Going Independent - Need advice from all the experts here

[JMSparta]

Starting My Own Property and Casualty Insurance Agency

I have been in the wealth management and life insurance industry for over 12 years. I live and operate in the state of Texas and will also be opening an office in Florida. About 2 years ago, i got P & C licensed to better help my clients. Main reason i got licensed was because many times i would meet did not have the knowledge of what type of coverage they had for their home and auto. Also, most clients i met did not have proper coverage to protect their net worth. Adding Property and Casualty has allowed me to better help my clients with advice and service to help them get protected when it comes to property and casualty. I would partner with property and casualty insurance agents, send over my clients to help them with home and auto and receive a referral compensation. Now, over $300,000 in P and C premiums referred out very part time over an 18 month period and getting to know the industry more, i have decided, this is growing better than what i thought and i will be looking to start my own insurance agency with my wife.

Again, we are opening offices in Texas and in Florida. My questions are the following:

• Best Agency and quoting software that you recommend? What is the cost for that software? I have heard of EZLynx and Vertifore quoting software but would like more guidance. I have also heard about Smartchoice, Superior Access and a couple of others. However, i have a clear understanding about being truly independent and would rather go that route We are looking for a software that includes both quoting and client relationship management. I did see and did like Superior Access and their software. But still looking into this and prefer my own agency and my name.
• What is your advice for getting appointed with insurance carriers? I met with Gainsco and after showing what i have done they appointed us. I would like to get appointed with Progressive, Travelers, Safeco, Nationwide, Kemper, Infinity and others if possible. Out of curiosity, i applied to get appointed with Progressive and they declined me. Progressive told me that my agency needs to be 12 months old or more for them to consider me.
• Websites - I cam across a company that creates websites for Insurance Agencies called Bright Fire at https://www.brightfire.com? Have you heard of them? Do you like them? Any other options out there? What do you recommend?
• Any additional or helpful advice will be greatly appreciated...

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and throw in some knowledge, experience advice and guidance.

Hope that you are all well and safe.

 

[Becky Schroeder]

Hi JMSparta!

Long time lurker, first time commenter...

Congratulations on starting your P&C agency! I'm the Chief Marketing Officer at Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), an insurance agency technology vendor.

I wanted to share some resources with you that you might find helpful as you evaluate your technology needs:

• This white paper can help with the decision making process when it comes to your website: Creating A Website For Your Agency\
• This short video of our CEO Laird Rixford talks about creating trust with your website content: How to Build Trust with Your Insurance Website Content
• This white paper has information about providing a good customer experience and why it's important: Insurance Consumer Experience for 2020 and Beyond

We've got a ton more resources, including videos, white papers and blog posts, at Resources.GetITC.com. I hope you find it helpful.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that we do auto and home comparative rating in Texas and Florida and have a CRM that integrates with our rater. We're also the largest provider of websites to insurance agencies in the country. I'd be happy to answer any questions about our solutions. Or, feel free to poke around GetITC.com if you'd rather do that.

Congrats again!

 

[marindependent]

JMSparta - you have already seen the wisdom in going independent - "most clients [do] not have proper coverage to protect their net worth." Congratulations!

The challenge for you will be starting...as an independent. It is probably two to three times more difficult to start an independent agency than a captive agency.

The very very very best advice I could give you wold be the following: Either go work for an independent agency for a year or suck it up and go work for a captive agency for six months, even if it is well below you and not worth the pay. The intricacies that you will learn in that short period of time will allow your agency to grow twice as fast in the first five years.

If you don't believe me or want this advice know one thing: Many Clusters/ Aggregators will not partner with new independent agencies. Most carriers will not appoint new independents.

Best of Luck and I admire your spirit.

 

[Mike007]

Getting direct appointment with insurance companies as an independent agent is very difficult to almost impossible, especially personal side. Most agents have to start out working with a cluster or aggregator but you need to find one that allows you to bind your own policy. But even finding a cluster or aggregator to contract with is hard if your experience is limited.

 

[JMSparta]

Thank you all for the great feedback. I am a bit confused as to several people mentioned that is hard to get appointed. I would say that it depends. We have not had any issues with getting appointed. I think it all depends on how you present yourself, your business, your business goals and your business plan. Since i put this post, we have gotten appointed with 5 companies (Foremost/Bristol West, Progressive, Mercury, Gainsco & SafeCo) and have already submitted and closed a combination of personal and commercial business.

We do not want to get employed with a captive agency. I know there can be advantages in working with a captive agency, but that's something we do not want to do. We are willing to learn the ins and outs of the business, plus so far, we have not had any issues and are doing well.

Regarding software, we decided to go with EZ Lynx and we are amazed and excited about this. In fact, we have already had several people request quotes online.

 

[Allen Trent]

Thank you all for the great feedback. I am a bit confused as to several people mentioned that is hard to get appointed. I would say that it depends. We have not had any issues with getting appointed. I think it all depends on how you present yourself, your business, your business goals and your business plan. Since i put this post, we have gotten appointed with 5 companies (Foremost/Bristol West, Progressive, Mercury, Gainsco & SafeCo) and have already submitted and closed a combination of personal and commercial business.

We do not want to get employed with a captive agency. I know there can be advantages in working with a captive agency, but that's something we do not want to do. We are willing to learn the ins and outs of the business, plus so far, we have not had any issues and are doing well.

Regarding software, we decided to go with EZ Lynx and we are amazed and excited about this. In fact, we have already had several people request quotes online.

Those carriers will pretty much appoint everyone & tend to be more high risk product carriers & some of those also sell direct to consumer.

However, the top tier carriers will be harder & considering your clients are high net worth, you may need some better carriers to cover them better. If you hold any fiduciary responsibilities as a wealth management advisor, you may also be assuming some greater risk than referring it out and not disclosing referral fees. Getting licensed under a top notch independent with the best carriers might be better for you all around.

 

[JMSparta]

Allen, thank you for the info. We have spoken to Nationwide, Travelers, Liberty Mutual and others. We will get there but we just started. Both Travelers and Nationwide wants to see us bring in $1 Million in revenue. We will get there very soon. However, for those who are of high net worth, i still have the option to use other agencies with longer tenure and just split the commissions. But as we grow, we will continue to add more.

 

[marindependent]

Both Travelers and Nationwide wants to see us bring in $1 Million in revenue. W

Bingo!

And keep in mind that just because you "have an appointment" with a carrier - does not necessarily mean you get to "keep it."

In addition, you have not yet mentioned the true best in class affluent insurance carriers - I sure hope you are able to get appointed with them as that would most likely fit in best with your wealth mgmt focus.

In regards to a captive carrier, my only suggestion was to spend a half of a year working in a large agency where you can understand the intricacies of the operation.

 

[JMSparta]

Yes Marindependent. As we are growing, we are learning. However, i think we are in the right path.

 

[Allen Trent]

use other agencies with longer tenure and just split the commissions

Be careful with this. Some carriers contracts prohibit splitting commissions with producers not fully disclosed in agreements or policy applications. IE-- at claim time or in a court case they don't want to discover the insured has zero contact or interaction with the appointed agency. This can also be a violation in some states in regard to solicitation of business when not appointed