Help Starting New P&C Agency

[FloridaFinancial]

Hello,

Looking for recommendations. I am licensed for Series 7,66 Life and Health. I am taking classes right now for my P&C (about 4 weeks to go).
I want to start a P&C business and cross sell Life and Health. My spouse is a Mortgage Banker that services about 8,000 mortgages and closes about 100 new loans a month. The potential is quite good. My question is this: Should I hire a P&C guy to learn the "ropes" i.e. paperwork, submissions etc? Or should I ask to work at an agency and give them all my business while I learn with the understanding that I want to keep my book and leave in the near future?
What is the fairest, most ethical way of doing this?

Thanks People

 

[mdavis]

I would consider bringing in a CSR, then a processor and free up all your time to sell to all those prospects. No point in giving commission to someone coming from your pipeline. Good luck to you!

Matt

 

[akohler]

My hats off to you for trying to start a new insurance agency. It will be hard work but very rewarding if you make it.There are numerous areas that you need to plan out, and much detail in each of these areas that should be well thought out prior to a venture like this.

In no particular order, some of the areas to fully think about before moving forward (not all inclusive, but a start):
- Company appointments
- Products you will offer, need to sell more than Homeowners, since average commission will be around $150 per year.
- Client demographic (define the insurance needs in the geographic area you will be operating)
- Existing contacts and how you can continue to provide them service (is there a non-compete anywhere on the table?)
- Additional employees (think about the skill sets needed to do the different types of jobs that a successful agency will need to perform). I would hired an experience CSR that can handled the paperwork and submission process
- Licensing
- Office space (or a home office) and setup
- Technology / Management System
- Work flows and procedures
- The ability (and willingness) to struggle along, find your niche, and above all, provide a differentiators to your clients

Sounds like you have a good referral channel. Make sure you have all the steps down first. Lastly, you will need to choose different insurance Companies. The quickest and easy way to get insurance companies is to join an insurance exchange, something like Insurance Noodle or Superior Access. These companies do not require a minimum premium commitment. Plus it will give you other products to sell with a support network already in place. That is my two cents. Best of luck!

 

[FloridaFinancial]

GREAT POST!!
Thanks! That is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you for taking the time.