When you first decide to become an insurance agent, you have the option to either become a captive agent or an independent agent. Being a captive agent means you will work for one insurance carrier and be paid commissions from the one specific insurance company that you work for. On the other hand, if you become an independent agent, you will be able to work with multiple carriers and be your own boss.
If you have started your career as a captive agent, and have decided you want to make the transition to being an independent agent, you are probably wondering where you should start. It’s not that hard to make the transition, but there are a few things you should know.
Captive Agent
When working for a specific carrier, you will only be able to sell that company’s products. The downside to being this type of agent is that you will not be able to offer as many options to your customers, so you might end up losing commissions. You will also have less flexibility in your job: being a captive agent usually means having a more traditional, 9-to-5 office job.
Independent Agent
An independent insurance agent doesn’t work for a specific insurance carrier, and works on commission only. They differ from captive agents because they can sell policies from many carriers, which allows them to work with all sorts of leads, and find the best plans available for them. In fact, studies show that independent insurance agents have a 50% higher commission percentage compared to captive agents! Not only that, but being an independent agent means more flexibility in your job, because you will essentially be working for yourself.
Making the Transition
If you have decided that you want to transition from being a captive agent to being an independent agent, and break free from only working with one insurance company, there are a few steps you will have to take. The first thing you should do is carefully read your contract with the carrier that you currently work for to avoid any non-compete violations.
Next, to begin the process of building your business, you will need to:
- Get business licensing and insurance
- Design a logo and other brand-related elements
- Create a professional website
- Develop a plan to automate your marketing
- Build your client list
Looking For Leads?
When making this big leap from working for a carrier to starting your own agency, the most important step will be building your customer list. And what better way to do this than getting hand-delivered, ready-to-buy leads from Benepath? When you work with Benepath, receiving reliable, exclusive leads is the easy part.
We provide you with real-time leads through a secured process and give you a customized thank-you page so your leads will be ready for your call. This thank-you page assures leads that they won’t be bounced around between agents and gives them a feeling of connection with you right from the start. We offer the leads, and, while it is up to you to properly nurture the leads, we’ll be behind you every step of the way. You’ll find, though, that our leads don’t need much nurturing because they are ready to speak with you and buy your product! But if they do need some nurturing, follow the effective ways mentioned above to seal the deal. To get more information, fill out the form below or call 866-368-0377.
