Overhead for a New Agency?

[CaptiveGuy]

The biggest reason I am going with them is because you can have a home office. Most of the others require an office. I have heard good an bad about all these wholesellers.... Some people hate superior access while others love them. They offer good commissions if you pay the $110 a month fee and they say you can take your book of business once you get appointed with a company. That is huge. The biggest con is that you do not have binding authority. If you are going to do a lot of commercial i heard Insurance Noodle is the way to go. Look them up.
My plan is to use Superior access for a couple years and get appointed directly through the competitve companies in my area once I get a book of business. I'm hoping to get started at the begining of next year so I can let you know more than.

One more thing.. If you want to learn more about them and their contract, go to their website and call their customer service line. They are very helpful. I spoke with reps from Smart Choice, Insurance Noodle, Superior Access, and few others. Just decide what is important for you, ie binding authority, owning your book, commission %, and find out who has the best contract for you. It seems to be the only way to go for a new agent starting from scratch. Just remember that most people use these wholesellers as a starting point to build a book so make sure you have an exit strategy and the contract you use allows you to do what you want. Good luck.


Thanks,

Dan

Have you considered getting a virtual office? Depending on where you are it should be about $200 a month for the receptionist, phone line, and mail services. That way you have a business address and don't have to use Superior Access. Also a good way to keep your home address private.

I am leaning towards Smart Choice because you have binding authority and your own producer codes. I have a few direct appointments lined up just want to use the wholesaler to fill in the gaps.

 

[dcorrp]

Stay away from Superior Access. I have been using for about a year, and they are way too horrible. I lost a few big clients just because of SAIS, because they couldn't bind the policy in time.

I'm leaving them too.

Are you mostly talking about commercial clients you lost? I will be doing mostly personal lines starting off, from my past experience, binding on the exact renewal date isn't that big of a deal with personal clients. I will be taking most of my start up clients mid term anyway.

When I get more into commercial I was going to look at Insurance Noddle.

 

[dcorrp]

Just wanted to give an update>
I started my own office Jan 1st and I am working part time from home. I am using Superior Access and have been extremely pleased with them. I wasnt expecting much from them because of all the bad stuff I read about their customer service issues but I have been 100% satisfied. I was able to bind 11 policies this month for $15,000 in premium. When i submit a policy for a firm quote I always get it back within 24hrs and they tell me what I need to bind coverage. When I send in the information to bind, I get a email back confirming or if something is wrong Iwill get a call from customer service and we can usually fix it over the phone.
Only 1 month into it but I am really happy and should have done this years ago...

 

[desert boy]

Dan,

If you are trying this part time right now, I would focus more on Commercial Insurance, It is alot less service work and pays much better. That waay, you get the business insurance and hopefully the personal side of the business owner.

 

[b61mack]

it sounds like you are doing well...go for it!