How Do Agencies Seek Appointments?

[rbadoux]

I work as an for an MGA for our carrier. We have been looking to expand our market in the General Contractors industry. My question here lies with..

1. Are agencies normally the ones that approach the wholesalers?

2. What is the most eithical way for an MGA in california to market to brokers?

3. What do owners usually look for as regards to GL + bond appointments?

Note: This is not a solicitation, only seeking advice. Any marketing tips and strategies would be a great help!

thank you for reading.

 

[ncagent83]

I work as an for an MGA for our carrier. We have been looking to expand our market in the General Contractors industry. My question here lies with..

1. Are agencies normally the ones that approach the wholesalers?

2. What is the most eithical way for an MGA in california to market to brokers?

3. What do owners usually look for as regards to GL + bond appointments?

Note: This is not a solicitation, only seeking advice. Any marketing tips and strategies would be a great help!

thank you for reading.

Speaking from limited experience, it's a combination of both agents finding WS'ers and Ws'ers finding agts. I get emails all the time from wholesalers wanting us to market their program business. Usually they want loss ratios, volume, and agency structure/management.

I would look at the carriers that MGA's place business with; their financial standing, solvency, etc. Of course, how competitive they are with certain lines of business, what classes they favor, etc.

I only deal with one MGA because we have such a good relationship and they're competitive with most risks I send them.

 

[indienoise]

I get emails and regular mail from MGA's sometimes. I largely ignore them, because if I needed their markets, I would probably have already contacted them. That said, there might be agencies out there who aren't aware your MGA even exists. I don't get mad about getting those solicitations, because I might need them one day, but I would guess you'll probably get the same response rate as any other mailer.

 

[rbadoux]

Thank you both for your quick responses, it looks like we just need to keep grinding and marking out products in hopes of yielding some results.

As far as MGA's searching Agents/Brokers for markets, is there a specific website that can cater to that kind of marketing?

 

[indienoise]

Maybe offer referral program similar to a retail agency? I always ask other agents who they use when i need to place a risk.

...i hate to be so simplistic, but have you checked your state doi website to search agents/agencies?

 

[rbadoux]

We have several master lists with brokers in california. 27,000 + agencies. All pulled from the DoI site. Out of 400+ calls/emails to brokers we have only yielded 6 new appointments. Its a shame that we cant get the results we hoped for, since our appointed brokers are sweeping the bond renewals by storm.

From my experience soliciting these calls, I feel like brokers are looking for more than just a good product and a instant online rater.

As far as a referral program, would I be calling our current appointed brokers to see who they go to for risks they cant place? Wouldn't that spark a conflict in competition?

 

[indienoise]

What i meant was offer them some kind of incentive to refer other agencies. Probably not a highly aggressive method, but it costs othing without results, and i wouldnt have contacted any brokerages or ga's i did without a referral.

 

[rbadoux]

Gotcha, I'll bring it up in my next meeting. Lets hope the brokers in California become familiar with us in the next year.

Your insight is very much appreciated!

 

[AZDave]

I work as an for an MGA for our carrier. We have been looking to expand our market in the General Contractors industry. My question here lies with..

1. Are agencies normally the ones that approach the wholesalers?

2. What is the most eithical way for an MGA in california to market to brokers?

3. What do owners usually look for as regards to GL + bond appointments?

Note: This is not a solicitation, only seeking advice. Any marketing tips and strategies would be a great help!

thank you for reading.

Will your carrier markets for general contractor gl be any different then the ones the other wholesalers use? That would be an interest for me. Would you be able to offer any special programs with pricing that differ from the others? That would be an interest to me. But most likely you have the same offerings and rates as the others.

I have a go to mga that is awesome. Occasionally I will send my submissions to a second. Rarely a third.

This is probably the case with 90% of established agents out there. You need to start by becoming the second mga, or the third that the Agent chooses. Sometimes agents will use you just to block the markets, happens all the time.

I have mga's calling, emailing and stopping by all the time and that is OK. You need to be persistent.

Not sure what you mean by 'gl and bond appointments'? I want my mga to have that carrier knowledge, to have all the carriers and to know exactly who to go to for the submission, with quick turn around and exact binding terms.

Taking me out for a beer wouldn't hurt either!