18 Jul The Benefits of Joining An Independent Insurance Agency Network
Shared in this article:
- How the collective strength of a network may generate greater commissions and variable compensation potential for its members, helping them hit desired volume and revenue goals.
- Why membership in a network enhances access to a diverse makeup of carriers and to a wider range of insurance solutions and services that may help an agency attract and retain more customers.
- Ways in which members of a network get professional and peer advice on managing through pricing and capacity pressures, accessing markets for hard-to-place risks, and planning for the future.
As the owner of an independent insurance agency, you have many business aspirations for the coming year and beyond, but the goals most likely to be at the top of that list are growth and profitability. To perform at a consistently high level and enjoy long-term business success requires hard work along with a clear idea of the business you want to write and where you will place it. But you don’t have to go it alone. By becoming a member of an insurance agency network, you can get help from people with priceless knowledge and experience in the industry, many of whom have either been in your shoes before or are still walking the same path. Whether you’re just a few years into building your business or a veteran owner, being part of an insurance alliance with other like-minded agents might be the simplest and most efficient way to accelerate your agency’s growth and profitability.
5 Ways Joining an Insurance Agency Network May Help Drive Growth and Profitability
There are an estimated 150 insurance agency networks across the US that vary greatly in terms of their size, ownership structure, level of involvement, carrier alignment, and more. Despite the variation across groups, there are several benefits that you typically can expect to receive, to some degree, by becoming a member of any insurance agency network:
1. More effective management of your performance goals. Some of the challenges many agency owners face when trying to grow their business is finding the time to focus on crafting a bigger strategic picture, developing key milestones, regularly tracking agency key perfomance metrics (KPMs), and identifying shortfalls early enough to course correct effectively. But if you’re a member of an insurance agency network… you’re typically going to get support from a professional management team that:
- Provides guidance and oversight for goal setting.
- Builds the tools to help you accurately track your performance versus goals.
- Reviews any gaps versus goals and makes strategic recommendations on how to course correct and achieve your established objectives.
- Helps you stay focused on what you need to do to hit your desired volume and revenue goals, and facilitates you in doing so.
2. Stronger and broader carrier relationships. A top priority for an agency owner is building a carrier lineup that supports their growth plan. But it’s not always smooth sailing contracting and working with a range of insurance companies. Today’s hard market doesn’t make things easier, with pressure coming from carriers and customers alike. But if you’re a member of an insurance agency network… you’re now part of a larger, more influential group of agencies that insurance companies know and recognize as a powerful partner. This typically adds up to a whole lot of value for you and your clients by:
- Enhancing the attention and responsiveness you get from carriers.
- Offering access to a diverse makeup of national, regional, and mutual carriers, many of which you may not have a direct appointment with yet.
- Providing the gateway to a wider range of insurance solutions and services that may help you attract and retain more customers.
- Opening more avenues to turn to when you have a business that is challenging to place.
3.Connections that save you time and effort. So, what’s on your to-do list today? Probably a number of new business and renewal issues, projects you’ve been meaning to embark on, and several operational questions and concerns that need to be addressed. Whether you’re on your own trying to address these business challenges or you have a partner or two that you can kick around potential solutions with, tackling any one of these areas takes valuable time and persistence. But if you’re a member of an insurance agency network… you have relationships with owners and staff at a wide variety of agencies, all of whom have information, intelligence, and advice they should be happy to share with you. With this type of built-in “hotline,” you’re able to:
- Tap into industry preferred practices.
- Quickly find reputable and proven vendors.
- Get rapid intel on new products.
- Identify markets for unique accounts, and even get introduced directly to a carrier.
4. Enhanced revenue opportunities. The ability to invest in the growth and development of an agency is often dependent on the additional revenue derived from variable compensation—incentives, overrides, and profit sharing. On their own, most agencies are limited in their variable compensation revenue potential. But if you’re a member of an insurance agency network… you’ve got strength in numbers. In a professionally managed insurance alliance, you work collaboratively with leadership and other high-performing agencies to:
- Craft plans with carriers that are mutually beneficial.
- Generate greater commission and variable compensation opportunities for all agents.
- Offer carriers a broad and consistent source of growth and profitability.
- Regularly and consistently performance manage in order to hit goals and targets.
5. A safety net when times are challenging. Even slight changes in the market can have an enormous impact on an independent insurance agency, especially if it’s a smaller operation or one with limited markets. So when the market hardens, with resulting pricing and capacity pressures, it can quickly spell trouble. But if you’re a member of an insurance agency network… you have more confidence in the face of challenges because aligning with other agencies typically leads to larger books and helps stabilize profitability. In addition, you can lean on your network’s carrier-specific specialists to:
- Provide you with advice.
- Help you manage through the turmoil.
- Access markets for harder-to-place risks.
- Plan for the future.
If these benefits of insurance agency membership sound intriguing to you, the next step is to identify the network that will best help you meet your agency goals and serve your business needs. This will entail thinking about what is most important for you and doing your due diligence on the network options available to you.
At ISNE, we are dedicated to supporting agencies that value remaining independent and strive to deliver distinctive, local service to their clients. If this is in alignment with the vision you have for your agency, let’s talk. Our professional management team would welcome the opportunity to share more about ISNE, including our distinct member benefits, unique approach to performance management, compensation model that maximizes revenue for all participants, the top carriers we partner with, and the path to becoming a participating agency in our network.
