With the insurance industry labor market tighter than ever, independent agents are feeling the crunch when it comes to finding, training and retaining top talent. One-fourth of the insurance industry’s workforce has retired (PDF) over the past several years, making it a challenge to hire people who have the skills and potential to help agencies meet aggressive growth and customer retention goals.

Low unemployment combined with an aging industry workforce means that agents have to work harder to recruit and train staff. It’s a challenge to just keep up, both in terms of time and financial resources, when it comes to recruiting. But attracting new talent is mission critical for long-term success.

Now, qualifying agents who partner with Nationwide are able to use co-op dollars to market to recruits, participate in training programs or pursue industry certifications. Agents can also use co-op dollars for membership and conference fees for Big “I”, Trusted Choice and PIA.

“We’ve been listening carefully to our independent agents and a critical pain point is resources for recruiting and training,” said Shelley Brazeau Temple, president of P&C personal lines at Nationwide. “These are just a few of the new market-leading enhancements we’re making to our co-op program to help our independent agent partners win in the market place, based on their unique needs.”

In the first half of 2019, independent agencies participating in the co-op program saw an 18% lift in average new writings per month compared to non-participating agencies. Nationwide rolled out the enhanced co-op marketing program in July 2019, offering new opportunities to fuel growth for agency partners.

Agent’s brand first

Nationwide’s new co-op program also includes simplified brand guidelines leading with the agency brand first while highlighting the partnership with Nationwide.

“The Nationwide brand needs to be present to be eligible for co-op support, but we are no longer requiring it be 50/50 shared brand visibility with the agency brand,” said Cathy Lanning, senior vice president of marketing for Nationwide.

Centralized customer service

Nationwide is also shifting service support for co-op from an external vendor to its Centralized Sales Support team, providing a one-stop shop to meet the needs of participating agencies.

“Relationships matter when it comes to co-op service,” Lanning added. “Moving support to our Centralized Sales Support team will decrease response times and limit the time it takes an agency to find and identify the right resources for their specific needs. It’s all about making it faster and easier for the agent.”

Co-op allowances are set according to an agency’s level of partnership with Nationwide.

The new co-op materials are available now for eligible agencies. To learn more about the program, visit Nationwide’s agency marketing support webpage.