rockbo77om
New Member
- 10
Hi all,
I am new to this forum and finding it a wealth of information - a big thank you to all that participate! I intend to start my own indie P&C agency within 3 months, looking for advice on some questions I have below. There are some great posts archived on this same subject and I am hoping for feedback specific to my case.
Brief background: in Orange County, southern CA; 12+ yrs experience in P&C, primarily at a GA specialized in marine; some wholesale experience in high net worth home & auto; have CPCU. Have long thought about building my own business and now is the time. Questions:
(1) Mercury is one appointment to have in CA, can they be accessed through a cluster/aggregator that anyone knows of? Who are the other top P&C carriers in CA?
(2) I know insurance but lack retail experience. I have a FT gig right now and two little ones at home leaving no time to start selling on the side to gain experience. Any suggestion on how I might gain some practical experience, short of selling? Anyone finds the CIC designation helpful? How about Hartford School of Insurance? Other ideas?
(3) Have done some research on clusters. All appear to require an existing book and/or P&C sales experience. Arguably I have the latter but not the former. Perhaps money talks or a having a kickass business plan will help, but anyone know of a cluster that would accept startup like me?
(4) Kind of tying in all of the above, due to my lack of retail experience I am considering partnering with an experienced producer who is using a cluster that may not have the top carriers in #1 above. Service, salesmanship and prospecting are important but having the right products (carriers), in my opinion, is critical- this is the part that is holding me back from the partnership. Question: how important is having the right carriers (like Mercury in CA) to your success? Or am I overvaluing this aspect?
Thanks ahead for your ideas and guidance.
I am new to this forum and finding it a wealth of information - a big thank you to all that participate! I intend to start my own indie P&C agency within 3 months, looking for advice on some questions I have below. There are some great posts archived on this same subject and I am hoping for feedback specific to my case.
Brief background: in Orange County, southern CA; 12+ yrs experience in P&C, primarily at a GA specialized in marine; some wholesale experience in high net worth home & auto; have CPCU. Have long thought about building my own business and now is the time. Questions:
(1) Mercury is one appointment to have in CA, can they be accessed through a cluster/aggregator that anyone knows of? Who are the other top P&C carriers in CA?
(2) I know insurance but lack retail experience. I have a FT gig right now and two little ones at home leaving no time to start selling on the side to gain experience. Any suggestion on how I might gain some practical experience, short of selling? Anyone finds the CIC designation helpful? How about Hartford School of Insurance? Other ideas?
(3) Have done some research on clusters. All appear to require an existing book and/or P&C sales experience. Arguably I have the latter but not the former. Perhaps money talks or a having a kickass business plan will help, but anyone know of a cluster that would accept startup like me?
(4) Kind of tying in all of the above, due to my lack of retail experience I am considering partnering with an experienced producer who is using a cluster that may not have the top carriers in #1 above. Service, salesmanship and prospecting are important but having the right products (carriers), in my opinion, is critical- this is the part that is holding me back from the partnership. Question: how important is having the right carriers (like Mercury in CA) to your success? Or am I overvaluing this aspect?
Thanks ahead for your ideas and guidance.
