Insurance Agent Forum

[insuranceagent]

I was wondering if you have to name your agency with the agents name? For example John Doe Agency. Or can you name your agency any name you choose?

Thanks,

Insurance Agent

[Tomfromtheshade]

You can name the agency anything that you like, within reason, but if the name of the agency is different than the agent's name you need to register a "doing business as" name. At least that is how it works in the state of New Jersey. Other place may be different.

[patch36]

...in my state, if the name is anything other than your name you have to license the agency. An extra cost and and extra license to renew every 2 years.

[STIBROKER@AUSTIN.RR.COM]

Free insurance inc

[Alston]

An agency name that can also be used as a website name might be a good idea. It should be short, easy to spell and tell people and search engines what you do.

I steered away from using my name as part of my agency's name because my name is hard to spell and also because it might make it harder to sell the agency down the road.

Consider using two or three of the following as part of your agency's name:

• The word "insurance"
• A word that describes your location (stay away from abbreviations except for state abbrevations)
• The type if insurance you specialize in

My main site is 1800insuranceCT.com. The agency name, the website and the phone number are the same. If you remember the site name, you also know the phone number.

I also have an underdeveloped site called
marylandhealthinsurancequotes.com. (I got the domain to promote my sister, but she decided to sell real estate instead of insurance. She might still be mad at me at some subconscious level for scratching her Kool and the Gang album back in the 1970s.)

[Newby]

Pay real close attention to how easy it is to mis-spell the name.

I named my agency Newbury Financial because I already had a corporation called Newbury Inc.

BUT, people mis-spell it Newberry, Newburgh etc.

If I was starting over, I would pick a name that the domain name was available, and a toll-free number was available too. Hard to come up with but not impossible.

I actually bought a toll-free number last year that spells my wife's name. I played around trying to spell all kinds of things on Ring Central and punched in her name (it's seven letter long) and sure enough, it was free. Gave it to her for her birthday.