New Agency Seeking P&C Appointments,

[Agent_007]

I am not sure if it is the same for all states that they are operating in, but the SIAA is able to provide you all standard, non standard, and preferred companies on a nationwide, statewide, and local level. They help start up agencies obtain all the appointments that established agents have that start ups cannot obtain on their own. There is a commitment but that may vary depending on the state you operate in. All business you write is completely your own so there is not a commitment as far as to who gets the clients you write. So far i am extremely happy with what they were able to do for me being a scratch start up agency. After I joined the program i instantly was able to compete with all the big guys as well as place unique risks that some of the big agents in my area were not able to write. I am able to write any business that my agency comes across with no questions ask. I even explain it to my customers that the SIAA is able to allow me to help them in any way possible and they like that. They also are able to provide excellent discounts for agency software, E&O, etc. I would suggest to contact the SIAA in your area and talk with them. It wouldnt hurt and I would definitely recommend checking them out for any start up or established agency looking to expand their expertise in the insurance industry.

Jon

 

[VinmanNJ]

Looks like it'll be worth my while to contact SIAA. Thanks a lot for all the great info Agent_007!

 

[1manshow]

Not to be the naysayer..but...having too many carriers can turn sour on you if you're not keeping track of what's new or changing constantly. I cross paths often with agents writing with companies and they have no idea it the company offers percs like accident forgiveness, longevity discounts, etc. Either way, many markets is one certain way to be able to place a pile of business...of course then you have to service it!

 

[SUPER-MAn]

PM me, I can point you in the right direction.

Do you have any Agencies that have a couple of P&C companies that are looking to franchise in mind?

 

[texasmaverick]

I am a new P&C agent in Texas looking for company appointments any ideas ?

Thanks
Bill

 

[blue_wynd]

Search the forum for clusters, network. Iroquois Group, Siaa, Smartchoice, Superior access. You will find plenty of info on it.

 

[shawnmwalker]

If it sounds too good to be true it is. If it is true it wont last, it is a new group who have not figured out the profit margin, or it is a group that will fail at providing you one of the four prongs: Training and support, Carrier Alignment, transparency, or an industry leading contract. (Most fail at the training and support piece.)

Too many agencies think they can play the aggregator game and they try and they fail, and the agents that join them are upset.

Here is a good exercise. Write down all the things a well-established agency needs to do and track on a daily basis. (Conversion ratio, deposits, lead sources, Employees, comp, the right comp, the trash can, leads, their best closers/ sales people, admin, the state regs in the state(s) they do business, the carriers products, commission levels, accounting, and on and on and on. NOW DO the same thing for but for an aggregator! The List multiplies by 2000.


Groups range from Good, Better, Best. Groups should deliver on four things. (Listed above) Of the four things most agents look solely at the contract and make mistakes. They do that because the contract is quantitative. New agents disregard the other three because they are qualitative and harder to define. Don't be that agent. Take your time and define those prongs.

If I had a 2 carat diamond ring on my wife's finger and one of the four prongs was loose or got knocked off I would fix it in fear that she was going to lose the Diamond. Don't settle for establishing your small business with 3 of the four deliverables.

My wife does not have two carats let a lone one. We got married young. I have since offered to upgrade the little rock I got her, but she is sentimental and I love her for it.