2026 Broker Services Survey Results
Your clients are telling you exactly what they need. Most brokers aren't delivering it.
For over a decade, Zywave has surveyed employers on what they expect from their broker. This year, 1,400+ respondents didn't just tell us what matters, they told us how well their broker is delivering it, and the gap between the two is where the real opportunity is.
A Decade of Data
We've been asking these questions for over a decade
Zywave has surveyed employers on their broker relationship for more than 10 years, and this year's report tracks nearly five consecutive years of trend data. That history shows what a single-year snapshot can't: which client expectations are a passing trend, and which ones are permanent, so you know where to focus before your competitors do.
Trusted advisor as a broker selection criterion
% of employers naming it a top criterion, by year
Compliance urgency has surged back. After falling to #5 in 2023, compliance climbed back to the #2 benefits challenge in 2026, driven by a new federal administration and expanding state-level regulation. For brokers, that means compliance updates need to reach clients before they ask, whether that's pushing timely alerts from a verified content library or giving clients 24/7 self-service access through a client portal.
Overall broker satisfaction rate
Very satisfied vs. combined satisfied/very satisfied
Clients are quietly lowering their expectations. Desired weekly contact dropped from 41.9% to 33.4% year over year, not because clients want less, but because they're adjusting to what brokers actually deliver. That's exactly where a broker willing to show up as a true trusted advisor can step in, fill the gap, and win new business.
Key Findings
The 2026 client experience, at a glance
Most employers are satisfied with their broker today. But loyalty is more fragile than it looks, and the bar for what counts as good service keeps rising.
Every service question in this survey asked two things: how important is this, and is your broker fully delivering it? The distance between those two numbers is the gap, and it's the clearest signal of where brokers are leaving value on the table.
Every service question in this survey asked two things: how important is this, and is your broker fully delivering it? The distance between those two numbers is the gap, and it's the clearest signal of where brokers are leaving value on the table.
%
of employers are satisfied or very satisfied with their broker's services today.
%
say they only evaluate their broker relationship after a significant issue or service failure.
%
now name "trusted advisor" as a top broker selection criterion, up from 56% in 2023.
pt
gap on strategic benefit planning - majority say it's important, only 51% say their broker fully delivers.
THE LOYALTY PARADOX
Satisfied clients still leave. Here's why.
Satisfaction has climbed to near an all-time high, but the very dissatisfied segment more than doubled year over year, and the reasons clients switch brokers haven't changed in years.
How satisfied are employers with their broker?
2026 Broker Services Survey, 1,400+ respondents
Very satisfied
61.9%
Satisfied
22.3%
Neutral
9.3%
Dissatisfied
3.8%
Very dissatisfied
2.6%
Very dissatisfied clients more than doubled year over year, from 1.1% to 2.6%.
" Nearly 85% of clients are satisfied or very satisfied, yet 33% only evaluate their broker when something goes wrong. High satisfaction scores can obscure real vulnerability and churn risk beneath the surface. "
Churn risk is really a retention problem. But the inverse is just as true: with proactive communication, benchmarking data, and client-ready resources in place, retention stops being defense and becomes your biggest performance multiplier — the most efficient way to grow revenue without chasing new logos.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Where benefits brokers are falling short
Healthcare cost management has ranked the #1 benefits challenge for three straight years. Clients are naming exactly what they need next, and that's your opening: brokers who close these gaps first are the ones who win the business.
Top 2026 employee benefits & HR challenges
Employee benefits service gaps
Importance vs. delivery, by service
Creates a multiyear strategic benefit plan
43-pt gap
Guidance on managing rising healthcare costs
30-pt gap
Provides benchmarking data for plan design
31-pt gap
Employee-facing benefits education & wellness
30-pt gap
Answers compliance-related questions
20-pt gap
Important to clients
Broker fully delivers
" Strategic planning is the single biggest gap in the entire benefits dataset. With 46% of clients expecting to need this exact support in the next 12 months, it's also the most concrete opportunity to deepen the relationship. "
Where employee benefits brokers can close the gap
COMMERCIAL INSURANCE
Where commercial brokers are falling short
Rising premiums remain the top concern, but businesses are just as focused on whether their coverage actually matches their risk. Advisory gaps here are some of the widest in the survey.
Top 2026 commercial insurance challenges
Commercial insurance service gaps
Importance vs. delivery, by service
Helps develop or refine risk management strategy
38-pt gap
Proactively reaches out with market intelligence
25-pt gap
Proactively provides compliance updates
29-pt gap
Conducts an annual coverage review
16-pt gap
Thorough understanding of org & industry
18-pt gap
Important to clients
Broker fully delivers
" Risk management strategy is the widest gap in the commercial dataset, and it's exactly where clients say they want a broker to act as an advisor, not just a market. "
Where commercial insurance brokers can close the gap
C-suite Spotlight
Executives hold brokers to a higher bar
Because we surveyed 1,400+ employers, we had enough responses to isolate what the 42.5% who are business owners or C-suite executives expect, and they hold brokers to a measurably higher bar.
%
of C-suite respondents formally evaluate their broker every year.
pt
gap on healthcare cost guidance for C-suite clients — wider than the 30-pt gap overall.
pt
gap on risk management strategy guidance, the widest gap in the entire C-suite dataset.
%
of C-suite respondents rank prompt service above all else, more than the general population.
" For brokers, this segment is where proactive service pays off the most. C-suite clients run bigger books, review vendors more formally, and notice fastest when a broker isn't showing up as a strategic partner. Winning and keeping executive-level clients means leading with data, speaking to financial impact, and closing communication gaps before they're ever raised. "
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See the full picture behind these numbers
Get the complete 2026 Broker Services Survey report, broken down by broker-client relationship, employee benefits, and commercial insurance, with every service gap ranked and quantified.