Car Insurance Quote Engine/FMO

[romeroaaron]

@romeroaaron

Thanks man, do you know any other companies like LexisNexis I can research? What sould i search for in google to find these companies? I don't see anything when i type in P&C clusters for agents, etc.

It really depends on what you are trying to do. If you plan on passively writing personal auto you could find something with a commission split rather than a monthly/annual fee. That way you aren't giving much up if you don't produce in a given month. Always ask for a contract and read it thoroughly. There are so many moving parts when looking for a cluster but if you narrow down what exactly you'll be doing I can be of more help.

1) How much do you plan on writing on a scale of 1-10.
2) Do you have an office space?
3) Do you plan on delving into home/commercial later? If you are doing auto, bundling would benefit you greatly. Also having access to carriers that offer good homeowners and commercial for the future is a big factor in finding out if a cluster will be useful in the future.

Let me know.

 

[Uncle John]

@romeroaaron

Thank you so much for your help, see my answers in bold below. At this point i just want to passively do it and get income just from how much SEO traffic my website is receiving.

1) How much do you plan on writing on a scale of 1-10. Hopefully at some point a 7-10
2) Do you have an office space? No
3) Do you plan on delving into home/commercial later? If you are doing auto, bundling would benefit you greatly. Also having access to carriers that offer good homeowners and commercial for the future is a big factor in finding out if a cluster will be useful in the future. I do plan delving into home but not commercial

 

[romeroaaron]

@romeroaaron

Thank you so much for your help, see my answers in bold below. At this point i just want to passively do it and get income just from how much SEO traffic my website is receiving.

1) How much do you plan on writing on a scale of 1-10. Hopefully at some point a 7-10
2) Do you have an office space? No
3) Do you plan on delving into home/commercial later? If you are doing auto, bundling would benefit you greatly. Also having access to carriers that offer good homeowners and commercial for the future is a big factor in finding out if a cluster will be useful in the future. I do plan delving into home but not commercial

Good for you. If you're going to start writing autos slowly, but also want to delve into home/umbrella later, I would recommend you find a cluster with no non-competes, low fees, and full ownership of your book. This probably means that you will lose a lot in commission splits but the upside is that once you have an established book, you can get direct appointments with any or all competitive carriers in your area and not have to worry about a bad contract where you struggle to move everything over because the cluster wants their "fair share". Sacrifice in the beginning so that your income from auto is not eaten by a cluster in the future. I think the most flexible/cheap cluster you can work with would probably be bolt access. They do it where you are completely independent but take a large percentage of commission. But when you decide to get your own appointments with individual carriers; 1) you will have an established book 2) you will not have to worry about non-competes or fees. Sounds like you have got a good system set up for leads. Maybe you can help me one day with SEO

 

[Uncle John]

@romeroaaron

Yes if you have any questions, please send my way! Thank you very much for your help, do you know if bolt would have quoting software i could use and put on my website for the general public to use?

 

[romeroaaron]

@romeroaaron

Yes if you have any questions, please send my way! Thank you very much for your help, do you know if bolt would have quoting software i could use and put on my website for the general public to use?

I think they do! But it is more of a monthly cost.

 

[ModernInsurance]

You should be able to offer auto insurance working from home. Some of the carriers require a LexisNexis node ID to get appointed/quote (which may require you to have a commercial office space), but most don't. Good luck!

 

[Insthings]

Good for you. If you're going to start writing autos slowly, but also want to delve into home/umbrella later, I would recommend you find a cluster with no non-competes, low fees, and full ownership of your book. This probably means that you will lose a lot in commission splits but the upside is that once you have an established book, you can get direct appointments with any or all competitive carriers in your area and not have to worry about a bad contract where you struggle to move everything over because the cluster wants their "fair share". Sacrifice in the beginning so that your income from auto is not eaten by a cluster in the future. I think the most flexible/cheap cluster you can work with would probably be bolt access. They do it where you are completely independent but take a large percentage of commission. But when you decide to get your own appointments with individual carriers; 1) you will have an established book 2) you will not have to worry about non-competes or fees. Sounds like you have got a good system set up for leads. Maybe you can help me one day with SEO

Really appreciate the advice that you shared in this thread. If someone were to go the bolt access route. What are some sources of education you would point them to when it comes to quoting home & auto. You know ways for someone going independent to learn the intricacies of various scenarios they may run across.

 

[romeroaaron]

Really appreciate the advice that you shared in this thread. If someone were to go the bolt access route. What are some sources of education you would point them to when it comes to quoting home & auto. You know ways for someone going independent to learn the intricacies of various scenarios they may run across.

Every carrier will have different intricacies that helps them rate different. For auto the most important thing is liability limits & if they carry comprehensive/ collision and deductibles. For home, be well versed on what coverage they should have. I often recommend coverage based on price per square foot, which varies state to state, county to county. Finally you should ask if they carry an extended liability policy. And if so, what limit. One thing you could always do is request declarations pages from the prospect and then run an apples to apples quote - side by side your recommendation. And explain all differences. People like being told what they need with confidence. Often times explaining coverages decommoditizes your services as well, thus giving you and your company more value