I am a new insurance agent with a P&C license. I just incorporated my agency in CA and plan to focus on commercial insurance. I am running into the same problem as everyone else getting started out - getting appointments. I have reviewed the forums and done a lot of internet research. I initially decided to approach a small MGA for mentorship and appointments. I offered to the MGA that I come only seeking appointments (access to all 40 of their markets) and training on basic sales and insurance products. I have my own office, phone, email/website, E&O, and all other aspects needed for my business to get started. I have also selected 2 courses I am paying to send myself to attend that provide a more in depth training on sales and commercial insurance. When I reviewed the forums for info on typical commission splits, I found 70/30 or 80/20 (in favor of the producer) to be typical. However, here is what the MGA presented to me.
-50/50 commission split on all business initiated and written by me
-33/67 commission split on all business I write that was sent to me by the MGA (I'm still responsible for the close)
3 year right of first refusal for the MGA on all business I find on my own.
Am I off base in thinking this is not a good deal? Any advice on a counter offer?
Secondly, after receiving this offer, I went back to my research to find even more comparisons and thats when I learned about clusters/aggregators and SIAA. The Master Agency for SIAA in my area of CA is ICA. Does anyone have experience with ICA and can you tell me if they accept brand new agents? Any advice on making a decision about using SIAA vs. Clusters/Aggregators vs. MGAs?
