Why agribusiness diversification is important

Agribusiness insurance is an important sector, but agents are facing major challenges in managing policy data due to insufficient download links.

According to a recent survey from the AUGIE Group, 61.5% of agents report growing agribusiness, but 75% struggle to get policy data into their agency's management systems. To make the problem worse, carriers often combine agribusiness pickup with other lines of business, which makes tracking and management difficult.

Donna LaGoy (pictured left), senior vice president of business plans at Highstreet Insurance Partners, sheds some light on the complexities presented by this pile. “One of the biggest problems is that agribusiness data is often downloaded as part of a wider commercial package,” he explained. “This makes us miss sensitive information, which makes it difficult to track exactly what is in our agricultural business book. When everything is put together, it becomes a challenge to create specific agribusiness plans and make meaningful calculations.”

Cal Durland (pictured right), director of the AUGIE Group, echoes these concerns, noting that dedicated offloading for agribusiness will be more effective. “It's much better if it's done as a real agricultural business compared to the way the industry used to handle it,” he said.

Why did the merger happen?

LaGoy emphasized that the limitations in current carrier systems are largely due to their inherent design. “It's the way it's built,” he said, noting that, “Agents want more information specific to their business.”

The call for carriers to include more lines of business within their systems is reinforced by another key finding from the AUGIE survey, which highlights an important gap: 34.6% of respondents reported that their agency's management systems do not capture any data on agribusiness policy, underscoring the urgency of the need for carriers developing data integration skills.

The benefits of different links for agribusiness downloads

LaGoy pointed out the benefits of having a diverse network of agribusiness businesses. Without dedicated communication, agents often rely on insurance company portals or paper copies to obtain data. “It's frustrating because the amount of work involved in manually entering policies versus downloading is significant,” LaGoy noted. “Manual entry often leads to errors and missed issues. When data is downloaded, it works with consistency in quality, reducing friction and improving accuracy.”

In addition, various agribusiness download links provide valuable data insights that can help companies better manage and monetize their portfolios.

“For example, if you decide to sell your agribusiness book, the only way you can sell it is to know which terms fall under agriculture within your plans. It's about having the right data so you can look up your books or whatever you need,” said LaGoy.

The goal of change

In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the agribusiness insurance sector, Durland emphasized the importance of agents working together. “If agents pressure carriers to change their plans, things like this will happen,” he said.

Durland added: “It's better if we win [specialised agribusiness download connections]we will better understand what is happening in this field. It will mean less effort for everyone involved, leaving more time for agents to focus on customer relations and sales.”