Getting Direct Carrier Appointments for New IA

[aopc]

Going to be hard to get directs. Respectively the chances of a newly licensed agent getting a long haul direct appointment is slim. It is 100% a niche and you typically want to be familiar with the entire package. GL, Phys damage, cargo etc... it takes a lot of knowledge. I would be looking for a mentor. Learning the industry properly is a lot more important than retaining 100% of the commission. At least initially.

STAY AWAY FROM TRUCKING RRG's. Do not write business with anyone under a B+ rating.

Don't expect anything easy about getting appointed. The vetting process is extremely rigorous. Most sought after carriers like Berkshire for example are not in any hurry to appoint new agents. Its BHHC so they already feel like they are properly represented in the states unless you can get their attention. No shame in using a wholesaler until you build up more volume.

This post was very helpful. Thanks for the advice on using a wholesaler first. Similar to the questions from my initial post, are there any minimum requirements (e.g. time in business, # of policies, and/or total premium amounts, producer requirements) to establish relationships with wholesalers? What is the average length of time to set up those relationships? Just trying to get a sense of what the milestones are to forming the necessary relationships as well as see what the potential blockers are so that I know what to expect.

Can you tell me more about why you strongly recommend staying away from Trucking RRG's?

Lastly, any tips on how to go about finding a mentor in P&C for trucking? I am in NorCal.

 

[EugeneM]

I would start with USG & World Wide Facilities. These wholesalers are on a risk by risk basis. Don't think you need an appointment to quote, only to bind. Shouldn't be any volume requirements. As you quote with the wholesalers you will get your feet wet and find out who the preferred carriers are, typically the more competitive ones. Then you can start researching what the access points are to those markets and attempt to develop the relationship directly. Its a lot of work bro, have you considered working at an agency to get established first? You are really going to bang your head in the wall trying to solo this from scratch.

RRG's typically are unrated and not financially stable so you can buy a policy and the company goes under leaving you with no coverage. A recent Trucking risk retention group (RRG) just tanked a couple months ago called Global Hawk. They do a lot of business up north... huge scandal.

As far as a mentor goes its highly driven language spoken/ethnicity. Lot of Indian truckers up north. Here in Los Angeles/OC area lots of Spanish speaking truckers.

 

[shawnmwalker]

Thats my only point, "You are really going to bang your head on the wall trying to solo this from scratch."

You will not get through this learning curve without serious damage or scarring done from the head banging.

 

[marindependent]

I am on my way to getting my P&C license. Although I do not have prior experience as an agent, I have a pipeline with new business already established and will be taking over a small book of business ~$500k

Holy Cow! You are just getting your license and you are buying a book of business already?

 

[ehall2]

There are very few carriers that give agents direct appointments in trucking. Your option would be to go through a wholesaler. On other piece of advice dealing with truckers. If you get a call to add another unit or make any other change you better get the increased premium up front. I lost $6,000 one time by making a change and not getting the premium up front. If your account needs a filing most filings require a 30 notice to cancel. So during that 30 days the policy is earning premium each day it is in force. Trucking is a tough business.

 

[EugeneM]

It can be very lucrative and rewarding however it is an extremely tough niche/culture.
The competition is fierce. You compete with agents that dont play fair so you run into quotes obviously underreporting etc... lots of manipulation from both agent/insured sides.
In general the insureds can be ruthless, very little loyalty. You pretty much get shopped every year. Even large fleets do this, risk sensitive programs don't shop as much like captives etc...

Understandably so its hard to be a truck driver. So many regulations... For the work they do they don't make as much as you would think. It forces them to make business decisions and a lot of the time the insurance agent gets the bad end of the stick. Work for a truck insurance agency for a year and you will most likely think completely differently about this. The last thing I would do is start racking up hard cost before or right after your license. 90% of agents that do this regret it. Like buying leads before you can close them. The lead comes then what? Become an expert on the industry then dump $$ into the plan. Love the energy though. Thirsty for blood! happy hunting

 

[scorpion]

Hello, I am wondering if there is any cluster recommendation for local and long haul trucking for California. Please advise.

 

[Markthebroker]

Holy Cow! You are just getting your license and you are buying a book of business already?

It's just a commercial trucking book of business. How hard can it be?

 

[ehall2]

How hard can it be? Probably the most difficult type of insurance you can deal with. As someone mentioned earlier, if you endorse an additional unit to the policy you better get your money before you make the endorsement. I have been an IA for 49 years and I stay away from trucking risk. I too lost $6,000 because the check the insured gave me to add a new unit bounced. There was a filing so I sent the wholesaler a copy of the NSF check but the policy couldn't be cancelled for another 30 days. Remember, the wholesaler of broker you go through doesn't care anything about you. They will cut your throat and not give it a second thought. Also the markets for truckers is more limited than I have ever seen. If someone offered to give me a $500,000 book of trucker business I would say thank you but I'm not interested.