I Have Fallen into a Niche and Need a Carrier for this Appetite!!!!!!!

MVI

Expert
67
I'm in Maryland and have been getting ALOT of student and young 20s something referrals of international students and graduates.

I have Titan and Progressive. Is there any other carriers I can look to get appointed with for this risk
 
I would suggest avoiding that demographic. They don't stay long, they're pricing sucks & it's just...not a good market (in fact maybe one of the worst.)
 
Nevermind my first point, you're in MD not PA. I got confused.
There are some who would argue that targeting students is an ok market. I don't want to name specific names on an internet forum without permission, but there are agencies built around serving college students, and then growing with them as they reach the stages of life where they buy houses, have kids, etc. If you have processes in place to keep them long enough, it can be profitable long term.
 
^ No. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS & EXCHANGE STUDENTS are some of the stupidest fools I've dealt with. They're here for a short period of time to obtain their degree & they're off. They have accidents because they don't know how to drive in our country & they're just fantastically stupid w/ insurance.

Terrible market.

College students per say? Ya...State Farm is competitive on this demographic under this very premise but we're talking foreign/exchange...not college students in general.
 
I hear both of your points. I can understand the perspective of risk and retention.

I didn't purposefully target this market initially. It started at a tech firm and people were referred to me. They told their friends, told their classmates etc etc.

It seems to me that within a culture niche a good resource spreads fast. Maybe because they do not have existing relationships in place - so they spread a good idea around because that's just what you do.

I'm happy to write the business despite the risks. It's typical for these people to come to me with $400/month payment plans with state minimums.

I have Progressive, Foremost, Titan, and Dairyland. Is there a carrier I am missing?
 
You need to get appointed with an Excess/Surplus Line Carrier like Griffin. They'll write pretty much anything and the price isn't too ridiculous. It's a tough niche market because these kids are always looking to save some dough. They'll leave you in a heartbeat if they can save a few bucks.
 
I'm in Maryland and have been getting ALOT of student and young 20s something referrals of international students and graduates.

I have Titan and Progressive. Is there any other carriers I can look to get appointed with for this risk

MAIF. Titans rates are usually crap. Big stinking crap. Not even worth the effort. I've ran a ton of quotes through Titan trying to figure out their appetite. I'm pretty sure they don't want any non standard business period.

Progressive shines for alcohol offenders and motorcycle policies. But at the end of the day, their commision stinks and so does the fact that they're cutting the agents out.

MAIF only pays 10% , 11% if paid in full and 11.5% if paid in full and the policy stays in force for the entire year. But it is what it is. They're good for the under 30 crowd.

Ugh, I can't wait to get away from the general non standard clientele.
 
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