slim wrote:Another first timer here. What are the pitfalls that some of you guys are talking about when opening an IA when coming from a captive? I have been with a captive for 5 years and I am thinking about making the leap into a start-up IA. I feel like a have a pretty good idea of what to expect from friends and associates on the independent side, but appointments will be the biggest hurdle. Any help is appreciated.
You don't say which Captive Company. I was, like New to IJ Forums, Captive to FIG. With them I was able to have appointments with companies other than Farmers I was able to write business that Farmers didn't want.
The result was that I had two appointments for major medical, three non-standard auto companies. one standard home, two bonding companies, two general commercial companies as well as several General Agencies. When I left Farmers. This plus my contract value from Farmers gave me seed money and income to get started.
I initially got three regional companies because they are more amenable to a scratch agencies than the national companies and one life company.
I now have two of the original regional companies (one withdrew from the state), seven standard national companies. If you do not have any book that you take with you and have strong Non-Compete agreement or a Non-Piracy agreement this could still work for you. It would also help if you had a Professional Designation like CIC or CPCU.
One of the pit falls is that I have also lost several appointments with one of the companies being purchased by a company I did not want to do business with. Another of the companies had me in a loss ratio rehabilitation program and dropped me even though I had improved the L/R to meet their expectations (another indepndent agency im my small communitywas purchased by another agency, from out of the area, that already had a large book of business with them so that was a political termination) Another national company withdrew from the entire west coast.
On the plus side, losing a company appointment will not put you out of business.
Good luck