New Agency-Direct vs SmartChoice?

[JLKY70]

Hello all! I will soon be starting my own agency (KY) from scratch. I only have about 18 months under my belt in the P&C industry. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of either trying to get direct appointments with the carriers I desire, or using SmartChoice. The only carriers that SmartChoice offers that I truly want are Progressive, SafeCo, and their Smart Start Commercial Lines.
However, I would really like to get directly appointed with Erie as they are the number 1 competitor I seem to have in P&C and Commercial lines with the agency I currently work for. How hard is it to get direct appointments? I'm just not sold on everything SmartChoice has to offer and I'm concerned with the strict contract and exit.
Ideally, I'd love to have Progressive, Erie, Liberty Mutual (For the commercial), and RPS for their brokerage opportunities.
Any opinions, advice, experiences or feedback on the entire appointment process when starting scratch is appreciated! Thanks all!

 

[marindependent]

I cannot comment on Smart Choice. Do (or will you have) a Physical Office? I do not think getting a direct appt with Progressive is hard. Not so with most other insurers.

I would double check with SmartChoice if they are even able to get you your own access code to Safeco as I know that Safeco is limiting access in some situations.

To answer your question it can be really difficult to get direct appointments - that is why Clusters are so popular. Frankly I know a lot of folks look at the to go Cluster or Direct as the main choice - I have found that a combination of Direct Appointments and Cluster access is the best for me.

 

[JLKY70]

I will have a physical location. I'm not familiar with what other options are available for Clusters as opposed to Smart Choice?

 

[WolfpackAgent]

As someone who is captive but did look into independency at one point there are many. Some require a big buy-in and little commission share, others you pay almost nothing to get in but pay a chunk of commissions.

SIAA and PGI are the ones I know of best and think highest of. Other agents can vouch for other ones.

 

[Jabreel Chisley]

I use RPS. They offer a very robust selection of carriers in different spaces. However, Progressive is not one of them but SafeCo is.

 

[marindependent]

Who does RPS work with?

 

[Jabreel Chisley]

They work with independents of all sizes. I started off with L&H and moved into commercial hard to place and Flood. So i don't have a really heavy book, but they still approved me.

As far as carriers, For PL Auto, I have Travelers, SafeCo/LibMutual, NatGen, Travelers, AIG, Encompass, and Nationwide. Their HO/DP offering is wide, all the way from USLI, AMIG, and Lloyds to AIG, Nationwide (there is more carriers, I just can't recall them all).

 

[Milburn Drysdale]

Wouldn't recommend Smart Choice or Smart Start. Getting quotes is laborious and time consuming and they have a lot of restrictions on what they'll take. Additionally, their contract restricts your ability to get direct contracts with carriers if you leave. They can also prohibit placement of business with certain other brokers even though it's business they won't write.

 

[InsAgnt85]

@JLKY70 Take a look at Iroquois Group. There are no fees associated to entering which we liked. They seem to have appointments with the carriers you are mentioning also.