NIBA Unveils Landmark Report, Setting the Profession’s Agenda for the Next Decade

The National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) has released a landmark thought-leadership report at the 2025 NIBA Convention, Ready or Reacting? Shaping the Future of the Insurance Broking Profession. 

By 2035, brokers that are future-ready will embrace their role as strategic trusted advisers, digital innovators and resilience leaders, with technology, regulation and emerging risks set to reshape the 
profession, NIBAʼs research finds.

Ready or Reacting? Shaping the Future of the Broking Profession sets a decisive agenda for the decade ahead, calling for adaptability to seize opportunity amid accelerating disruption.

“This research is a clear call to action,” said NIBA CEO Richard Klipin.“Our commitment is to help brokers build capability, elevating professional standards and advocating for a policy environment that supports innovation and the broking value proposition for clients and communities,” Richard added.

Key strategic challenges
The report identifies 8 key disruptive forces and their impact, comparing it with the level of preparedness for each across the profession. Technology and automation, regulatory demands, and the new risk landscape are ranked by brokers as the top 3 disruptive forces over the coming decade.

1. Technological disruption is outpacing preparedness: While 83% of respondents expect technology and automation to have significant impact by 2035, only 61% feel prepared, signalling that there is a major gap between technological disruption and preparedness across the profession.

2. Complexity of the regulatory landscape is increasing: While 86% of respondents anticipate that increased regulation is likely or very likely to occur by 2035, only 62% feel their business is prepared for this shift.

3. The risk environment is rapidly evolving: While 76% of respondents believe brokers will need to expand into new risk domains to remain relevant, only 64% believe they are prepared to navigate the changing risk landscape. 

• Using digital maturity as a force multiplier: Firms with higher digital integration indicate greater readiness across the disruption areas, highlighting that investment in technology will be key to uplifting capability for the profession.

• Strategic opportunity for the profession: The research highlights that insurance brokers who lean into technology, education and strategic advisory will thrive in 2035 and beyond.

“The future of broking isnʼt a distant horizon, itʼs rapidly approaching. The NIBA Board is committed to ensure insurance brokers are empowered, agile, and ready to meet the demands of 2035 and beyond,” said NIBA President Nick Cook. 

This report is produced in partnership with the Community Broker Network (CBN) and draws on insights from CoreData as well as quantitative and qualitative data from the sector. This is the first in a new series of sector insights that NIBA intends to release over 2025-26.

“We are delighted to partner with NIBA for this timely and thought-provoking piece of research that will help the broking community navigate 2035 and beyond,” said Richard Crawford, CEO, Community Broker Network (CBN).

By collectively identifying key impacts on the profession, ranging from technology and automation to evolving client expectations and regulatory demands, the research offers a comprehensive lens through which to view the future of broking.

“The insights in this landmark report underscore NIBAʼs opportunity to lead, shape change and galvanise the sector by empowering brokers for the future through continuous learning, collaboration, and innovation,” added NIBA CEO Richard Klipin.