SIAA Alliance for Independent Insurance Agents

[NCAgent828]

What I don't get from your story is this; you said if people have the the capital to start without a group, that's their best move. But you also said he SIAA fees "sucked you dry" in the beginning. Which is it?


You need considerably MORE capital to go with SIAA than not. I had a large amount of capital available when I started and quickly found going it alone was basically impossible; carriers weren't even willing to talk to me other than Progressive. And they're more stingy with appointments now than they were then.

If you weren't even producing enough to not be "sucked dry" by the SIAA minimum monthly fee, how were you going to be able to produce enough to get/keep carrier appointments on your own?

The way you talk about this industry is the way it was in the 90's and early 2000's. I'm sure you are aware of this but there are so many options available to agents such as brokerage companies like RPS, Stuckey etc that offer access to carriers and lesser commissions.

I never said you need LESS capitol to go either way. Get ready to give up $500-1000/month as a new agent joining a group like that. You are speaking to this from a perspective most do not experience and it is misrepresenting what a new agent has to understand about this industry.

I should have started with more capital. The money an agent has shouldn't be hemorrhaged to some master agency only looking out for themselves. At least that is the story for the one in good old Eastern TN. You act as if this industry is a piece of cake. Maybe you had an easy road but that is far from the vast majority of experiences.

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

The way you talk about this industry is the way it was in the 90's and early 2000's. I'm sure you are aware of this but there are so many options available to agents such as brokerage companies like RPS, Stuckey etc that offer access to carriers and lesser commissions.

I wasn't an agent in the 90's and early 2000's.

Lesser commissions, inability to bind business myself, not owning the book; these are issues that exist with most of these other options. They're worse.

I never said you need LESS capitol to go either way.

You said, "If you have the capital to start without a group..." which takes LESS capital.

Get ready to give up $500-1000/month as a new agent joining a group like that.

What? I've never heard of an SIAA minimum of $500/month, and if you owe them $1,000/month as a new agent you're writing a TON of business and can afford it.

You are speaking to this from a perspective most do not experience and it is misrepresenting what a new agent has to understand about this industry.

I started my own independent agency the same day I got licensed. My perspective IS that of a new agent. My SIAA master agency held my hand at first, answered questions on the fly, double-checked quotes for me when I asked, etc.

If I hadn't joined, I'd have had to work a job for someone else to learn the ropes. That wasn't an option for me, as I had another business at the time as well.

[/QUOTE]I should have started with more capital. The money an agent has shouldn't be hemorrhaged to some master agency only looking out for themselves. At least that is the story for the one in good old Eastern TN. You act as if this industry is a piece of cake. Maybe you had an easy road but that is far from the vast majority of experiences.[/QUOTE]

1) It's not a piece of cake. At all. It's tedious, takes awhile to make big $, involves managing other people, etc. I kind of hate it.

2) It sounds like you financed the up-front fee to join and didn't write enough business to cover that payment along with the monthly minimum. That's on you.

3) Again, I had plenty of capital. It wasn't getting me anywhere with carriers. Or training. SIAA gave me both of those.

The only reason any P&C agent fails is not writing enough business.

 

[NCAgent828]

I wasn't an agent in the 90's and early 2000's.

Lesser commissions, inability to bind business myself, not owning the book; these are issues that exist with most of these other options. They're worse.



You said, "If you have the capital to start without a group..." which takes LESS capital.



What? I've never heard of an SIAA minimum of $500/month, and if you owe them $1,000/month as a new agent you're writing a TON of business and can afford it.



I started my own independent agency the same day I got licensed. My perspective IS that of a new agent. My SIAA master agency held my hand at first, answered questions on the fly, double-checked quotes for me when I asked, etc.

If I hadn't joined, I'd have had to work a job for someone else to learn the ropes. That wasn't an option for me, as I had another business at the time as well.

I should have started with more capital. The money an agent has shouldn't be hemorrhaged to some master agency only looking out for themselves. At least that is the story for the one in good old Eastern TN. You act as if this industry is a piece of cake. Maybe you had an easy road but that is far from the vast majority of experiences.[/QUOTE]

1) It's not a piece of cake. At all. It's tedious, takes awhile to make big $, involves managing other people, etc. I kind of hate it.

2) It sounds like you financed the up-front fee to join and didn't write enough business to cover that payment along with the monthly minimum. That's on you.

3) Again, I had plenty of capital. It wasn't getting me anywhere with carriers. Or training. SIAA gave me both of those.

The only reason any P&C agent fails is not writing enough business.[/QUOTE]


Unless you have $10,000-$20,000 to join a group such as SIAA you do have to pay them monthly. Are you a member of SIAA? Do you not know that's how it works?

That is absoilutely true. Not writing enough business is a big problem. Especially joining an agency group like SIAA who you owe money to. Which is why I recommend a new agent avoid this.

Talking in circles here. Good talk.

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

I should have started with more capital. The money an agent has shouldn't be hemorrhaged to some master agency only looking out for themselves. At least that is the story for the one in good old Eastern TN. You act as if this industry is a piece of cake. Maybe you had an easy road but that is far from the vast majority of experiences.

1) It's not a piece of cake. At all. It's tedious, takes awhile to make big $, involves managing other people, etc. I kind of hate it.

2) It sounds like you financed the up-front fee to join and didn't write enough business to cover that payment along with the monthly minimum. That's on you.

3) Again, I had plenty of capital. It wasn't getting me anywhere with carriers. Or training. SIAA gave me both of those.

