Quick, I've Got Two Weeks to Get a Biz Going

[HomeService]

I need several county mutual carriers in TX, E&O for a P&C agency, signs, phones, and training, and maybe an assistant, by the first of the month. Quick!! Can it be done? I built an office on a car lot, the auto auction thing I posted about months ago. I also got to get carpet in there, two desks, and maybe a computer or two. Quickly, darn it!! ha ha {you think you got stress!} Oh, I need a printer, too. I should take my home printer down there for now... oh heck, they are cheap... it's the ink that costs money...

 

[xrac]

Maybe, but probably not. The carriers will be the problem. Most of them will not move that fast will they? You posted about the auction thing months ago why the rush now?

 

[b61mack]

their was a post yesterday, about a IMO called pacific crest. they serve tx, and other western states. look them up... and call them..... that is what you need.... once you get the insurance in place... all you need is a lap top a printer...on a card table.... go get them... it will work.....i can also set you up to sell temporary auto insurance...

 

[djs]

????? Why the sudden rush?
You can get carriers through a GA arrangement to get you started, not the best, but it would work.

Desk, computer, carpet, not really a problem.

E&O for P&C in 2 weeks? Good luck with that. This is the hurdle you need to work on TODAY. You might be able to do this, but it will take some focused effort to get it submitted and the process started.

Dan

 

[HomeService]

Maybe, but probably not. The carriers will be the problem. Most of them will not move that fast will they? You posted about the auction thing months ago why the rush now?

Yep, here's how it went down: The March auto auction, I went there, checked it out, said that it looked good. However, my buddy that owns the auction, had a desk near his worker's desk for me there, in a smallish portable building and his workers had lines and lines of people there, security guards who were cops, mass chaos, so I did not want to bother them, so I proposed my own little building.

April, we built the building. It was awesome, a little 10X20 shed. During the April auction, I was there with the electrician and the builder during the auction, many prospects. Now the May auction approaches.

All the while, I had another agency set up to partner up with, 10 miles away. I had spoken with them briefly. They have the carriers and experience. Well, yesterday they spring it on me that they really cannot do it, that their E&O said no offsite agents. So, the good news is: it's now all my commission, all my business, no splits. Bad news: I gotta figure this out quickly. Maybe the May auction might not happen for me , maybe June?? The majority of the business is the first of the month with the Auction, but there is business to be had the rest of the month.

 

[xrac]

Makes total sense! Good luck my friend!

 

[HomeService]

Makes total sense! Good luck my friend!

Maybe I need to relax and move my target to June, use May as a month of learning. Use the rest of April to get the building in shape. I had no clue there was this much to do.

 

[djs]

If you can get your E&O in place, you can probably get an appointment with a nonstandard carrier, which will work well for auction sales.

You'll be doing 'cookie-cutter' type policies, basically whatever they need to drive off the lot. Hopefully, you'll get a chance to go back and work with the clients after the fact to pick up other autos and policies that are needed, and potentially have a broader range of carriers to write business in if appropriate.

For this type of market, you don't need a lot of carriers, just 1, maybe 2, will do well. Just make sure they don't balk at driving records, suspended licenses, no license, international licenses, whatever, and at the same time, are reasonable for good drivers with decent records. They don't need to be the best option out there, but can't be out of the ballpark either.

Don't forget to add to your list of things you need, a digital camera. Trust me, you'll want pictures of the cars as you insure them. If you don't, you'll claims will get out of control (yes, speaking from experience on this). To help keep track of things, I take a picture of the vin plate first, then the odometer, then the exterior shots. The vin plate lets me know what car the pictures go to, as well as answering potential vin questions later.

Dan

 

[HomeService]

If you can get your E&O in place, you can probably get an appointment with a nonstandard carrier, which will work well for auction sales.

You'll be doing 'cookie-cutter' type policies, basically whatever they need to drive off the lot. Hopefully, you'll get a chance to go back and work with the clients after the fact to pick up other autos and policies that are needed, and potentially have a broader range of carriers to write business in if appropriate.

For this type of market, you don't need a lot of carriers, just 1, maybe 2, will do well. Just make sure they don't balk at driving records, suspended licenses, no license, international licenses, whatever, and at the same time, are reasonable for good drivers with decent records. They don't need to be the best option out there, but can't be out of the ballpark either.

Don't forget to add to your list of things you need, a digital camera. Trust me, you'll want pictures of the cars as you insure them. If you don't, you'll claims will get out of control (yes, speaking from experience on this). To help keep track of things, I take a picture of the vin plate first, then the odometer, then the exterior shots. The vin plate lets me know what car the pictures go to, as well as answering potential vin questions later.

Dan

You are awesome, thx. That pacific crest that was mentioned up the thread, they want to do really cheap E&O, standard and non-standard companies, training, support, all for a nominal monthly fee. It is tempting. The only problem is the E&O is only for their companies, and not the ones that I get on the side. But they said they cover most every possible risk, so I would not need much on the side. They would want me to brand it with their brand and logo, and give them right of first refusal on all P&C. But the training and cheap E&O is tempting, and they can get me going in 10 days roughly.

 

[briko3]

Maybe it's par for the course in P&C, but I wouldn't give right of first refusal to ANYONE.