation Radio, Will Jones, editor-in-chief of Independent Agent magazine chats with Kristina Witzling, executive vice president, from Zeldis Research to unpack the results of the 2026 Agency Universe Study.  

The study is a research initiative supported by the Big “I” Future One Coalition, a partnership of more than 15 leading insurance organizations, and conducted by Zeldis Research. The study looks at statistics about independent agencies operating in the U.S., including their numbers, revenue base and sources, number of employees, ownership, mix of business, diversification of products, technology uses, non-insurance income sources and marketing methods.     

The study found that independent agencies continue to see strong revenue growth, with 3 in 4 agencies reporting increases between 2024 and 2025—consistent with the previous year’s findings.  

At the same time, the share of agencies reporting a decline in revenue fell from 12% in 2024 to 8% in 2025. Growth was seen across both major lines of business, with about 7 in 10 agencies reporting increases in personal lines revenue and 2 in 3 seeing growth in commercial lines. 

While premium increases account for some of the revenue numbers, “a lot of it is organic growth,” says Witzling. 

“The vast majority told us that they’re growing both personal and commercial lines—they’re really targeting growth,” she says. “We’re seeing more cross-selling, and more agencies tell us that they’re selling cyber; that’s been going up every year.” 

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