Mike Kimlinger
Director, National Sales Recruiting
2024 brought significant changes for both individuals and organizations within the insurance sector. With ongoing mergers, acquisitions, and advancements in technology, the landscape is constantly shifting. These transformations are set to continue into 2025 and can greatly influence a producer’s potential for success.
Taking a moment to reflect on the elements of your career that you can influence can accelerate your professional development while ensuring you remain satisfied and engaged. Here are three key themes I’m currently hearing from producers throughout the industry that can help position you for success in 2025:
Confidence: Are you confident in your firm’s standing today—and in the future?
For many producers, the existing business climate presents various challenges that can lead to uncertainty regarding future planning. These distractions can hinder your ability to confidently forecast revenue, nurture client relationships, and spot growth opportunities.
Several critical factors contribute to this uncertainty:
- Company stability: A firm with both short-term and long-term resources and financial strength is vital for clients and prospects.
- Interest rate fluctuations: The persistent volatility in interest rates can greatly impact investment portfolios, resulting in changes to underwriting practices, pricing strategies, and available products.
- Election year implications: Political cycles can lead to changes in healthcare, taxation, and insurance regulations that may affect business operations and product offerings.
- Technological disruption: Automation, AI, and digital platforms are transforming how policies are sold, serviced, and managed.
- Wider economic challenges: Inflation and market instability continue to affect the overall cost structure of products and clients’ capacity to manage increases in coverage costs.
In 2025, foresight and adaptability will be a producer’s most valuable assets, enabling them to adjust to changing market conditions, such as fluctuating interest rates, evolving regulatory environments, and new competitors.
Other confidence-related questions to consider as you prepare for 2025:
- Are you in charge of your growth, or are external factors holding you back?
- Is your future dependent on decisions beyond your control, such as a private equity sale?
Specialization: Are you being set up to excel—or merely survive?
We are witnessing a rising trend toward specialization. Concentrating on niche industries or product lines enables producers to forge stronger client relationships, secure larger deals, and provide customized solutions.
While specialization offers significant rewards, it also demands considerable effort, especially in smaller firms where resources may be limited. Being part of a larger firm with access to resources like benchmarking data and actuarial teams can provide a crucial advantage in developing that expertise and expanding your portfolio.
Consider Matt, a risk management consultant at Marsh McLennan Agency, who focuses on staffing. He notes, “At MMA, you can acquire detailed and nuanced knowledge of industries that will set you apart from competitors. Our staffing practice is recognized nationally as thought leaders, which has opened many doors to potential clients. Our team is also comprised of specialists who can assist clients in numerous ways, even beyond insurance.”
Other specialization-related questions to consider as you prepare for 2025:
- Are you positioned to differentiate yourself with deep expertise?
- Does your firm offer the internal resources necessary for you to succeed as a specialist?
Support: Is unrestricted growth achievable—or is burnout more likely?
Support varies depending on where an individual is in their career. For new producers, effective training and business development resources are crucial, and most firms provide these foundational support systems. However, as you advance in your career, the type of support you require changes significantly.
Established producers need substantial resources to thrive and concentrate on their books of business, such as a strong, experienced account management team. While it’s relatively easy for new producers to validate and achieve initial benchmarks, the real challenge lies in doubling or even tripling that success. A robust support team allows seasoned producers to surpass the $1M book plateau without sacrificing their work-life balance to 70-hour weeks. Firms that depend on individual producers to manage every aspect of client relationships are likely to lead their teams to burnout rather than sales growth.
Other support-related questions to consider as you prepare for 2025:
- Does your firm’s definition of success align with your career aspirations?
- Are you spending your time managing tasks, or are you focused on growing your book of business?
- Is your firm investing in top-tier account managers to support your growth?
What do YOU want in 2025?
As the new year kicks off, now is an ideal time to evaluate your current situation and what you aim to accomplish in the coming year. While it may be a period of uncertainty and change, you don’t have to allow external factors to dictate your success. Instead, concentrate on the elements within your control: your skill development, your specialization, and the environment in which you choose to work. Embrace the market changes and use them as a springboard to enhance your own position.
The most successful producers don’t wait for change—they take charge. Where do you envision yourself by the end of 2025?