The only reason any P&C agent fails is not writing enough business.[/QUOTE]


Unless you have $10,000-$20,000 to join a group such as SIAA you do have to pay them monthly. Are you a member of SIAA? Do you not know that's how it works?

That is absoilutely true. Not writing enough business is a big problem. Especially joining an agency group like SIAA who you owe money to. Which is why I recommend a new agent avoid this.

Talking in circles here. Good talk.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I'm a member. I paid the fee up-front. (I've never heard of anyone paying $20k or anything near it).

The carrier access I got from SIAA is the reason I was able to write a lot of business right out of the gate. How would you advise a new agent to go about getting carrier appointments without joining a group?

If you didn't have a plan to get lots of new customers, why did you open an agency in the first place?

 

[NCAgent828]

1) It's not a piece of cake. At all. It's tedious, takes awhile to make big $, involves managing other people, etc. I kind of hate it.

2) It sounds like you financed the up-front fee to join and didn't write enough business to cover that payment along with the monthly minimum. That's on you.

3) Again, I had plenty of capital. It wasn't getting me anywhere with carriers. Or training. SIAA gave me both of those.

The only reason any P&C agent fails is not writing enough business.

Unless you have $10,000-$20,000 to join a group such as SIAA you do have to pay them monthly. Are you a member of SIAA? Do you not know that's how it works?

That is absoilutely true. Not writing enough business is a big problem. Especially joining an agency group like SIAA who you owe money to. Which is why I recommend a new agent avoid this.

Talking in circles here. Good talk.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I'm a member. I paid the fee up-front. (I've never heard of anyone paying $20k or anything near it).

The carrier access I got from SIAA is the reason I was able to write a lot of business right out of the gate. How would you advise a new agent to go about getting carrier appointments without joining a group?

If you didn't have a plan to get lots of new customers, why did you open an agency in the first place?[/QUOTE]


Did I not have a plan to get new customers? Hm. How much do you know about my agency? You seem to know quite a bit.

This industry is not for everyone. Even for those who have been successful in other sales and business development careers. People who say things like you are here do not account for that. You think that if someone wasn't able to accomplish what you have they didn't work hard enough or didn't have the right plan.

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

Did I not have a plan to get new customers? Hm. How much do you know about my agency? You seem to know quite a bit.

I know you didn't bring in enough new customers to cover a small loan payment and a tiny monthly minimum fee with enough breathing room to stay afloat. You knew (or sure should have) exactly how much business you'd have to write each month to cover these things.

This industry is not for everyone. Even for those who have been successful in other sales and business development careers. People who say things like you are here do not account for that. You think that if someone wasn't able to accomplish what you have they didn't work hard enough or didn't have the right plan.

I don't think I should have to account for the fact that starting your own business requires an understanding of your start-up costs, expenses and how you're going to get enough customers to make it worthwhile. That's any business.

Your failure had nothing to do with SIAA. They aren't a perfect organization, but come on.

 

[NCAgent828]

I know you didn't bring in enough new customers to cover a small loan payment and a tiny monthly minimum fee with enough breathing room to stay afloat. You knew (or sure should have) exactly how much business you'd have to write each month to cover these things.



I don't think I should have to account for the fact that starting your own business requires an understanding of your start-up costs, expenses and how you're going to get enough customers to make it worthwhile. That's any business.

Your failure had nothing to do with SIAA. They aren't a perfect organization, but come on.

At no point in time did I blame SIAA for the failure of my agency. I simply said if I had to do it over again I would have done things differently. None are perfect, some work better for your situation, region etc than others. There is a reason that many different types of agencies and organizations exist. Because we all are not the same. My failure is my own fault regardless of my feelings towards SIAA. However, failure being my own fault doesn't make SIAA a better option than they are. "Come on"

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

At no point in time did I blame SIAA for the failure of my agency. I simply said if I had to do it over again I would have done things differently. None are perfect, some work better for your situation, region etc than others. There is a reason that many different types of agencies and organizations exist. Because we all are not the same. My failure is my own fault regardless of my feelings towards SIAA. However, failure being my own fault doesn't make SIAA a better option than they are. "Come on"

I agree with all of this. I just haven't seen you give any other reason you would advise a new agent to steer clear of SIAA.

 

[NCAgent828]

I agree with all of this. I just haven't seen you give any other reason you would advise a new agent to steer clear of SIAA.

Master agency matters a lot. I was crewed by our master agencies quoting employee (son of the owner of course). Not super helpful, took forever to get a price. I got access to some carriers but most were through their little clunky system they used. Out of date carrier codes, carriers would change price or decline coverage after they provided quotes based on the exact same information. I used brokers more often than I ever used SIAA. I did a lot of commercial business. More than personal.

Not looking to debate whether any of this is true for you, this was my experience.

 

[whatyouwantfinally]

Master agency matters a lot. I was crewed by our master agencies quoting employee (son of the owner of course). Not super helpful, took forever to get a price. I got access to some carriers but most were through their little clunky system they used. Out of date carrier codes, carriers would change price or decline coverage after they provided quotes based on the exact same information. I used brokers more often than I ever used SIAA. I did a lot of commercial business. More than personal.

Not looking to debate whether any of this is true for you, this was my experience.

I believe that was your experience, and master agency absolutely has an effect on the SIAA experience (as I said initially).

I got multiple direct appointments right away, and turnaround on quotes I ran through Access Plus was about 30 minutes. Sometimes less, as I often called them on the phone and sat on the line while they ran it.