Real Estate Broker who Just Got Insurance Brokers License but Does Not Have a Clue (or Carriers).

I'm a real estate broker and property manager. I just got licensed as an insurance broker in the state of NY (Property and Casualty along with life, accident and health). I decided to get my license after numerous clients asked me about getting insurance for their apartments, cars, pets, etc (not including commercial tenants who asked about business insurance, health insurance, etc). On top of that the landlords I work for decided that they liked the idea of having their insurance broker work out of their office (and be their real estate broker and property manager too).

Problem is, I have literally no experience, and no carriers. How do I go about getting carriers ? Should I just try and hire a sublicense to work under me and if so, how much should I pay them ?

Clients/customers I have, carriers I do not, and experience is beyond lacking, any help or advice ? I do have an office, and a full time job and am established in my field, so this is a totally new field for me.
 
I'm a real estate broker and property manager. I just got licensed as an insurance broker in the state of NY (Property and Casualty along with life, accident and health). I decided to get my license after numerous clients asked me about getting insurance for their apartments, cars, pets, etc (not including commercial tenants who asked about business insurance, health insurance, etc). On top of that the landlords I work for decided that they liked the idea of having their insurance broker work out of their office (and be their real estate broker and property manager too).

Problem is, I have literally no experience, and no carriers. How do I go about getting carriers ? Should I just try and hire a sublicense to work under me and if so, how much should I pay them ?

Clients/customers I have, carriers I do not, and experience is beyond lacking, any help or advice ? I do have an office, and a full time job and am established in my field, so this is a totally new field for me.

I would personally find someone local who you can partner up. You give them the leads/clients for a share of the commission now that you are licensed. You save trouble, time having to spent reading and educating yourself; not to mention if someone ask you to do servicing and you are too busy trying to fix a leak at an apartment. If you were to be the boss, you will need to find insurance carriers willing to appoint you and your agency and that is tough.

My opinion if I was in your shoes? Go find an local independent agency with carriers to service both the personal and commercial businesses that has a reputation for competence and integrity. I would ask for 25% commission for new business and 25% renewals. They cover your E & O and do all the servicing. You don't need a phone number or a business card since you are just referring the clients over.

They get a nice stream of business and you get a nice side income every time a policy renews without having to deal with the hassles involve.
 
I think its a good idea, I'm very worried about being spread to thin, and running an insurance business on top of my business definitely qualifies. However, the landlord I work for, prefers having me as the actual insurance broker and having me in the office for them (they like the "one stop shop" idea.....more enthusiastically).

For the smaller things, renters insurance, pet insurance, the belief is that its easier to run by making it a part of the process (i.e. renting the apartment and selling these as add on services), the tenants actually want me as their broker (which is what got me to take classes and everything in the first place). I don't know if referrals are going to really work with them.

I don't actually know any insurance brokers, but have been using google to find ones nearby with the idea of hooking up with them.

I've heard a little bit about "clusters", like SIAA and Smart Choice, but don't have enough info, nor really know how they work (or even exactly what they are). Any advice on those options ?
 
Kudos to you for taking this leap. But boy that is spreading yourself a little thin depending on how much realtor work you are doing. I would recommend trying a cluster as they can help you get the appointments and also help you in training. Insurance especially commercial property is very detailed and boy that E&O mistake can cost you plenty. I would recommend Hiring a VERY experienced agent to help with this.
 
Kudos to you for taking this leap. But boy that is spreading yourself a little thin depending on how much realtor work you are doing. I would recommend trying a cluster as they can help you get the appointments and also help you in training. Insurance especially commercial property is very detailed and boy that E&O mistake can cost you plenty. I would recommend Hiring a VERY experienced agent to help with this.

Thanks for the Kudos. The realtor work is really more or less as a leasing agent, and it does keep my hands full (along with managing the properties). The upside, is that structure wise, we do have a set up that is viable. I have staff, an office, and a great deal of trust and an excellent relationship with our landlord and our tenants (one good thing about being honest and straight forward with people in an industry full of shady people, is that they make you look great by comparison....lol).

I'm personally debating between simply hiring someone with experience and delegating the insurance stuff to them, the problem is, I have NO IDEA on how compensation works, how the splits/salary and other stuff would work. I don't even know the right questions to ask in doing an interview.

Doing a cluster sounds appealing, but I really need more information on them, this forum has been a huge help, but as I am really just a novice, and am not arrogant to even try and pretend I have any kind of clue.

Funny side story, when I mentioned that I was taking classes for an insurance license, one of the business tenants immediately offered to switch to me, in spite of me emphasizing (repeatedly) that I would still have no experience. They told me to get the carrier, and they'll join ASAP.
 
That is why I suggest a cluster they can help you with not only getting you the carriers but they can walk you through the compensation information you need. Commercial lines is a scary business there is so much exposure out there and it usually is VERY detailed work. I am glad to hear that you have great staffing and that honestly and trust is a must in this industry. Insurance is a whole new ball of wax and no room for errors that is for sure. I would be concerned though if your client is willing to jump ship that quick as not all carriers have the best rate or coverage for that matter and even if he is wiling to switch to you as an agent you need to make sure that you are offering him the same coverage or that he is fully aware that you may or may not have a carrier that offers the best coverage to protect him. In the event of a loss they may come back and try and go after you because you sold him a policy that didn't have the coverage he had before and he thought he had that coverage. Not sure how it is there but here in Montana there are a lot of sue happy clients and that is why I say make sure that you have a good E&O policy to protect yourself. I still think that with your lack of experience in the industry a cluster would work better for you as most will even train you or your staff.
How clusters work is they split the commissions with you and they have all the appointments that way you do not have to try and get appointments yourself which sometimes can be very difficult or al least it is here. Hope this helps you and wish you the best of success.
 
I'm probably going to do the cluster deal, I just need to keep doing research. On top of that, I'll also look to hire someone with alot of experience, after (hopefully) I learn what proper compensation is.

I'm assuming that the clusters can help with the E&O policies ? I don't know much about them, but I'll have to learn.

BTW, can one join more then one cluster ? Is Insurance Noodle considered a cluster like smart choice ? I like the idea of being able to submit an application to multiple carriers at once, and then show the client all the different options and choices.
 
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I'm an independent broker in NJ and I work directly with SmartChoice. If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me.
 
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