How Did You Transition from Captive to Indy

[NotEnough]

Hi All,

I've been P&C at a captive for 16 months now...went from L&A to P&C. I'm strictly on 9% comm. Last year I was so & so did about 25k from May - Dec. This year YTD I'm at 28K, do about $35-$40k in premiums a month.

Been trying to find a local or near by Indy agency that would at least allow book ownership but no luck except for ones that will be about 5% in NB commissions

Is it really that hard to find an Indy Agency that would give book ownership & renewals? How did you guys transition?

I'm thinking of starting from scratch but finding appointments are hard unless they're non standard such as progressive ( from what I been reading here).

 

[Soaringagent]

Start finding a niche and get access to a GA to help write business. Depending on the GA, you can probably own your book of biz and then transfer those policy's directly to the carrier once you build up enough biz.

What type of business are you writing now or you prefer to write? Find out what carriers are competitive in your area and try to join a cluster or GA to get access to those carriers

 

[NotEnough]

Start finding a niche and get access to a GA to help write business. Depending on the GA, you can probably own your book of biz and then transfer those policy's directly to the carrier once you build up enough biz.

What type of business are you writing now or you prefer to write? Find out what carriers are competitive in your area and try to join a cluster or GA to get access to those carriers

Writing mostly auto & home only. I say about 75% of my auto biz are preferred (we're direct writers) and the other 25% are non standard which I'm able to place through progressive.

I havent done much marketing research into local rates but when speaking to other big name companies such as state farm/farmers/nationwide... one of us is always able to beat the other before rates go up. My area have seen 3 rate increases this year alone. However, Mercury have been the one that is very hard to beat.

 

[cgreene]

May want to look at a cluster.

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Making the transition right now.

 

[indienoise]

I made the jump back in March.
Biggest hurdle is most clusters that give you any real freedom (not a franchise model) will want to see some production history, and momma captive carrier might not be willing or able to provide that.
Now, if you want training, support, and systems taken care of, a franchise type model is not necessarily bad. But if you ever wish to exit, you might find you are still essentially captive, only with more markets.
If you know what you are doing, just need carriers, and want a fair contract with a simple exit strategy, look into into insurance pro agencies. IIABA also has an aggregator-type program that doesn't trap you.
Of course, it doesnt hurt to try contacting some carriers directly. If you want to explore that option, do so before contracting with a cluster. No guarantees if they will appoint you.
There is also the option of dealing with wholesalers. No binding authority but you own the book with some of them. If you're used to making 9%, you'll get more of the same with a wholesaler. SAIS and Appalachian underwriters provide an online rater to do your own personal lines quoting, you just have to let them run mvrs and bind coverage. They also won't accept as wide a range of risks as the carriers would directly.

 

[insurance1822]

You need to slowly file your handcuff's against your concrete cell wall day after day..night after night. You'll want to pack the residual brick dust back into the hole each night. You ultimately want to create a very sharp edge on your handcuffs. Once the handcuffs are sharp enough to sufficiently lacerate human skin (deep enough to inflict a mortal wound upon a main artery..) you'll want to do the following..

1.) Wait until 30 minutes before the night shift changes. This will ensure the guard on duty is fatigued.

2.) Assemble the brick dust in your mouth.

3.) Fake a seizure (it may help to defecate on the floor to fully commit to the purported medical emergency..)

4.) When the guard enters your cell, spit the brick dust in his eyes.

5.) Perform the same leg sweep Rambo did when he broke out of the police station in First Blood.

6.) When the guard is down, do a forward roll w/ the sharpened end of the handcuffs finishing upon his neck.

7.) Get the keys off his belt & run to the nearest SIAA master agency.

 

[cgreene]

SIAA does not give you good options in multiple states.

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Check priemere group

 

[shawnmwalker]

That is funny Ins1822. (Knowing you shot a killer dog and are currently with an SIAA master agency makes me think you might have lived this scenario before. Although I never thought you were referring to police dog and your own prison brake.)

I'm with CGreene. Give Premier a call. Shoot me an email.

 

[skeet282]

I left captive cold turkey in April with my own appointments. Was captive for 9 years. Didn't need SIAA or ASNOA or any of those other acronyms. It comes down to if the company your interviewing with believes in your ability to sell and past history. 4 months in and I know that the companies we rep are happy and I know we have to keep them happy. That's the challenge. It's been the best thing I've ever done leaving captive agency. Like many, wish I would have done it sooner.

 

[agentofintegrity]

The grass isn't always greener... Startup is difficult. If your getting a flat 9% did you already run through your graduated commissions? Or are you a producer for a captive? I've been captive and Indy and there are advantages to both. I don't believe it's wise to go Indy P&C without at least $50,000 (minimum) in investment capital. Otherwise you will be starving for a long time... Your production is pretty good, but where is the money for leads and marketing coming from? Where will it come from if you make the jump?