Going Independent in Colorado

[outlander]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and am enjoying all of the great info here however I am in info overload ATM. Hope there are some IAs from Colorado that can assist me in my quest to go indy.

I am in Colorado, licensed in L,H,P & C as of the first of the year 2014. As a new licensee I signed on with Farmers but soon found that being captive was not the path I wanted to follow. Being new I have a lot to learn and I am thankful that Farmers did provide me with some decent training that I can build on as I continue to move forward. That being said, I am 60+ years old and not up to the rigors of the Farmers program but instead more like good BBQ, low and slow.

I'm looking to go with with a Master Agency, Cluster, etc. whatever they want to call themselves, but I would like some input from experienced IAs that have intimate knowledge of those operating within Colorado. It's hard to beat references from those in the know.

I don't have large sums of cash to buy in at the start so I understand that in exchange I will give a commission split to off set that. I do have another business that provides income for my living expenses and only requires 5-6 days per month of my time so I would be free to devote most of the month to building my book.

I'm looking for an organization that is easy to work with, has systems for rating, client and policy management, access to industry and systems training, a reasonable commission split and no burdensome termination agreement in the case it becomes necessary.

Thanks all, looking forward to your input.

 

[shawnmwalker]

Outlander,

We are located in Downtown Denver. We have over 210 agents that belong to the group. Before contacting us as an option, I would encourage you to contact any of our agents. They can be found at http://www.thinkpremierfirst.com/content/find_an_agent.aspx

As you consider joining a group consider the following:

Transparency
Carrier Alignment
Training and support
Contract

A word or caution:

These four prongs if you will, will hold the proverbial diamond/business securely. If you get three of the four prongs when joining a group you run the risk of losing the diamond/business.

I have met too many agents over the last 12 years of my career that rush into a relationship with a group and end up making a BIG mistake. Many agents run to the quantitate aspects of the contract and leave the qualitative aspects of the decision out of the process. In other words they spreadsheet contract variables and disregard the other three prongs.

The contract variables will make up the largest % of the decision making process but don't disregard the other three prongs because they are harder to define. Call agents that belong to the groups you are courting and get a good feel for the qualitative aspects. (Transparency, Carrier Alignment, and Training and support.)

Hope to talk to you soon... but really, call any groups agents to find out more about a group and how the agents feel about the group and the deliverables.

 

[outlander]

Outlander, We are located in Downtown Denver. We have over 210 agents that belong to the group. Before contacting us as an option, I would encourage you to contact any of our agents. They can be found at thinkpremierfirst com/content/find_an_agent.aspx .thinkpremierfirst com/content/find_an_agent.aspx As you consider joining a group consider the following: Transparency Carrier Alignment Training and support Contract A word or caution: These four prongs if you will, will hold the proverbial diamond/business securely. If you get three of the four prongs when joining a group you run the risk of losing the diamond/business. I have met too many agents over the last 12 years of my career that rush into a relationship with a group and end up making a BIG mistake. Many agents run to the quantitate aspects of the contract and leave the qualitative aspects of the decision out of the process. In other words they spreadsheet contract variables and disregard the other three prongs. The contract variables will make up the largest % of the decision making process but don't disregard the other three prongs because they are harder to define. Call agents that belong to the groups you are courting and get a good feel for the qualitative aspects. (Transparency, Carrier Alignment, and Training and support.) Hope to talk to you soon... but really, call any groups agents to find out more about a group and how the agents feel about the group and the deliverables.

Thank you Shawn for your reply. I am going to take some time in comparing the offerings of organizations recommended in this thread, hopefully there will be more, and work toward finding the best fit I can. I will call some of the agents as suggested and I appreciate that. After I have done the basics I would like to talk more with you about your program.

Fred

 

[shawnmwalker]

No problem. Call me if you have any questions or when you are ready.