Captive Agent possibly going independent Need some advice

magent1 · 12-23-2007, 11:49 PM

Hi everyone,
I'm a captive agent in CA, opened my office a little over a year ago. It has been moderately successful, but after talking to a few agents and having some major issues with my current company, I am looking into opening an insurance brokerage. I have contacted a few of the big names that broker, but I still need help. How do i get contracted with more companies? What is the best way to get started? The more companies I can work with from the start, the more choices my clients will have. Any info from a broker or independent agent would be much appreciated.

LouisianaRandy · 02-07-2009, 10:37 PM

Surprising that no one answered and I just need the post.

tagm3 · 02-10-2009, 11:13 PM

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. From what I've seen in similar threads, alot of the agents recommend calling brokers near you (but not close enough for direct competition) and asking them for contacts.

That, or contracting through a GA.

Good luck with your search!

California · 03-17-2009, 08:56 PM

I just branched out on my own in January of this year. I have contracted with several of the health insurance companies such as; Aetna, United Healthcare, Mutual of Omaha, Anthem, Blue Shield, Health Net, and others. What county are you focusing on?

Amber Scherloz · 08-26-2009, 05:04 AM

You can ask assistance or help from other experienced brokers. A mere word of mouth can help you start up and you can also make some research in your area.

moeasadi · 08-26-2009, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by magent1

Hi everyone,
I'm a captive agent in CA, opened my office a little over a year ago. It has been moderately successful, but after talking to a few agents and having some major issues with my current company, I am looking into opening an insurance brokerage. I have contacted a few of the big names that broker, but I still need help. How do i get contracted with more companies? What is the best way to get started? The more companies I can work with from the start, the more choices my clients will have. Any info from a broker or independent agent would be much appreciated.

If you do P&C send me an email or call me. I was a Farmers agent.Indy is not for everyone and same is true with being captive.moe@BIFS1.com

Carlos Gil · 08-27-2009, 05:46 PM

I would recomend you contact the Latin American Agents Association and Agents Alliance and attend their meetings there are a lot of marketing representatives there.

You can also contact me, we can provide you access with a large number of companies at higher commission rates that you would get as a new agent.

Just visit Fiesta Insurance Franchise - Structure, Agency Automation, Training, Operational Support

DHagy · 08-28-2009, 12:00 AM

[COLOR=black]When your looking to contract with multiple companies, one of the ways to streamline the process and save allot of time on the paperwork process is to use an MGA/IMO that utilizes a process called "Efficient Forms Processing!" You spend 30-40 minutes contracting with the first company and the system stores your answers and populates all your answers into the queue of the next company you contract with in the system. This continues for the balance of the companies you wish to contract with making them only a 5-10 process if that. The downside is there may be a small additional fee per carrier to license because the MGA/IMO has contract and administrative costs associated with being able to provide the service. But, the time the system will save you in filing out paperwork far out weights the additional minimal costs. We have offered this system to our contracting agents for a couple years now with many very satisfied users. Feel free to call or email if you would like more information. Although the system significantly streamlines the contracting process, we only advice agents to contract with companies they plan on writing business with the following year. That is because many companies will terminate your contracts if you do not write business for a full year. Some will not give you a writing agent number until you have a piece of business to submit.[/COLOR]

Insurance Phoenix · 08-28-2009, 08:24 AM

I made this jump two and a half years ago. Make sure you have money to do marketing or know how you will generate leads. Also, make sure you can get contracts before leaving your captive position.

PotentialFarmer · 08-30-2009, 04:35 PM

Good Luck, I'm working all this out myself. So far this site has helped a lot with some of my general questions and I hope it keeps doing so!!!

shooner · 09-02-2009, 06:40 PM

I had a lot of the same questions. There were only a couple of options available when you are starting out and it seems like the easiest and least costly way is to use an aggragator. You also might want to check in your state and see if SIAA is available. They are an alliance that you can join where you are the agent of record and own 100% of your business, they also get you affiliated with several carriers.