Are you wondering how to become an independent insurance agent? There are a few considerations when starting your own independent insurance agency as a captive writer.
One of the most important questions is what will happen to your book of business.when you leave your captive company. Do they allow you to sell your book of business back to them? Can you sell it to someone willing to buy it and stay with your captive company? Or do they expect you to simply walk away from the book of business you have built with your hard work?
Walking away is the worst-case scenario. It means you are renting your career versus owning it. Adding insult to injury, your captive company may have a lengthy non-compete clause. This means there is a book of business you can’t work with for a period of time while you are trying to grow your independent insurance agency.
Another consideration is obtaining enough carrier contracts and having enough production to support those contracts. It can be a vicious circle. You want a variety of carriers to choose from but the inability to support production requirements may limit the number of carriers you can work with. This challenge will not only impact your close ratio and retention ratio but also your ability to qualify for additional bonus money the carriers reserve for high performers.
There is an easier path. You can take the experience you already have in the industry and join the largest national agents alliance, SIAA. With your membership, you gain easier access to carriers, lower production thresholds to support contracts, better commissions, and easier access to bonus monies. All of this will help you close business at a higher rate, retain more of your book of business, and bring more revenue to you and your newly formed independent insurance agency. Which means you are starting your independent insurance agency on solid ground.
We like to say our alliance partners are “independent but never alone.” As a MIAA member you will have a team backing you toward your success while you are building equity in a book of business you own for you and your family’s future.